Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

A young boy witnesses the murder of his parents by a man dressed as Santa. He and his baby brother spend their youth in an orphanage, run by a strict Mother Superior. When Billy turns 18, something in him snaps and he goes on a killing spree, dressed like Santa. Whenever someone brings up the subject of great Christmas movies, usually we think of the heartwarming kind. A Christmas Story and It's A Wonderful Life are just a couple that people would name off the top of their heads. Never was there a Christmas film where people died at the hands of some monster; until the 70s.

The first feature length horror film to take place at Christmas time was 1973s Silent Night, Bloody Night. However, neither it nor the following year's Black Christmas sparked any real controversy. Then in 1984, Columbia TriStar released a low budget slasher film that rocked the nation. The reason for this was because it depicted a man dressed as Santa Claus going on murderous rampage. It's the stuff of Hollywood legend, with angry parents picketing the film and critics tearing it apart. Despite all this, plus the fact it was pulled from theatres, the film earned a cult following that lives to this day.

Though like other slasher films in many ways, Silent Night, Deadly Night has a pretty original premise. The structure of the film is different in that we get some back story on the killer. This was the one and only horror film from late filmmaker Charles E. Sellier, Jr. and he does a great job. He gets some really neat shots and creates some suspense. He also gets really good performances from his actors, better than you'd expect. For example, Lilyan Chauvin takes what was probably a one dimensional character on paper and gives it some depth.

The body count here is high and the methods of death are creative. The best one is undoubtedly the fate that befalls the great Linnea Quigley. It is nice however that unlike many low budget slashers, this one's a bit more than the slaughter of people. They actually attempted a plot and though it still could have used work, it's a good try. Though not played for laughs, there is definitely some camp value to be found. The super cheesy song playing during the montage of Billy working in the store is pretty amusing.

So many slasher films today look too polished and have too high of production values. One of the highlights of this film is the more gritty look and feel to it. The town and people are just like people you could live next door too. Last, but not least, the film moves at a quick pace and is never dull. At 82 minutes, the length of the uncut version, it better not be a chore to sit through. The number of flaws in the film is quite a bit shorter than the number of pluses.

Though there is more depth here than in most slasher films, a bit more would have been nice. The present day segment is where it's needed the most really. They could have shown more of Billy's life as a young adult after leaving the orphanage, but we only see him at work. And though there's a bit of suspense here and there, this isn't exactly Hitchcock here. Also, some of the hairstyles, clothes and that song date the film a bit. Though not on par with the likes of Halloween, this is one of the better films out of the 80s slasher cycle.

8/10