25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS EVIL : DAY 23 & 24 : ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE (1972 & 1989)

It's difficult to write a list of christmas horror movies without covering All through The House. I was unsure about how to cover it, these are definitly 2 of my favourites, as there are two versions of the story. The first appeared in the feature length Tales From The Crypt movie in 1972 as one if it's stories and the other appeared as one of the first episodes of the popular late 80's/early 90's tv show based on the same source material. 

In both instances the story is the same, a woman murders her husband on Christmas Eve as her young daughter sleeps unstairs. Conincidently a lunatic dressed in a Santa suit has escaped a local asylum and has been on ramapge throughout the evening. When the killer strikes the woman sees an opportunity to pass off the murder as another of the madman's, but she may be too late as he may already be in the house.

The original version plays it all very straight and although the tension is played well, the Santa clad killer is somewhat small and frail looking, it's a little abstract and works, but it feels a little dated now. However you can see why it's remembered so fondly as it really was quite ahead of its time when it was released, Chillingly resembling the forthcoming Halloween (78) and even Black Christmas (73) in many ways, it's clear why it has been adapted more than once.

The second version is played a little more over the top and definitly more for laughs, which was common of the tv series. The new Santa looks much more grotesque and there are some added elements that secure the woman's motive in killing her husband that just makes the whole thing work a little better. The twist remains the same and is just more shocking in its presentation.

Happy Horror Holidays.

See you Tomorrow.

MJ