The concept of the Christmas horror film is an interesting one. At first look, the holiday and the horror genres would seem to have a little in common. But it’s precisely in moments of jubilation when the shock and violence of horror can most effectively be delivered.
A sub-species of Christmas horror is Santa horror, which almost always involves someone dressing up as Santa and chopping people up. The most notable example of this category would be the classic “Silent Night, Deadly Night,“ which recently had a remake.
“Christmas Eve“ arrived as an addition to the Santa horror genre in 1980.
What can I say about this film? On one level, it’s a bag of crap. The camerawork is dull, the pacing is slow, and while there’s some blood and death, not much happens overall.
But there is something interesting about it… A certain kind of psychological unease festers.
The story is convoluted and doesn’t make a lot of intuitive sense. Years ago, young Harry saw his father, dressed as Santa having sex with his mother. (It’s not shown directly, but implied.) And for some reason, this affected him in a certain way. Decades later, grown up Harry discovers some improprieties at the toy factory he works at, and this sets him off on a killing spree.
Like I said it doesn’t add up. But there is something genuinely tragic about a man who really seems to cherish children being driven to kill again and again and gain.
There was a surprising amount of star power here. Actress Patricia Richardson, who went on to a career in the sitcom “Home Improvement,“ has a small role. And—get this—Mark Margolis, who played Hector Salamanca in both “Breaking Bad“ and “Better Call Saul“ (I also recall him from the 80s TV show “The Equalizer“) has an appearance.
Another interesting celebrity tidbit. The actor who plays homicidal Harry, Brandon Maggart, is the father of pop singer Fiona Apple.
So, if you want something a bit strange for the holidays, this might fit the bill, though it’s more of a weird anthropological artifact of 70s slashers than an entertaining film. (Yes, the film came out in 1980, but really feels more a product of the previous decade in which it was filmed.)
