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CHRISTMAS EVIL (SPECIAL
EDITION) (1980)
Directed by Lewis Jackson
Troma DVD
Reviewed 12.15.05
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
Fact: the winter holidays and nostalgia
go hand in hand, even for trash
film enthusiasts. Jiminy Christmas!
Thank goodness for that.
While most low rent, holiday inspired
horror films evoke shock or laughs,
very few stretch beyond the novelty
of seeing ol' Saint Nick (or his
helpers) bludgeon someone with an
axe. From Elves
to Don't
Open 'Til Christmas, the
trash guarantee is obviously expected...and
easily delivered. On the other hand,
a handful of Christmas themed horrors
step beyond the typical confines
of the genre. They surpass expectations,
creating their own unique space
in the minds of those who "get
it." Once a year, they return,
filling your living room with warm
gifts, pine coated memories, and
plenty of the red stuff. Nostalgia
can be so sweet.
Last December, I viewed Lewis Jackson's
Christmas Evil aka You
Better Watch Out for the first
time (courtesy Diamond's Christmas
Evil/Silent Night, Bloody Night
disc). Completely taken with the
skewed and realistic tendencies
of the film, I was reminded of my
first viewing of the untouchable
Black Christmas. Budget
DVD or not, an impression was made.
Here was another dark and affecting
holiday horror film -- one that
could only improve with multiple
viewings. Just in time for the holidays,
I chanced upon a cheap copy of Troma's
long out of print special edition
DVD for Christmas Evil.
Longing to find out more, I took
the plunge.
Not surprisingly, the sad state
of professional looney Harry Stadling
(Brandon Maggart, dad to Fiona Apple)
and his obsession with Santa Claus
was just as enjoyable the second
time around. In fact, the not-so-underlying
themes (the lack of holiday goodwill,
the lonely life of a skewed mind)
seemed even more fleshed out and
natural. For more thoughts on the
film itself, check out last year's
review here.
Now then, your shabbily wrapped
special edition awaits...
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Since Troma's disc was released
first, I'm guessing that Diamond
(and everyone else) ripped this
rough print (scratches, pops, vertical
lines, obviously video sourced)
and ran to the presses. Presentation
is exactly the same as every other
digital version out there, with
two obvious improvements: 1. Compression
artifacting is far less noticable,
and 2. The slight analog buzz on
the soundtrack is nowhere to be
found. Until a better version comes
along, this is the best that we've
got.
EXTRAS
Head straight for the commentary
track. Articulate director Lewis
Jackson and ol' grizzly bear/star
Brandon Maggart sit down for a good-time
talk on everything Evil. The trajectory
goes a little something like this:
Jackson: "It's essentially
about distorting the generosity
of the Christmas spirit."
Maggart: "That sounds like
bullshit to me."
Basically, both alternate from playful
ribbing to serious reflection, covering
just about anything you'd want to
know about the film; a ten year
incubation, shooting locations,
underlying themes, and Mr. Maggart's
drunkenness, to name a few. It's
a lot of fun, answering many questions
about some of the mysterious aspects
of the film. There's little downtime,
but the track suffers from a few
bad edits, particularly at the 57
minute mark. Left speaker only,
anyone?
After the commentary, we've got
a few extras and a whole lot of
Troma fluff. Two 7 minute interviews,
one each with the director and star,
come off as impromptu, public access
throwaways. Jackson's interview
is pretty much covered in the commentary
and Maggart's is mostly comprised
of Sgt. Kabukiman's gifts of Troma
screeners. Mr. Maggart was obviously
thrilled. Both segments feature
some really bad camera work. Other
than that, two galleries are present:
a three page storyboard and several
audience participation surveys from
the film's preview screening ("Sex:
M, Age: 30, Rating: Poor, Comments:
Of no value. I think I'll be like
Harry this XMas."). Of course,
there's also a few Troma trailers
and the requisite dorky intro by
Poppa Lloyd Kaufman.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Christmas Evil joins Black
Christmas and Silent Night,
Bloody Night as a true holiday
horror classic, offering much more
than you'd expect of a "novelty"
exploitation film from 1980. Interested
parties will find the commentary
track on Troma's special edition
worth a listen. As far as the film
goes, you'll probably be fine with
any dollar DVD version floating
around. Just as long as you see
it. |
That's no good
Harry loses it
Director Lewis Jackson
Star Brandon Maggart
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