Oh c'mon, it's really not that bad! Read practically any other review on this rarely seen offering from 1980, and the verdict is almost always one of pure disdain. Sure it's nothing all that great, but there's enough quirky things about this one to make it a decent cult film, and it's sad that when people think of a "killer Santa Claus" movie, the inferior "Silent Night Deadly Night" is always the first film to come to mind.

As most early eighties slashers tend to do, we're initially treated to a flashback scene where we learn of what awful events transpired to turn a young child into a psycho killer years later. In this case, we see a young boy named Harry sneaking a late night peak at the family Christmas tree, only to be warped into insanity by witnessing Santa giving oral pleasure to his mom! Holy shit!! That would certainly screw up any kids mind, and of course, young Harry retreats upstairs where he despairingly smashes a snow globe and for good measure, cuts himself with the glass shards just so we know he's now fucked up in the old noggin. Flash ahead about 30 years, and we now see that Harry eats, sleeps (in Santa PJ's nonetheless), and breathes Christmas. His apartment is covered in Christmas decorations year round, and he even keeps tabs on the neighborhood kids by viewing their behavior from the roof and marking down who has been naughty or nice. Harry is employed by the Jolly Dream Toy Factory, a maker of cheap plastic toys where Harry is ridiculed by his co-workers for his enthusiasm for quality toys so as not to "disappoint the children". He's eventually pushed over the edge when he realizes that his companies plan to give presents to a nearby orphanage was really nothing more than a PR ploy. Seeing all the greed in the adults before him, Harry snaps and assumes the role of Saint Nick, dishing out hatchet hackings for the naughty and giving presents to the good boys and girls.

The movie works (for me at least) in that the actor who plays Harry (Brandon Maggart) does a good job in getting the audience to feel sympathy for the character. Harry is not a killer by nature, but is rather turned into one by all the crap that surrounds him. The best scene in the film is when Harry, in the middle of his Christmas Eve rampage, is being chased down by an angry mob only to escape by stumbling into a bar where a group of adults and children applaud the appearance of Santa Claus. Funny stuff. The body count is fairly low overall, and not really all that gory, so don't come expecting a holiday bloodbath. However, do expect a quirky little film that is thoroughly enjoyable and features one of the oddest endings I've ever seen...and that's saying something.