December brings our annual Holiday Horrors episode! This
year my two co-hosts have chosen a tale told twice and adapted from a 1953 comic
book story by the legendary Johnny Craig. The story is about a murderous wife
who decides to off her husband on Christmas Eve but then has to deal with an
escaped axe welding killer dressed in a Santa Claus costume. The best laid
plans of mice and murderers often go awry and this short story shows us a fine
example. 'And All Through the House' was first filmed as part of the Amicus
anthology movie directed by Freddie Francis in 1972. This may or may not have
been the first instance in cinema of a killer Santa but it certainly struck
home for viewers as it is the story that most people recall with great clarity
even years after a viewing. Creepy, chilling and sinister in tone it is a
difficult effort to beat.
In 1989 director Robert Zemeckis retold the tale as one of
the first episodes of HBO's wildly successful series Tales From The Crypt. Adapted
by Fred Dekker and lengthened out to fill a half hour time slot this version
throws in a few extra curves, amps up the dark humor and broadens the
performances for a more comic effect. The results are still pretty darned good
but - as with any remake - the debates will never rest. Listen in as Troy Guinn,
John Hudson and I discuss all three tellings of this Holiday Horror. We break
down the differences and consider the qualities that each film brings to the
table. We dig into the alterations, the motivations and the relative skill each
version imparts to the main character as well as the portrayal of the nearly
silent killer Kringle.
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