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So What Really Happened at the End of ‘Christmas Evil’?

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As far as Christmas horror movies are concerned, I think the best and most frightening is 1980’s Christmas Evil. It’s been compared to as the Taxi Driver at Christmas and I pretty much agree with that comparison. It’s much more of a character piece than a body count movie as you watch a man slip into insanity after becoming sick of it all and it’s really lead actor Brandon Maggart’s performance that brings it to life. He’s really intense while being both sympathetic and terrifying. But there’s something about it fans can’t seem to agree on; the ending. A friend and I were discussing it recently and we just couldn’t come to an agreement (rather than how awesome the film is) and it got me thinking and I’d love to hear what you all think, but first, let’s talk a little about the movie. Now, obviously there is going to be spoilers as we discuss this nearly 40 year old movie, but being the internet and all, I have to give a SPOILER WARNING. There. You have been warned.

To sum it up briefly, it’s about a man named Harry who was traumatized as a child and by that I mean that he saw Santa going down on his mommy, so he grows up and has become completely obsessed with Santa and idolizes the jolly ol’ elf. So much to the point where it’s rather unhealthy. Harry now works at a toy factory that’s more interested in profits than donating toys to a children’s home. All of his peers and bosses think of him as a schmuck and take advantage of his kindness. Harry also keeps tabs on the neighborhood kids, watching them and judging who’s being naughty and who’s being nice which he keeps track of in separate naughty or nice books. As the movie progresses, Harry becomes more mentally unstable, even making himself a Santa suit that he wears when he delivers the toys he stole from work in a van with a sleigh painted on it (this is actually important to remember) to a children’s home and all of the good boys and girls in his neighborhood. And then there is the part of Christmas Evil that sort of takes a turn into slasher territory as Harry gets revenge on those that have been naughty to him until he’s eventually chased down by a mob carrying torches (apparently, this town believes in hunting down criminals like they would Frankenstein’s monster) and drives off a bridge to his death.

Or was it?

Believe it or not, some say that Harry didn’t die at the end of Christmas Evil, but rather actually flew off into the night sky as Santa Claus, because the crazy ol’ cook believed so much! This is something that has divided fans of the movie for a long time. Personally, I’m on the side that believes Harry died. After you see the van begin to go off the bridge, it cuts to Harry’s brother (Jeffrey DeMunn for you Walking Dead fans) rolling down a hill and you can hear the van crashing. Now, those that believe Harry lived and became Santa will say that’s the sound of the garbage Harry’s brother is crashing into and they also will point out that as the scene carries on, you will see him look up into the sky, almost in disbelief. However, I could argue that he’s looking at the crash site, but I suppose there’s not that much Christmas whimsy in that. Take a look at the ending in the video below…

So what do you think? Do you think Harry was driven off the side of the bridge, and his sanity, to his own death or flew off that Christmas night, becoming Santa Claus? Both sides have a pretty good argument, so it really comes down to if you want a dark, but realistic ending or something a little magical, yet fits in tone with the film. I think both outcomes could work, but I guess it matters if you’re a glass is half full or empty kind of person.

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‘Evil Dead’ Film Franchise Getting TWO New Installments

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It was a risk for Fede Alvarez to reboot Sam Raimi’s horror classic The Evil Dead in 2013, but that risk paid off and so did its spiritual sequel Evil Dead Rise in 2023. Now Deadline is reporting that the series is getting, not one, but two fresh entries.

We already knew about the Sébastien Vaniček upcoming film that delves into the Deadite universe and should be a proper sequel to the latest film, but we are broadsided that Francis Galluppi and Ghost House Pictures are doing a one-off project set in Raimi’s universe based off of an idea that Galluppi pitched to Raimi himself. That concept is being kept under wraps.

Evil Dead Rise

“Francis Galluppi is a storyteller who knows when to keep us waiting in simmering tension and when to hit us with explosive violence,” Raimi told Deadline. “He is a director that shows uncommon control in his feature debut.”

That feature is titled The Last Stop In Yuma County which will release theatrically in the United States on May 4. It follows a traveling salesman, “stranded at a rural Arizona rest stop,” and “is thrust into a dire hostage situation by the arrival of two bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty-or cold, hard steel-to protect their bloodstained fortune.”

Galluppi is an award-winning sci-fi/horror shorts director whose acclaimed works include High Desert Hell and The Gemini Project. You can view the full edit of High Desert Hell and the teaser for Gemini below:

High Desert Hell
The Gemini Project

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‘Invisible Man 2’ Is “Closer Than Its Ever Been” to Happening

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Elisabeth Moss in a very well-thought-out statement said in an interview for Happy Sad Confused that even though there have been some logistical issues for doing Invisible Man 2 there is hope on the horizon.

Podcast host Josh Horowitz asked about the follow-up and if Moss and director Leigh Whannell were any closer to cracking a solution to getting it made. “We are closer than we have ever been to cracking it,” said Moss with a huge grin. You can see her reaction at the 35:52 mark in the below video.

Happy Sad Confused

Whannell is currently in New Zealand filming another monster movie for Universal, Wolf Man, which might be the spark that ignites Universal’s troubled Dark Universe concept which hasn’t gained any momentum since Tom Cruise’s failed attempt at resurrecting The Mummy.

Also, in the podcast video, Moss says she is not in the Wolf Man film so any speculation that it’s a crossover project is left in the air.

Meanwhile, Universal Studios is in the middle of constructing a year-round haunt house in Las Vegas which will showcase some of their classic cinematic monsters. Depending on attendance, this could be the boost the studio needs to get audiences interested in their creature IPs once more and to get more films made based on them.

The Las Vegas project is set to open in 2025, coinciding with their new proper theme park in Orlando called Epic Universe.

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Jake Gyllenhaal’s Thriller ‘Presumed Innocent’ Series Gets Early Release Date

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Jake gyllenhaal presumed innocent

Jake Gyllenhaal’s limited series Presumed Innocent is dropping on AppleTV+ on June 12 instead of June 14 as originally planned. The star, whose Road House reboot has brought mixed reviews on Amazon Prime, is embracing the small screen for the first time since his appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street in 1994.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s in ‘Presumed Innocent’

Presumed Innocent is being produced by David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, and Warner Bros. It is an adaptation of Scott Turow’s 1990 film in which Harrison Ford plays a lawyer doing double duty as an investigator looking for the murderer of his colleague.

These types of sexy thrillers were popular in the ’90s and usually contained twist endings. Here’s the trailer for the original:

According to Deadline, Presumed Innocent doesn’t stray far from the source material: “…the Presumed Innocent series will explore obsession, sex, politics and the power and limits of love as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”

Up next for Gyllenhaal is the Guy Ritchie action movie titled In the Grey scheduled for release in January 2025.

Presumed Innocent is an eight-episode limited series set to stream on AppleTV+ starting June 12.

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