3
(overly strict nuns, faith discussion in the extras)
2
(sexuality, nudity, graphic violence, strong language)
4
(worth seeing for fans of odd old slashers)
I have to laugh at all the people that list “not for kids” in their reviews of "Silent Night Deadly Night." It's a freakin' slasher flick! How many of those ARE for little kids?? I guess it's because of it being a Christmas movie people may assume it's kid-friendly which is perhaps why this move caused a stir back in the day: the Jason/Freddy/Leatherface is Santa! Well, not really Santa like the one Tim Allen plays or even the robotic version that flies down in a sled to shove coal up your chimney. This is just about your average, everyday nutjob serial killer who happens to be dressed as Satan.... excuse me ….. as Santa.
I guess that's a little misleading. He doesn't just “happen” to dress as Santa, that really is an integral part of the story. As a child Billy is told by his crazy grandad that Santa is coming to punish him. Shortly thereafter a crook disguised as jolly old St. Nick slaughters his parents right in front of him after they have said something “naughty.” Move over Judge Dredd, Judge Claus is coming to town.
Rather than get the psychological counseling he needs, Billy is subjected to severe discipline for his emotional scars in a Catholic orphanage. By the time he reaches his later teen years this tall, strapping lad seems to have adjusted normally despite his horrific childhood. In reality Billy has it in his mind that Santa's job is to punish the naughty: punishment is both necessary and good, and death is the only reasonable consequence. When he is given the mantle of Santa by his boss at the toy store where he works (not knowing of Billy's traumatic past), Billy thinks he is being handed the task of punishing the naughty, and with some measure of reluctance he dutifully takes it. He punishes rapists, drunks, bullies, and fornicating teens. He also rewards the innocent, though his presents are twisted and creepy (one of the best scenes in the entire movie).
One of the nuns sees danger upon learning of Billy being handed the task of playing Santa. When she is too late to stop the rampage from beginning she helps the cops chase him down. The problem is that on Christmas Billy isn't the only one dressed as Santa which leads to additional tragedy at the hands of others. And Santa Billy rampages on leaving a wash of bodies in his wake.
I guess what I find interesting about this film is that it spends quite a long time developing the mentality of Billy becoming a killer – a story that is told from the viewpoint of the killer rather than the victims as in most slasher flicks. Where most slashers start with the killer and fill in a little of the backstory here and there, the backstory for Billy is the main focus. If it hadn't been a Santa killer, if he'd been old enough to understand that Santas don't typically commit violence, if he hadn't been taught that severe punishment was a good thing, or if he hadn't been asked to take on the mantle of Santa (which he very well might have avoided for his whole life if left to his own devices) chances are he never would have done anything more heinous than smack a guy for trying to molest the girl he likes.
I'm not saying this is high-quality film making, but it's by far the best of the Christmas horror movies I've seen which includes other “Silent Night (fill in the blank) Night” titles. I guess this movie got hit with more controversy because it was first, or at least the most notorious. People weren't desensitized enough to accept a Santa slayer back then. Now we have several of the kind plus killer snowmen and all kinds of craziness. Wasn't there a killer Tooth Fairy, too? Where's the Easter Bunny? Prejudiced filmmakers....
The movie is very obviously low budget but put together well enough. It has a good flow as long as you don't mind watching Billy's story unfold. If you want more of a Friday the 13th murder-every-x-minutes kind of pace you might get bored for a while although somewhere around half-way through that becomes the formula of Silent Night Deadly Night as well. I liked the development of Billy which is a large part of the reason this remains a guilty pleasure for me.
The plot doesn't always concern itself with being perfectly realistic. Take the grandfather; he seems to purposefully be leading everyone but Billy to think he's comatose yet sees the need to instill a fear of Santa in a small boy. Or how about what Billy knows about Santa both from others and in the songs he hears? Special concerns are given to making sure no one tries to explain the true nature of Santa to Billy, and the songs he hears don't create any images of the jolly old man actually being a benevolent entity. In other words, there is nothing Billy ever hears that creates in his mind a doubt that his views of Santa could be wrong and that the guy that killed his parents was a criminal acting completely contrary to what a normal Santa would do.
Don't get me wrong, I actually think this is all a nice attention to detail as far as forming Billy's perceptions of what is expected of him as Santa though it's highly unlikely anyone in this culture could go through life without hearing ideas about Santa that conflict with him being a bringer of death. These kinds of situations along with the gratuitous nature of many of the murder scenes break the movie out of the tight realism that so many movie patrons want these days.
Acting-wise I think Billy and the two nuns are relatively good. Since these are the most important roles they do a lot to keep the movie alive. Everyone here is practically a complete unknown with most that I looked up having a limited list of credits and nothing current. So the talent is a mixed bag with some being fair while others are weak at best.
The original Christmas songs are rather clever. While it's not the style of music I like, I do appreciate the lyrical structure. Most notably is the one the toy store owner sings which is again sung (more professionally) over the end credits. This seems to be the one Christmas song Billy would actually know (it seems to be the only one about Santa he ever hears). From one point of view the lyrics support Billy's view of Santa Claws, but on the other hand they don't actually say anything about Mr. Kringle that conflicts with his common image. It's all about word choice and omission of details. Most people upon hearing it wouldn't take it as anything dark yet Billy can take it as a confirmation of his misguided views.
Beyond the movie itself I find this to be interesting from a sociological perspective because of the reactions to it. It's sure to be offensive to many, but I swear people act like this film turns the Lord God Jesus Christ into a killer rather than the fictitious Santa Claus, and not even the “actual” Santa but an abused kid with a twisted notion of who Santa is supposed to be.
Morality
This is a movie that enjoys being gratuitous in virtually every way. The murder scenes are more concerned with being cinematic than realistic with the most notable being a girl impaled on the antlers of a mounted animal. People are stabbed, sliced, impaled, strangled, shot, and decapitated in typical slasher-movie form. We don't see guts or anything on that level of gore, but we do see plenty of blood spilled.
There are two attempted rapes. The scene with Billy's mother, which shows her topless and having her throat graphically cut, is shown in quick flashbacks throughout the story. Young Billy watches a teen couple getting their groove on in the orphanage with some shots of erotic fondling. They are summarily caught and beaten by Mother Superior. Older Billy dreams of sex with Pamela. We see them lying naked in bed positioned to keep certain body parts just barely out of view. We see a little of Billy's butt and Pamela's chest. Pamela is later molested by a coworker (the other attempted rape I mentioned) who rips her shirt open so that she is topless. With breasts exposed the entire time we then see a closeup of her stomach being stabbed. Later a teen couple are getting frisky but are interrupted just before their pants come off. The girl walks around topless for a minute or two and then is hung on the antlers while still topless.
There is plenty of strong language throughout. The F bomb is dropped a number of times along with other strong words.
Spirituality
Billy's adolescent torment comes in the way of overly strict nuns at a Catholic orphanage. One of the nuns does act heroically as she tries to stop Billy as much for his own sake as for those he is hurting. Even with her actions people sensitive to the Catholic church being portrayed negatively should take note. If that weren't enough, a priest is one of the people slain.
The most interesting bit of spirituality comes not in the movie itself but in the DVD extras which reveal the director to be a Christian. You'll get to hear him speak about his faith and the impact making this movie has had on him personally and professionally (check out my buying guide for a list of the extras). He also mentions that his usage of a Catholic orphanage was not meant to be a jab against religion but was simply the best fit for the plot.
Final Thoughts
I used to find overly gratuitous movies like this more entertaining than I do now. I can't say I find anything spiritually edifying here and don't recommend it on those merits. I do find the Christian director's comments to be interesting which, more than anything, makes me glad I was able to check out the DVD release. From a narrative perspective I like the character development of Billy and the approach of telling the story through his eyes rather than the victims'. Mostly, though, this is only going to appeal to audiences who are looking for older blood and boobs slasher flicks.
Buying Guide
The first “Silent Night Deadly Night” is not a movie I've ever seen readily available on DVD or any other format. It seems like it gets released periodically then goes out of print quickly.
Last time I checked you cannot get the movie by itself on DVD, you'll have to get is as a double-feature with part 2. There are 2 of these with one being called a “DVD Double Feature” which is out of print and the other being a “Christmas Survival Double Feature.”
If you see a 3 disc set be warned that this contains sequels 3-5 and not the original movie although the cover art makes it look like the original is included.
I saw a 4 pack called “Evil Places” offering this title, but when I looked deeper into it for you, faithful readers, I discovered that the film that's actually included is “Silent Night Bloody Night” a totally different movie.
A 30th Anniversary is your only option for Blu-ray. It offers 1.85 widescreen at 1080p and 5.1 Dolby HD surround sound. The image quality gets a lot of harsh criticism with virtually nothing positive said about it at all. Audio is almost as weak with the most positive comments being that the dialogue is intelligible. Extras appear to include everything that is present on the DVD plus a commentary that sounds like it could be interesting. This is, of course, the unrated cut.
The “Christmas Survival Double Feature” being essentially the exact same release as the one I have with slightly different packaging and layout. The only real differences are that it is a 2-disc set rather than a double-sided single disc, and there is no insert that I've ever seen get a mention.
Final Recommendation:
The out of print DVD can be ridiculously pricy which makes me happy I got mine free (a promotion/apology for someone messing up a different order), but I can't see any advantage to hunting it down instead of just getting the new edition (except that I like the cover art slightly more). The Blu sounds like nothing special only offering an additional commentary for the price hike (though it, too, was pretty cheap last time I checked). The A/V quality might be a tad better than DVD but probably not enough to be worth much. You will sacrifice getting the sequel by going with the Blu, but you wouldn't be missing out on much. With the rate these have gone out of print in the past, if you're going to get this you might want to do so ASAP especially when it comes to the Blu. Maybe if you're good Santa will bring you one this year. The sequel has its own guide if you want to see what get with it.
The DVD Double Feature is a 1-disc set with each movie having a side of the disc dedicated to it.
Video
1.85 widescreen:
The image is pretty grainy and not at all sharp. It's better than what I remember from seeing it on VHS, but it's not great.
Audio
2.0 Dolby:
It's encoded as stereo, but the mix is mono. The package announces the audio specs in tee-tiny letters at the bottom as if whispering low enough that maybe you won't notice. It's relatively thin and dated but clear. There's a little bit of fill in the rear channels but not enough to make much difference.
Packaging
The case is standard plastic.
An insert includes some poster art. (I got mine second-hand without the insert so I don't know much else about it.)
The interface has a static image with a graphic that looks more like it belongs with the sequel. There is a music loop that is a little distorted.
This edit is presented uncut and unrated.
Extras