Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) Review

Silent Night, Deadly Night was directed by Charles E. Sellier Jr. and stars Lilyan Chauvin (from Sublime, Death Doll), Britt Leach (from Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker, Night Cries) and H.E.D. Redford (from The Returning, The Fall Of The House Of Usher). It’s about a kid who sees his parents killed by Santa who later grows up to kill people as Santa.

NAUGHTY!!!

Silent Night Deadly Night lit a fire under a lot of people back when it was first released. Not only was an ax wielding Santa featured in the trailer which was shown on free public TV for the first time (during family-friendly sitcoms), but it featured brutal violence, nudity and shined a light on the abusiveness of the church. Not exactly what people considered yuletide cheer.

Parent’s were freaking out. Critics were raging. Theaters were pulling it. Imagine if they had Mercy Christmas floating around back then? Their heads would have exploded through their fragile little eyes.

Silent Night Deadly Night easily ranks among my top 3 favorite serious Christmas horror movies of all time. It might even take the #1 spot, followed by Christmas Evil and Dead End (honorable mention goes to Black Christmas).

The movie is just so empathetic and surprisingly realistic. This kid, Billy, experiences extreme mental trauma as a child, gets put into a foster home run by an abusive nun and later in life has a mental break after being forced to dress up as a department store Santa. After the store closes on Christmas Eve he witnesses a co-worker trying to rape another, a direct flashback to what he saw his mom experience when he was young. Mental break confirmed. So Billy goes on an understandable killing spree on his way to the orphanage where mother superior still reigns.

There’s so many iconic scenes in this movie. The naked chick being impaled on antlers. The sledding teen decapitation. The old man being gunned down in front of kids. I can’t for the life of me figure out what got all those parents so upset…