"Hailed" by wondrously camp film maker, John Waters, as the best Christmas film ever, Christmas Evil begins in 1947 where the young Harry Standling (played in adult form by Brandon Maggart) witnesses what he believes to be Santa Claus getting off with his mum! How traumatising!? Moving to the present we see the adult Harry working in a toy factory, collecting dolls, and keeps books of lists of the local "naughty" kids, in a strange bid to become the true Santa. in the work place, and in his social life, Harry is also exploited by the people around him. And most people believe him to be a total tool.
On witnessing a work colleague laugh at him through a bar window (the same work mate that persuaded him to do a shift for him at the Jolly Dreams toy factory), Harry seems to flip, dressing himself as Santa, and beginning a killing spree. The first kill sees Harry approach a group of people leaving church. He uses a toy soldiers protruding sword to stab a guys eye out (you can imagine that by January, these toys would have been reported in the media as utterly dangerous - this doesn't happen in the film).
It's a pretty awful film. Harry's pathetic character is simply not interesting. What makes him go crazy just doesn't seem to be enough - I mean, after all, the Santa seen groping his mother in 1947, was clearly his own father. It has a thoroughly bizarre ending, also trying to sentimentalise Harry, but particularly his love of all things Santa (does he love him? Who knows). But it seems at the end as he takes off in his sleigh-painted van, into the air, moving in front of the moon just like Santa. and, like the ending of 2003's Elf, we are offered a seeming plea of, why do we not believe in Santa anymore? Just awful! But then again, Waters may well be right. We all need alternative festive seasons, and the anger that Christmas brings should surely produce more killer Santa's. Why are there no killer Santa's? Fingers crossed for a barrage of them in 2012.
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