Noche de paz, noche de muerte

A classic to many fans of horror and independent cinema, Silent Night Deadly Night definitely wins the award for having the most gorgeous, super nice, hunk of a killer ever on screen!

I mean, if this guy came at me with an axe, I wouldn't be running...

Robert Brian Wilson, who went on to star in many US soaps, just has you hooked as the beautiful, gentle killer with his W shaped smile that has such good reason to be the way he is, you can't help feel sorry for him.

Adding to the tragedy of what he witnessed as a young boy when a guy dressed as Santa killed his parents, comes an evil nun bitch who just makes his life worse, and to be honest, would do the same to anyone!

With great 80's flair and drama, the final cherry on top is when the store he works at has him dress as Santa for the Xmas period. Even as his worst nightmare, our hero is sweet enough not to upset his boss and gives it a shot.

Unfortunately from here on in, the rest of the community is in for a jolly time as our handsome killer Santa slays his way to mother superior to take revenge on the wicked penguin that taunted him!

A classic, yes. Perfect, no. But still highly enjoyable and well worth the watch for any true horror fan...

Watching SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT today, it's difficult to believe that it was quite controversial when first released in theaters. In reality, it's just another slasher film with a holiday theme. The controversy arose from its depiction of a killer Claus, and its daring to use Christmas time as a backdrop.

Far from being blasphemous, it's purposefully absurd, and the not-so-merry madman (Charles Dierkop) is perfectly "suited" for the subject matter: revenge against those on his naughty list. The entire mood of SN, DN lets us know immediately that it's not to be taken seriously, at all. Linnea Quigley's "death-by-antlers" scene alone should be enough of a tip-off that the whole affair is tongue-in-rosy-cheek. Speaking of Ms. Quigley, she just can't seem to keep her clothes on. Not even in December! Brrr! Anyway, just settle in for a nice cozy evening of jingle kills...

Traumatised after witnessing a man in a Santa suit brutally murder his parents, a teenager goes on a killing spree after his employer forces him to dress as Santa in this controversial horror thriller. With a plot that mostly follows slasher clichés, 'Silent Night, Deadly Night' is easy to forget amid the surplus of 1980s horror flicks, but it is a highly competent production that stands up well to revision. The film actually does a better job than John Carpenter's far more iconic 'Halloween' in establishing the psychology and mindset of its serial killer protagonist. Eighteen minutes of exposition may sound like a lot, but it works magnificently for getting us to understand how the character ticks and actually pity him, heinous though his actions may be. The film takes a potent swipe at church-run orphanages too in which children have religion forced upon them with the protagonist a victim of this system in addition the aforementioned childhood trauma. The film does not do itself any favours by painting the nuns as stereotypes and lead actor Robert Brian Wilson is never really convincing, but everything else falls into place so well here that it is hard not to like it. The filmmakers approach the project with the perfect dose of dark humour too; "he sure knows how to handle kids!" comments one mother after Wilson quietly threatens a girl sitting on his Santa's lap! The Yuletide themed deaths also come with streak of black comedy and there is an awesome 'Battleship Potemkin' lions style sequence in which several toy soldiers appear to react to a toy store death.

Silent Night, Deadly Night tells the story of a boy whose parents were killed in front of him as a child, and it was by a man dressed as Santa Claus. Not only that, the man shot the kid's dad in the head and tried to rape his mother before slitting her throat while the boy watched. He hid so he escaped, but the memory remained, even throughout Catholic school where the Mother Superior was strict and violent, saying punishment is good and all naughty children should be punished. Naturally, this messed with the kid's head, so one day when he's finally all grown up, Christmas time comes along at his job and someone has to dress up as Santa Claus. Well, who better than the kid whose parents were killed by Santa to play dress up! He then embraces being Santa Claus, a judgmental fat man who kills naughty people, and that's when the bodies start piling up.

It's a truly dark story. The movie would have been much better had they focused more on the psychological aspect as opposed to it just boiling down to "Santa is a killer. Now I'm Santa. Now I must kill!" It felt like the whole setup was wasted for an anticlimactic, soulless killing spree. Sure, there are some good kills, and there are plenty of boobs in typical '80s B-horror affair, but it failed to make an impact on anything more than a surface level. It's an enjoyable movie, it's simply a matter of greater potential not being realized.

Now this is a horror movie, not an unintentional comedy like its infamous sequel, and it's admittedly effective as one. It's refreshing when a horror movie has an actual narrative you can follow. Worth a watch if you're a horror buff or just want to watch Santa kill topless women for an hour and a half.

Second viewing- 7.5/10.

"Santa's Watching, Santa's Creeping, Now you're nodding, now you're sleeping. Were you good for mom and dad? Santa knows if you've been bad"- The best damn original song from any horror movie... ever. In my opinion, of course.

A very enjoyable flick. The kills are top notch, the acing is... passable. The setting is spooky ad the music is super duper great.

So rather Santa's raping you, strangling you with Christmas lights, or decapitating you, there's tons of Christmas bloodshed to go around.

You've Made it Through Halloween, now try and survive Christmas