When most people think about Christmas and Christmas movies, great films like Miracle on 34th Street and A Christmas Story probably come to mind, but for most horror fans films like Silent Night, Deadly Night, the original Black Christmas and of course Christmas Evil are required Holiday viewing material.

It has been 30 years since Lewis Jackson wrote and directed Christmas Evil, and our own Brain Hammer chatted with him through E-mail, to find out what it was like creating the Christmas cult phenomenon.

Horror Yearbook: What was your inspiration for writing and creating Christmas Evil?

Lewis Jackson: It was Christmas Eve 1970 and I smoked a joint. I saw an image of a Santa Claus with a knife in his hands. Ten years later, I figured out how to make the script work.

HYB: How did the chance to direct your debut film come about?

LJ: Because I came up with a great idea of how to make a soft-core comedy.

HYB: Christmas Evil is widely regarded as one of the very best “Christmas Horror Films.” Was that your intent when making the film – a pure horror film, or were you going for something more psychological and character driven?

LJ: I was trying to make a black comedy and truthfully, if you are not trying to make the best movie you possibly can make, then you are a hack – which is basically 95% of the people in Hollywood.

HYB: Were/Are you a fan of the horror genre? Where do think Christmas Evil belongs in horror history, especially when compared to other X-mas horrors.

LJ: There are no other great horror Xmas movies and I believe I am in a genre with Fritz Lang and Alfred Hitchcock.

HYB: The film is also known as You Better Watch Out & Terror In Toyland. Do you have a preferred title?

LJ: I originally called the film You Better Watch Out, some asshole who bootlegged the film changed the title card over and over and over again – and only because I had an original print, did Synapse allow me to use the original title because I had the original print.

HYB: It’s impossible for me to imagine anyone other than Brandon Maggart in the lead role of Harry Stadling. Was the part written for him specifically or did you discover him through casting?

LJ: I discovered him thru casting. Originally I cast George Dzundza who played the bartender in Deerslayer. We started working and he said to me that we needed to rewrite the script and I realized he wanted me to write him “Marty”. It was a disaster. Somebody found me a great NY casting director who sent me a whole new group of actors. They all came in, they all did videotape auditions. Brandon’s audition turned out to be Brandon’s performance and that was quite a revelation.

HYB: The film has a number of violent scenes. Did you find the filming of the sequences to be difficult or more time consuming?

LJ: The answer is both. Filming violence is not pleasant, but it has to be precise.

HYB: One of the film’s most outspoken fans is John Waters. He mentioned the film at length in one of his books and even participated in a commentary track for the Synapse dvd release. When did you first become aware that you had such a famous fan? What are your thoughts on John and his love of your film?

LJ: 1983 someone told me that John had written about it in Rolling Stone, but I had never seen the article. After the book came out, someone called me and said “have you seen the book?” I hadn’t. When I did, I was overwhelmed basically because I had been treated like a crazy person for making this movie. I didn’t meet John for 20 more years, but then he started to do art shows and invited me to be a part of the film showings accompanying the art shows. I finally met him at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburg.

HYB: When the film was originally released did you receive any sort of criticism or protests from moral crusaders?

LJ: I was treated like a leper and I thought I was making a comedy and only John understood it was a comedy.

HYB: Christmas Evil has been released on vhs and dvd several times. I’ve even seen dvds selling for as little as $1. Did the film ever slip into the public domain?

LJ: No, it was stolen and it has taken me 5 years to regain the rights.

HYB: In an age when seemingly EVERY horror film ever made gets a remake, it seems like only a matter of time before someone attempts a Christmas Evil remake. Have you been approached about this?

LJ: Yes. Twice, but this one seems to be one that no one wants to touch. It still seems too transgressive. It may be the most impressive thing I have done in my life.

HYB: The remake of Bob Clark’s Black Christmas was met with a fair amount of controversy because of the title. Do you think a remake of Christmas Evil would have the same sort of reception?

LJ: Worse.