Silent Night, Deadly Night (2008)

Traumatized by his parents Christmas Eve rape and
murder, little Billy Chapman is brutalized by sadistic orphanage nuns. When a grown-up Billy is forced to dress as jolly St. Nick, he goes on a yuletide rampage to punish the naughty. Santa Claus is coming to
town...and this time he's got an axe! Robert Brian
Wilson and Linnea Quigley star in this jaw-dropping horror hit that a nation of angry mothers still can t stop! Product Description

Santa is going to butcher you for being naughty!

A young Billy(Danny Wagner) together with his family visits his grandfather in a mental hospital. Appearing to be in an unresponsive state, the grandfather only speaks to Billy. Telling him Santa appears to punish the naughty. An altercation takes place with a man in a Santa outfit. Which leaves Billy and his younger brother in an orphanage. Many years later Billy(Robert Brian Wilson) soon succumbs to his demons.

After a very strong start and providing a very good background for the main characters motive during the first half. "Silent Night Deadly Night" was well on its way to being a great slasher to me. At times it was unintentionally funny and I pretty much had a good time with it. The second half took a turn and was very predictable alot of the time. It even came off cheesy at times. But I think the weak acting on the killers part created that feel.

The violence is pretty good plus one scene gets some points for imagination alone. The gore is fairly decent but nothing over the top. You get a nice dose of T but not enough A. Some parts of the movie bothered me because several things begged to be clarified. But oh well.

Overall "Silent Night Deadly Night" is a cool title to check out, 3.5 stars here. Slasher fans should definitely give this a shot. It takes some time getting to the kills but it rarely slows down once it gets there. October 19, 2008

A fun, holiday-themed slasher...

The DVD Anchor Bay put together is very good as usual. These people know how to make fans happy. Avoid the other 4 sequels which are very poor. However, the first film has really spooky music, a clear picture and transfer and several good moments to enjoy. The beginning where they visit the grandfather is creepy when he starts ranting about how Santa punishes bad children on Christmas Eve. And then Billy's parents are killed by a robber in a Santa suit on the same night. Fast forward four years and Billy is living in an orphanage with a strict, iron-handed Mother Superior who believes punishment is necessary for bad children. Fast forward another ten years and Billy is 18 and working at a department store over Christmas. After seeing a fellow co-worker harrassed in the back room while flashbacks of all the horror he experienced when he was younger, he finally snaps and begins a killing spree to punish all the bad (including one with antlers from a deer head hung on the wall!) For a holiday-themed horror film, I thought this was pretty entertaining. My favorite is Black Christmas and that one is much better by far, but this one is worth being in any horror fans collection. Even if it's just for all the controversy it caused when it was first released in 1984 because they idea of a killer in a Santa suit was too much for some people to grasp. While I agree kids don't need to see commerical advertisements and posters that suggest Santa is dangerous, this movie is pure adult entertainment. Kids go to summer camp and trick or treating, but I didn't see people complaining about the Friday the 13th or Halloween films when those came out. Silent Night Deadly Night should not be singled out because of that. Parents simply don't need to have their kids watching this, end of story. That's why it's rated R. And just a reminder to all parents that Santa is not real! We let kids believe he is real for the mere fun of it. People back then should have found something more worthwhile to protest about, it's just a movie! The strongest performance here is obviously Lilyan Chauvin's as Mother Superior. The rest are mediocre. October 8, 2008

"NAUGHTY! PUNISH!"

Right from the opening bit with the child singing the creepy Christmas song along with the zoom on the 'Silent Night' wreath and the 70s-style animated blood splashing onto it to from the lettering of 'Deadly Night', you know you're in for a treat. Pitch black in its darkness and depressing Christmas-y feel, it stays with you.

The story revolves around Billy, a boy who was exposed to the trauma of seeing his parents murdered (and his mother nearly raped) at the hands of a drug addict assailant dressed, conveniently, as Santa Claus. Also convenient is that Billy had just come back from visiting his senile grandfather with his parents and the grandfather has just told him that "Santa doesn't bring presents to naughty children....he PUNISHES THEM!"
This combines to create extreme baggage for Billy in the form of a lifelong terror of Santa Claus (which is accentuated by growing up, parentless, in a brutal Catholic orphanage). Pushed to the edge later in the movie after having to play Santa Claus at his job years later, he goes on a killing spree that night. I shant spoil the rest, but as mentioned before it's dark, depressing, blackly humourous in parts (the part where he dispatches a bully on a sled and the reaction of the other bully is hilarious), it makes for one of the most memorable 80s slashers I've ever seen.

In short, it's a classic if you love 80s b-flicks and horror. Remember, punishment is ALWAYS good! August 30, 2008

Why all the fuss

Contravery! Where? I didn't see any! Real low budget! I loved how they made such a fuss on the cover, tricked me into buying it! A waste of a movie. August 10, 2008

Lilyan Chauvin Delivers An Oscar-winning Performance in "Silent Night, Deadly Night"

Lilyan Chauvin delivers an Oscar-winning performance as the control freak, Mother Superior, in "Silent Night, Deadly Night." I hated Mother Superior with a passion. She was very cruel, sadistic and self-righteous; she is very instrumental in causing Billy to grab an ax and "punish" all sinners, including some bullies who are sledding down a hill.

Though not on a par with Bob Clark's classic "Black Christmas" of 1974, "Silent Night, Deadly Night" is an enjoyable entry in the Christmas holiday slasher fare. Anchor Bay did an excellent job of presenting this movie in its original uncut version. The theatrical version nearly cut out ten minutes from the beginning, which was instrumental in explaining Billy's fear that Santa Claus would punish him. The additional footage showed the killer Santa Claus robbing a convenience store and shooting dead the attendant; it also shows Billy's visit with his grandfather in the insane asylum.

The movie has a high body count and the action is well paced. However, the acting could've been better. The actor chosen to play Billy was too "pretty." When he was wearing the Santa Claus suit, he looked very feminine - almost like a man in drag.

"Silent Night, Deadly Night" is highly recommended for those who enjoy holiday slasher fare. It is actually one of the better entries. August 9, 2008

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