What begins as an interesting and involving (if somewhat amateurishly acted) twist on the genre devolves into a bog standard slice and dice affair.
On Christmas Eve 1971, five year old Billy (Jonathan Best,} his baby brother, and his parents take a drive to visit Grandpa at a nursing home. Supposedly catatonic, Grandpa speaks to Billy when the two are left alone. He tells Billy that if he’s been naughty, Santa Claus will punish him. Billy is understandably shocked by this revelation. Billy’s parents come back into the room and Grandpa resumes his catatonia.
On the drive home, the family stops to aid a man in a Santa suit who’s car has broken down. Unfortunately, this is a ruse perpetrated by a murderous criminal. Billy sees his parents murdered by the man in Santa Claus suit while his grandfather’s words echo in his head.
Flash forward three years and Billy and his brother have been placed in an orphanage. Mother Superior (Lilyan Chauvin) is an authoritarian and subjects Billy to harsh punishments and abuse. Billy finds an ally in Sister Margaret (Gilmer McCormick,) who unsuccessfully tries to shield Billy from Mother Superior’s torment. When the holiday season rolls around, Billy is visibly shaken by the appearance of Santa Claus at the orphanage. When Mother Superior forces him to sit on Santa’s lap, Billy’s fight or flight response kicks in and he punches Santa out.
Ten years later, Billy emerges from the orphanage as an adult. Sister Margaret gets him a job working at a toy store in the stockroom. With the holiday approaching, Billy begins having flashbacks to his parents’ murder. When the store Santa calls in sick on Christmas Eve, Billy’s new boss asks him to play Santa for the children. What could go wrong? Just a murder spree, that’s all.
Silent Night, Deadly Night was made and released at the slasher movie’s zenith in the early 1980s. What begins as an interesting and involving (if somewhat amateurishly acted) twist on the genre devolves into a bog standard slice and dice affair. I thought the circumstances of Billy’s upbringing were interesting and made him a somewhat sympathetic character. Even knowing the film was going to be a slasher beforehand didn’t ease the disappointment when Billy picks up an axe and starts swinging.
I was expecting the usual slasher fare and preparing for the usual tropes. When the film opened with a genuinely shocking scene and a decidedly unique premise, I thought that maybe — just maybe — this one was going to be different. While it sheds all pretense of being anything but at the halfway point, it still manages to not be a complete waste of time.
Charles E. Sellier Jr.’s direction is competent and there’s a surprising amount of original (and witty) Christmas music in the soundtrack. The makeup effects are decent. The kills aren’t very elaborate but a few are creative.
If you’re looking for a good Christmas-themed horror movie to watch with friends while chugging egg nog, Silent Night, Deadly Night isn’t what I’d recommend. But, if you’re in the mood for an example of a slasher that — for a bit — isn’t the same old same old, give it a shot.
2.5 out of 5.0 stars
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