Thanks for the memories!

I'll tell you why so serious

Awesome Movie

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

First,the good,the killer,he is unique and very interesting when it comes to his personality.The kills,they are creative and have great effects.The setting and the beginning are very creepy.The score and cinematography are good.There is a great scene where the killer talks to a little girl.I like how the movie shows that nobody is completely nice.The best part is the first 30 minutes,similar to the Halloween remake,they both delve into the killer's mind and how he is affected by the world around him.Now,the bad,the characters,they are all unlikable and you don't care about any of them.Another flaw is that there is too much nudity,it makes you feel awkward while watching it.There is no suspense and the killer gets worse once he starts killing everyone in sight for no reason and only saying the word "punish".Silent Night,Deadly Night is very overrated(horror fans love it),although it has good kills,setting,and concept,it also is too in your face,with no characters to care about.

I've watched numerous 'slasher' films over the years, so I flatter myself I've seen most things when it comes to the genre, but 'Silent Night, Deadly Night' kind of left me speechless. Yes, there's nothing that new about what you get here – killer stalks various people and despatches them in bloodthirsty ways. However, the whole feel of the film just left me unsure of what I was watching.This 'vibe' I'm talking about is either a deliberate attempt to do something a little different with the genre, or just bad film-making. I think there are arguments for and against each of these. I'm not sure whether the structure was supposed to be all over the place, but I was left never really sure where this film was going until about the final third (where it does start to conform to a more generic slasher film structure).You've probably seen the promotional material depicting a 'killer Santa' so I'll just leave it at that and I won't go into too much detail regarding the plot because I'd never seen the film before and I genuinely didn't know what to expect (besides the obvious slasher stuff). There are some bits that are actually quite neat and offer a slightly more refreshing take to a genre which was already pretty old when this film was released in 1984.Then you have bits of the film which suddenly become so damn cheesy and daft that you wonder whether this is a film that's a little more 'self aware' than you gave it credit for. Bits of it are so over the top I could see them being parodied on something like South Park.The gore isn't great, most likely due to budget restraints, so don't expect too much of the red stuff or any death scenes that you haven't already seen before. It may all be a bit tame (and very dated!) by today's standards, but, if you're looking for a classic slasher film with a few weird quirks and things you might not expect, this one may do the job.

Let's just state some facts. If you are a pretentious art-house critic, just walk away now. If you are under the age of 21 and expecting something akin to HOSTEL or anything that would pass as "gory" by today's standards, join that line walking away please. If you expect your horror to have some sort of serious story line and a well- crafted suspense, keep walking.This is a mean-spirited, misogynistic, violent slasher with an over- the-top story, boob shots galore and some fun kill scenes. Nothing more, nothing less. There are hundreds of movie that came out in the wake of Friday THE 13th, in the early 80s, that are all very similar. The basic premise was usually to take some holiday (or other such event like a slumber part, sleepaway camp, etc), give the usually male audience a few nudity shots to titillate, then give us some blood and death. Nothing extravagant, nothing complicated, but goddamn is this a fun movie.The odd atmosphere starts right in the beginning when a family goes to visit Gramps in the loony bin on Christmas. Good ole gramps proceeds to scare the poo out of young Billy about the true nature of Santa. This is obvious foreshadowing of the scene to come when Billy's parents are murdered by a thief in a Santa outfit. Young Billy ends up in an orphanage run by a cruel nun, who thinks she'll break him of his demented malady, but only pushes it further.Fast forward to the present day when Billy has become a muscular man, who gets his first job in a toy store (naturally) where events lead to Billy being forced to don a Santa suit and witnesses a scene that brings his parent's demise back to him in all the wrong ways, setting our anti-hero off on a murderous rampage. We get plenty of axe deaths, a hanging by Christmas lights and an impalement on horns along the way until the police finally save the day in a final confrontation back at the orphanage.You have to be the kind of viewer that knows you'll probably like this going into it. Sit back, grab an egg nog and just enjoy the sleigh ride. It's a fun, irreverent, twisted little take on the holidays that's well worth the watch for fans of the slasher.

Talking to a fellow IMDber last Christmas,I was surprised to discover that he had never heard about,what may possibly be the most infamous of the 80s Slasher wave.With somehow having not seen the film myself,I decided that it was time to find out how silent the night could be.The plot:Sitting in the backseat as his parents drive home after visiting their granddad for the Christmas holidays,Billy asks his dad to drive past a man dressed up as Santa Clause,who has broken down by the side of the road,due to Billy's granddad having secretly told Billy that he will get punished for being naughty.With it being the season of goodwill, Billy's dad ignores his sons request,and drives up to the man.Giving the family the worst X-Mas present possible.the man reveals himself to be a robber,who (whilst dressed as Santa) kills Billy's mum & dad,and leaves Billy traumatised for life.10 Years later:Sent to an orphanage,Billy gets taught via nuns what is right and what is wrong,via the nuns teaching Billy in the sweetest way possible:By hitting him with a belt.As Billy takes the beatings,his phobia of Santa deepens,to the point where he knocks out the orphanage's Santa! Deciding that Billy is old enough to get a job,a nun at the orphanage arranges for Billy to work in a toy store. Initially getting on with everyone,Billy soon finds that when the stores Christmas season begins,his rage for Santa returns.View on the film:Whilst Billy's naughty & nice code appears to go off and on whenever the film needs it, (with Billy appearing to forget his childhood traumas during a number of killings!) the screenplay by Michael Hickey & Paul Caimi does surprisingly well at opening up Billy's troubled mind,with the writers largely staying away from the Slasher cliché of dumb young things to instead focus on Billy's troubled childhood.Making sure that the title never becomes too serious,the writers give the movie a thick cut of black Comedy,with all of the characters appearing to be only one step away from being as insane as Billy.Stepping away from producing biblical TV movies,director Charles E. Sellier Jr. shows a wicked eye for splashing the screen in Santa red.Shot during a long winter,Sellier uses outdoor locations to give the title an excellent winter feel,with the snow-covered paths creaking,as Billy walks towards his next victim.Along with the delightfully warped Christmas atmosphere,Sellier also gives each of the the now thankfully uncut killings a very stylised appearance,which goes from a little girl getting the worst –Mas present possible,and an alluring Linnea Quigley getting far too close to a reindeer,which leads to this being a deadly silent night.