Silent Night, Deadly Night

Billy witnesses his parents being murdered by a man in a Santa Claus suit. Years later, that man, Charlie shows Billy the "way".

Billy takes care of the "trash" with the help of Charlie. Charlie shows him who is truly evil and together they murder evil people during Advent.

Billy takes a liking to a gal, Pam in his most recent community so he decides to stay awhile. Lucky for him Pam's a bit crazy too!

This isn't too bad. There's still plenty of gore for the horror hounds.

Silent Night, Deadly Night (2025) is a remake of the original film, and going into it, I genuinely had no idea that was the case. I walked into this thinking I was about to watch a brand-new horror movie, not a reimagining of something that already existed. Because of that, the first portion of the film left me confused. I honestly thought I was in for a stupid, throwaway horror experience that would be over-the-top in all the wrong ways. Sitting there early on, I fully expected this to be one of those movies you regret watching five minutes in.

But surprisingly, something clicked. Once the film settled into its rhythm, it completely pulled me in. Instead of feeling disjointed or pointless, it became engaging, focused, and oddly gripping. The story started to generate momentum, and before I realized it, I was locked in. That alone caught me off guard because I had written this movie off almost immediately.

The violence is heavy, brutal, and unapologetic, but it is not as extreme as you would expect, especially considering the people behind Terrifier are involved. It walks a very fine line between disturbing and restrained, and that balance actually works in the film's favor. It never feels like violence for shock value alone. Instead, it feels intentional, controlled, and used to serve the narrative rather than overpower it.

The performances were another major surprise. I didn't recognize the actors, but that honestly worked to the film's advantage. The lead performances felt grounded and committed, especially considering the subject matter. The actress in particular felt familiar even if I couldn't place her, and she carried herself in a way that kept me emotionally invested. The voice work was strong, and the characters felt present rather than disposable, which is rare in holiday horror.

The direction is where the film truly shines. The director absolutely knew what they were doing here. The pacing is tight, the tension builds naturally, and the December setting is used effectively rather than as a cheap gimmick. The screenplay is solid, giving the story room to breathe while still keeping things intense. The concept of being forced to kill throughout December, tied to an advent calendar and a curse, adds a unique layer of dread that separates this from standard slasher territory.

What really hits is the emotional weight behind the story once the twist is revealed. Understanding why Billy is doing what he's doing reframes the entire film. It's not just about violence anymore, it's about inevitability, trauma, and survival. The inclusion of the child abductor element brings an unsettling realism that echoes films like The Black Phone, making the experience even more uncomfortable in the best way.

I did everything I could to discuss this film without spoiling it, because it deserves to be experienced fresh. I was completely wrong about this movie. I expected something awful, something forgettable, something I'd only watch to check off my 2025 list. Instead, I got a genuinely strong horror film with a story that actually mattered. It kept me focused, invested, and surprised me from start to finish. Silent Night, Deadly Night is violent, intense, and emotionally grounded, and it's absolutely one of the better horror experiences of the year.

What an unusual little movie this turned out to be. First of all, I'm not sure if the IMDb synopsis is entirely accurate. That wasn't really what the film was about. Secondly, most people aren't going to realise that because the film waits until damn near the end to actually explain what is happening and why. It's all very odd.

Putting "From the studio that brought you Terrifier 2 & 3" on your movie poster is an odd choice to me for this film. Maybe it will get some bums on seats, but it sort of misleads you into thinking there will be some creativity with the kills, which there is certainly not. You can only see so many people chopped by an axe before it becomes very mundane. There was even a scene where it's discussed if he should use a gun instead, and I thought to myself that at this point that may be a more interesting option.

A horror film based around bad people getting their justice in a brutal way is almost certainly a film that can be made to work, but 'Silent Night, Deadly Night' went about it all the wrong way I think. It needed to make clearer earlier on exactly what was happening and why. It needed more tension and more adversity for the lead character. And it needed more creativity with the kills. Get those right and this could've been something special. Maybe they will the next time this is remade. 5/10.

On the plus side I liked it better than the other remake Silent Night Mixed feelings on this one Some aspects stay pretty much the same as the original and I could play the Nazi party scene on repeat (If you know you know) But I would have liked more backstory on his messed up childhood I was not a fan of "Charlie" his talking conscience Kills are pretty cool It takes me awhile to warm up to remakes So I'm not ready to call it a instant classic But I could see it growing on me if I watched it more than once.

After finding a new job, a man working a retail position tries to live a normal life with the woman who works with him, but when his old demons start to resurface, and the voices in his head get too strong, he dons a Santa costume and commits a massacre against those disrespecting him.

Overall, this was a wholly likable and enjoyable genre effort. Among the better elements within here is the central setup that manages to provide a strong foundation for his unraveling mental state for the eventual rampage. Setting up the same backstory and the eventual trauma of the holiday season is a fine touch so that it fills in a lot of the necessary backstory early on which makes the so much of the first half feel like a solid retread involving the quest to be normal and like a valued member of the community with his relationship with his coworker provides a great setup here. Along with the natural attempts at trying to make sure he has a sense of normalcy in his life, the fact that his conscience is always talking to him and spurring along his murderous antics, fueling the sense of inner conflict he has, which brings about the different encounters later on. That comes about in a series of solid and generally enjoyable confrontations that focus on the wholly enjoyable series of slashing encounters featured throughout here. The initial series of setpieces showing him going around the town hacking up those who are rampaging through the community, as it leads up to the great sequence involving the massacre at the racist rally, where the brutal axe slashing and stabbing, which has a ton of bloodshed amongst the carnage. This leads into the solid encounters where his demented inner monologue instills more of a psychological display that is at the center of the film, works to deliver what's necessary here in the holiday cheer, as well as the brutal deaths featuring the axe being used to elicit some solid splatter. These all come together to make for a fun time here, while there are some factors here that bring this down. The main drawback to be had here is the film's jagged sense of pacing, where it's hard to remain invested at points with what's going on. The early dynamics of getting the job at the retail store, getting to meet the co-worker, and starting to develop a relationship with her by being involved in her life set up the sense of normalcy he craves following his traumatic childhood, yet that keeps the slashing to a non-existent point during this period, so that little happens. This leaves the stalking to be a rather brief bit where it's so short and barely a feature in the film that there's stretches where it doesn't matter all that much, only to then be wiped aside when the few scenes of slashing take place to intrude for such a brief time before going back to the drama so the back-and-forth nature is quite distracting. As well, there's also the series of changes made to the structure of the film that aren't all that impactful or worthwhile. The inclusion of the talking voice in his head due to a form of possession that drives the rampage along is a bizarre touch that seems to come about at the worst times and never adds much once the gag has already been worked out. Moreover, the decision to take away the second half of a long-winded rampage and do more of a police investigation on the previous massacre is a strange way of going about this type of story, which lowers the action considerably as it's downgraded in favor of the psychological implications of what he's going through. That's already been established by that point in the film, and it doesn't need it as it needed more action in the proceedings, and will be what ends up holding this down the most.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.