Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

An Exercise In Nonsense

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

I usually watch the obvious festive films every year, and occasionally I try to find the ones I have missed out on, especially the alternative ones, this was far from any of the usual cuddly and feel-good Christmas movies I have seen. Basically on Christmas Eve 1971, five-year-old Billy (Jonathon Best) and his family visit catatonic Grandpa (Will Hare) at the nursing home where he stays. Billy is left alone with the grandfather for a few minutes, suddenly he awakens and tells Billy he should be afraid of Santa Claus, saying he only gives presents to good children, but punishes those who have been naughty. A criminal dressed in a Santa outfit (Charles Dierkop) has just robbed a liquor store and killed the store clerk, while driving home, Billy's family see him seemingly having car trouble. As Billy's parents, mother Ellie (Tara Buckman) and father Jim (Geoff Hansen), pull over to help, the criminal shoots the father in the head, then pulls out the mother, attempts to rape her, and slits her throat with a switchblade, Billy runs away, leaving his baby brother Ricky (Melissa Best) in the car. Three years in 1974, eight-year-old Billy (Danny Wagner) and four-year-old Ricky (Max Broadhead) are celebrating Christmas in an orphanage, run by strict disciplinarian Mother Superior (Lilyan Chauvin ), who persistently strikes children who misbehave, she considers punishment for their wicked actions a good thing. Sister Margaret (Gilmer McCormick ), the only one who sympathises with the children, tries to help Billy interact with the other children, but he is constantly scrutinised and punished by Mother Superior. Billy does a drawing of Santa and a reindeer being slaughtered, he is beaten, then on Christmas morning, a man invited to the orphanage dressed as Santa Claus gets attacked by Billy, who is still haunted by the deaths of his parents, he is dragged away by Mother Superior. Ten years later, in spring 1984, eighteen-year-old Billy (Robert Brian Wilson) has left the orphanage for a normal life, he finds a job working at the local toy store with the help of Sister Margaret. Billy develops a crush on co-worker Pamela (Toni Nero), he has sexual thoughts of her, but he continues to suffer morbid visions of his parent's murder. On Christmas Eve, the employee who usually dresses up as Santa Claus has been injured the night before, so the boss Mr. Sims (Britt Leach) makes Billy take his place. The store closes, and staff attend the Christmas party, Billy (still dressed in the Santa Claus suit) tries to enjoy himself, he the memory of the death of his parents continue to haunt him and make him feel depressed. At one point, he sees co-worker Andy (Randy Stumpf) making out with Pamela, then he sees him trying to rape her in the back room, this psychologically triggers his insanity; he hangs Andy with a set of Christmas lights, and stabs Pamela with a utility knife, uttering darkly that punishment is good. A highly intoxicated Mr. Sims hears noises and goes to investigate, he is shocked to find the corpses, Billy murders him with a hammer before he can leave. Billy then turns the store lights off, his manager Mrs. Randall (Nancy Borgenicht) goes to see what is going on, she screams seeing Mr. Sims dead, Billy cuts the phone line before she can call the police, after a chase around the store, Billy kills Mrs. Randall, shooting her with a bow and arrow. As Sister Margaret discovers the carnage and returns to the orphanage to call for help, Billy breaks into a nearby house, he finds a young couple named Denise (Linnea Quigley) and Tommy (Leo Geter) having sex; Billy impales Denise on the antlers of a deer on the wall, and throws tommy through the window, he is impaled by broken glass. This wakes up the little girl named Cindy (Amy Styvesant), either a younger sibling or daughter of the couple, Billy confronts her and asks if she has been naughty or nice; she says nice and Billy gives her a utility knife as a present. When he leaves the house, Billy witnesses bullies picking on two teenage boys sledding, they steal their toboggans, he decapitates one of the bullies with an axe, the other screams in horror seeing his headless body. The next morning, the orphanage has been secured by Officer Barnes (Max Robinson) and Captain Richards (H.E.D. Redford), aided by Sister Margaret, who knows Billy has been committing the murders. Deaf pastor Father O'Brien, dressed in a Santa Claus suit, is mistakenly shot by Barnes approaching the orphanage, then when distracted Barnes is axed by Billy. Due to his Santa outfit, Billy gains access to the orphanage, he confronts Mother Superior who is in a wheelchair, she taunts Billy due to her disbelief in Santa Claus, he prepares to kill her with his axe. Richards appears and shoots Billy in the back, to the disapproval of Sister Margaret, dying Billy lays and utters to the children "You're safe now, Santa Claus is gone.", then succumbs to his wounds, the children gather around him, including Billy's fourteen-year-old brother Ricky (Alex Burton), he stares coldly at Mother Superior and utters "naughty". Also starring Eric Hart as Mr. Levitt (Storekeeper) and A. Madeline Smith as Sister Ellen. This movie caused a lot of controversy at the time of its release, with American parents protesting about the effect that portraying Father Christmas as a mad murderer would have on children, other than that it is a routine slasher style scary movie. It's a simple story of a troubled boy who had a horrible childhood trauma at Christmas, then goes mental and ends up on going on a killing spree as a demented Santa to punish "naughty" people, the deaths are certainly gory, so you get what you expect, it's cheesy and a bit laughable, but at the same time it's kind of a fun, and it spawned a franchise, a reasonable seasonal horror. Okay!

In 1974, Bob Clark released Black Christmas. At the time it was probably great, but to me, it's kinda tame in today's time. In 1980, we got Christmas Evil, aka You Better Watch Out. I'll admit that it has grown on me over the years, but there's one Christmas horror film that beats 'em all; Silent Night, Deadly Night. It was extremely controversial when it was released in 1984. Tons of angry mothers petitioned to have the film removed from theaters, and they were all crazy! I was about 10 when I first saw this, and I've loved it ever since. It's a must watch if you're a horror fan that loves Christmas. The movie has a great sleazy tone, and it has a pretty depressing storyline. At a young age, Billy witnesses the murder of his parents by a guy in a Santa Claus suit. Billy believes he's the real Santa and that he was punished for being naughty. He and his brother Ricky (Who takes over in the later sequels) are sent to an orphanage where the brutal Mother Superior tries to discipline him. Years later, Billy gets a job at a toy store, but it soon takes a turn for the worse when his boss asks him to play Santa for the kids. All the repressed memories come out, and Billy goes on a mission to punish the naughty by killing them. With an axe, a crossbow, deer antlers, Christmas lights and other deadly gadgets. This is the perfect film to watch and get cozy with as you celebrate the bloody Christmas season. I highly recommend SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT!!!

This is one of the best Christmas-themed horror movies I ever saw, I was surprised at how well made it was when I first watched it. It was quite competently put together and for an 80's slasher very measured and slow-burning in how it tells the story. I had a feeling I'd find it a fun one when the glorious little title with the animated blood popped up, such a classic touch! It tells its story in a very straightforward and even blunt manner, and as opposed to most slasher movie killers where you only learn who they are and what their insane motivation is in the last ten minutes or so, this movie establishing everything that happens in the killer's life in the first half hour, that twists him from innocent child to axe-wielding maniac and leads up to his Christmas Eve night of terror. His progression is layered, and it forces you to sympathise and relate to the killer as a character despite the horrific things that he does, and that was a clever and different approach to me when I watched it. So a little kid named Billy, his slobbery baby brother and their parents decide it'd be a great idea to go visit the seemingly comatose grandpa one Christmas, only for the wily old coot to spring to life when everyone except for poor little Billy leaves the room, and he tells him a terrifying fact about Santa that puts the fear of god into him, and oh my but Will Hare as that crazy grandpa was so epic, what a hilarious and deliciously creepy blast he made that scene, you the man gramps! Soon after the tyke sees his parents murdered by a crook in a Santa Claus outfit, and he and his brother get raised in a catholic run orphanage, which further traumatises and warps his impressionable young mind thanks to the puritanical influence of the abusive mother superior. The scene where the much uglier young Billy punches out the Santa that he's been forced to sit on in order to conquer his Santa Claus-strophobia cracks me up every time. Flash forward to where the now handsome and wholesome-looking youth that Billy has become at 18, is given a job at a toy store around Christmas time where they soon stick him in a Santa suit, which really starts the meltdown gears turning as he essentially becomes the terrible punisher of the naughty that he's always feared. Then the final straw that truly breaks the psychological camel's back and causes him to go over the edge for good is when, while working late one night he sees a coworker attempting to rape the first girl he's ever been interested in, and after she doesn't respond very well to his gruesome rescue of her from her assailant he kills her and embarks on a murderous Yuletide rampage of blood! And it's a great little rampage, his (now) trademark war-cries of "Naughty!" And "Punish!" as he punishes the naughty are so ridiculous yet so awesome and they fit right into the tone. There's some good suspenseful sequences and gorily satisfying kills, with the dickhead on the sled getting his ugly head lopped off mid-ride and the always cool and lovely Linnea Quigley getting impaled on reindeer antlers being the ones that stand out. And then as the picture reaches it's end it's a bit of a tragic end for Billy as he's gunned down before he can strike the only one that perhaps deserved his rage, and as he dies clawing at the crippled mother superior's dress and she looks down on him dispassionately and gets away unscathed after she was partly to blame for he monster he turned into, the notion that she could be seen as the real villain of the movie is pretty unmistakable. Then I love that groan-inducing classic twist in the tale as it pans to Billy's younger brother who gives the mother superior a nasty look and says "Naughty!", strongly implying that he himself may someday be going crazy for Christmas, and we all know what came of that(!) So I really don't believe that this movie deserved whatsoever all the s**t that was heaped upon it way back at the time of its release, besides being harmless, it was absolutely not the first thing ever to bring Santa and horror together. I don't think it taints the Christmas Spirit at all, in a way I think it screams it - be damn good or die!!! Despite being chock full of blood and death, it still strangely does have a certain nice festive feel to it, I love how eerie and sinister they make the moving Christmas mascots in the department store seem, and the soundtrack really suits it, even some of the more schmaltzy and downright dumb song choices that make it feel like a sitcom. What a shame though that the film was robbed of its prime that way by a petty flash in a pan media circus. But hey it's certainly found its place now as a 'cult' horror flick, to use a term I don't personally like. It deserves to be appreciated and remembered though definitely, because it's a nasty Christmassy horror movie that's a lot of fun, don't need no more reason than that! And the joke ultimately was kind of on them as the minor controversy gave the movie a touch of infamy. So while it's not a slasher I could watch every week, it's still a very enjoyable, entertaining and solid horror film and the best in a series of increasingly bizarre sequels. Watch around the happy holidays for a slashing good time! Ho-ho-horror!! x

In his book Poetic Diction, Owen Barfield posits that there is a moment in the evolution of every language where conditions are perfect for a masterpiece to be born. It's a moment when a majority of the speakers of the language fully understand how it works, but the "rules" have not yet been chiseled into stone. There exists a perfect balance of structure to build upon without the rigidity of form.Doubtless Mr. Barfield would object to his philosophy being applied to the slasher film genre in general, and Silent Night, Deadly Night in particular, but the application is apt nonetheless. The 80s were a perfect storm in the evolution of cinematic language of the slasher film. The films that preceded that time had not completely codified the tropes of the genre, and the films that followed were necessarily works of imitation and deconstruction. But at the exact balancing point between chaos and convention, Silent Night, Deadly Night emerged, whole and complete and perfect in every way.The story opens with a typical family going to visit their grandfather in a mental institution on Christmas Day. He sits in his wheelchair, seemingly catatonic, until the rest of the family leaves little Billy Chapman alone with the old man. Then he begins to speak, whispering to Billy that Santa Claus rides out each year, not only to bring presents to the good children, but to punish those who have been naughty even once.Later Billy's family stops to help a man in a Santa suit who has broken down by the side of the road; but the man turns out to be a robber who brutally murders Billy's mother and father right in front of him.As the years pass Billy has an understandable fear of Santa Claus, despite having blocked the specifics of that night from his young mind, but the Mother superior at the Catholic orphanage where he is raised believes the best way to treat his phobias is by administering ever more stringent discipline, forcing Billy's fears ever further inward. This song of psychological trauma finally crescendos into madness when an adult Billy is asked to wear the garb of a department store Santa Claus.Silent Night, Deadly Night is fascinating because of the line it walks between bowing to the tropes of the 80's slasher film, and making its own way. On the one hand it indulges in violence for violence's sake, killing off amorous teens and stereotypical bullies in increasingly gruesome and creative set pieces. Take those scenes out of context and it could just as easily be Jason Vorhees or Freddy Krueger lopping off heads and impaling nubile teens on mounted antlers (do you get it? She's horny). But context is everything. And Billy Chapman is not like Jason or Freddy. His backstory is not painted in a broad strokes flashback narrated by the people he's about to slaughter. We see how he got to be this way. He's not a supernatural, unstoppable force. He's just a guy who's been taken beyond the breaking point by the cruel twists and turns of life.Silent Night, Deadly Night drags the subversive truth of how we view slasher films into the cold light of day; it knows we aren't really cheering for the stupid teenagers. It knows that on some level, the killer is the hero of the film. Silent Night, Deadly Night does away with beating around the moral bush and makes the slasher the main character.And it succeeds on more than a theoretical level. The cinematography here is beautiful; the framing, perfect; the set design, spot on. The actors could easily be forgiven for mailing in their lines in such a bizarre movie, but instead their performances bring even more depth to these characters. In particular, the role of the Mother Superior could have easily devolved into a cartoonishly evil caricature, but instead Lilyan Chauvin brings a depth to the character that makes her seem real and relatable.Silent Night Deadly Night entered the world in a storm of controversy. Critics panned it simply for its subject matter, believing that it was an attack on Christmas and Santa Claus and all that was good in the world. But for all of its gore and gruesome violence, Silent Night Deadly Night isn't a mean-spirited movie. It's a story about a boy who lost his way and eventually lost his mind, in the dark days of what should have been season of cheer. And it's a dirge for every time the true spirit of Christmas is lost in the shadow of selfishness and cynicism.For more reviews like this, check out HumanEchoes.com.