Christmas Evil

(Synapse Films, 11.14.2006)

I probably shouldn't admit this but yes, I'm a sucker for the holidays. Many years from now, I may grow tired of Christmas and the holiday season -- though I doubt it -- but as of 2006, I'm a certified fan of all things festive. For those with more of a Scrooge streak, however, an entire sub-genre exists: the evil Santa movie. From How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Silent Night, Deadly Night to And All Through the House (an early, Robert Zemeckis-directed episode of Tales From the Crypt) and Bad Santa, Santa Claws has been sleigh-ing the Christmas spirit onscreen for years. You better watch out!

Christmas Evil is a particularly odd and original entry in this deviant tradition, as it takes a relatively comic premise and presents it in a grim, bleak style that's closer to Taxi Driver -- or Fingers, its spiritual cousin -- than Black Christmas. This is not a playfully pulpy spoof of holiday traditions, it's a genuinely disturbing character study about one man's obsessive, deranged mind. Distraught to learn that there is no Santa Claus (can I see some proof?), Harry Stradling becomes a self-appointed Santa, rewarding and punishing as he sees fit. It's like Death Wish meets Miracle on 34th Street.

While director Lewis Jackson allows the film to get way heavier than it has any right to be, it does feature some intriguing ideas. For one, the film exposes the inherently voyeuristic, Big Brother quality of Santa Claus (it's a shame Hitchcock never took a stab at this premise). By showing a scary, middle-aged man -- Brandon Maggert, Fiona Apple's real life father -- spying on children and taking notes on their behavior, we're reminded that Santa Claus is one deeply creepy idea (Harry Stradling behaves like the warped offspring of Michael Jackson and Christof). The film also presents Santa as a stand-in for all members of society who receive questionable trust based on their title alone. Parents will trust any nut in a Santa suit... or a cop uniform.

In this oddly reverential release, Synapse includes deleted scenes, storyboards, audition footage, hilariously hostile comment cards from an early screening, and two commentaries. While the second commentary with director Lewis Jackson is overkill, the first is quite memorable. Accompanied by John Waters (who calls Christmas Evil "the greatest Christmas movie ever made"), Jackson discusses the history of the production and receives some fresh insight from the "Pope of Trash"/"Prince of Puke." Although they're unfairly dismissive of Silent Night, Deadly Night -- which they haven't even seen and insist on calling Silent Night, Bloody Night -- their comments add a great deal of depth to the film. Waters emphasizes how sexually perverse and arty it is and Jackson cites the unlikely influence of Laurel and Hardy, Douglas Sirk, Louis Malle, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

Filled with festive imagery, Christmas Evil runs the risk of scarring viewers and preventing them from ever seeing Christmas -- or at least Christmas movies -- the same way again. For that reason, I'd only suggest this disc to those who gave up on Christmas long ago or those with a completely unshakeable love of the holiday season. If you still have warm feelings about Christmas after watching Christmas Evil, your dedication is commendable. -- Jonathan Doyle