Movie Review: Silent Night, Deadly Night

Silent Night, Deadly Night 

TriStar Pictures, Slayride, USA, 1984. 

If you are looking for fun Christmas movie for the whole family skip this one! 

Billy (Robert Brian Wilson) had a troubled childhood. In 1971 grandpa (Will Hare) who is in mental hospital scares young Billy (Jonathan Best). Santa Claus will punish Billy! Soon robber dressed in Santa's costume murders Billy's parents (Tara Buckman and Jeff Hansen). 

Grandpa

Billy and his family

Three years later Billy (Danny Wagner) and his brother Ricky (Max Broadhead) are in orphanage. Traumatized Billy draws violent pictures and gets in trouble with fanatically strict Mother Superior (Lilyan Chauvin). Harsh upbringing methods only make Billy feel worse. 

Mother Superior

Ten years later friendly nun Margaret (Gilmer McCormick) gets Billy a job at toy store an for a while life smiles. He has a crush on Pamela (Toni Nero) who works also there. When Christmas approaches old traumas return. When Billy is forced to wear a Santa Claus costume, he snaps, grabs an axe and begins to slaughter folks. Naughty! Punish!

Billy

Santa and Pamela

Santa will punish!

As a slasher film it is not bad. Also the makers tried to add some psychological aspect to make Billy's mental detoriation more understandable. Billy seems even sympathetic before going into murderous mode. After that the film goes into standard psycho-killer mode with cruel and gory murders and some nudity. As a Holiday themed horror it is not bad and the backstory makes it a bit more interesting than regular masked killer- movie. When this was released it raised a moral panic although it was not the first or last Christmas-themed slasher film. Still the controversy helped to make it a cult video film followed by four sequels. 

Rating: Good 

Starring: Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero, Robert Brian Wilson, Britt Leach, Nancy Borgenicht, H.E.D. Redford, Danny Wagner, Linnea Quigley, Leo Geter, Randy Stumpf, Will Hare, Tara Buckman, Geoff Hansen, Charles Dierkop, Eric Hart, Jonathan Best, A. Madeline Smith, Amy Styvesant, Max Robinson, Vinc Massa, John Michael Alvarez , John Bishop, Richard C. Terry, Oscar Rowland, Richard D. Clark, Tip Boxell, Angela Montoya, Molly Cameron, Jayne Luke, Joan Forster, Betsy Nagel, Barbara Stafford, Paul Mulder, Spencer Ashby, J. Paul Broadhead, Alex Burton, Max Broadhead, Melissa Best, Dan Rogers, Spencer Alston, Kristi Ballard, Jacob Peterson, Jonathan Wilde, Susie Massa, Sarah Stuyvesant, Aron Kincaid, Judith Roberts, Jean-Paul Rodrigues, Micheline Rodrigues, Monique Rodrigues, Don Shanks 

Director: Charles E. Sellier Jr.