You Better Watch Out (1980)

User Rating:

3.8/10   

Director:

Lewis Jackson

Writer:

Lewis Jackson (writer)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

You'd better take care...Santa is coming to town!

Plot:

A psycho in a Santa suit gets to decide who's been naughty and who's been nice.

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Toy | Killing | Christmas Horror | Children

Cast

Brandon Maggart	...	Harry Stadling
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Philip Stadling
Dianne Hull	...	Jackie Stadling
Andy Fenwick	...	Dennis Stadling
Brian Neville	...	Marc Stadling
Joe Jamrog	...	Frank Stoller
Wally Moran	...	Philip Stadling Jr.
Gus Salud	...	Harry Stadling Jr.
Ellen McElduff	...	Harry's mother
Brian Hartigan	...	Harry's father
Peter Neuman	...	Moss Garcia
Lance Holcomb	...	Scotty Goodrich
Elizabeth Ridge	...	Susie Lovett
Chris Browning	...	Richie Sharp
Tyrone Holmes	...	Frankie

Also Known As:

Christmas Evil
Terror in Toyland

Runtime:

100 min | USA:95 min (re-release)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Glen Ridge, New Jersey, USA

Trivia:

When Harry slips on the street running from the mob, he really did slip, and Lewis Jackson left it in the film.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Harry's brother falls down the hill, it's obviously a fake sheet of snow as it all lifts off the ground.

Quotes:

Harry "Santa": You want it all... but you're no longer a child.

Movie Connections:

Features Babes in Toyland (1934)

Very decent Christmas themed psychological horror drama

I watched this thoroughly endearing horror picture from 1980 on Christmas Day and was pleased by the way that the film is actually a quite charming picture that affirms Christmas time, whilst presenting a creepy picture of it going wrong. The central performance from Brandon Maggart is ace, keeping the increasingly menacing character sympathetic and a fairly sad figure. There is only a small amount in the way of gore and only a handful of shock moments, but the film creates a great weird atmosphere with surreal and creepy twists on Christmas customs. The film could have done with more excitement and a tighter pace, but there is still much to intrigue, a few touching moments, some fun dark humour and a splendid ending. It lacks all that much impact as a horror film and is possibly more of a twisted drama, but is still one of the finer genre films for a mellow Christmas afternoon.