Silent Night, Deadly Night
Writer/Director: Mike P. Nelson
Cast: Rohan Campbell, Ruby Modine, Mark Acheson
The 1984 version of Silent Night, Deadly Night is not the first killer Santa horror movie out there, but it is the one that's left the largest pop culture footprint, and it's easy to see why. From its iconic poster to its creative kills to its general air of campy holiday madness, it's one of those movies you can throw on at Christmas for fun without lingering too long on its particular brand of seasonal darkness.
It's also, thanks to a very straightforward concept, something that filmmakers can just keep riffing on, as we've seen through four sequels and one 2012 remake. A guy driven to kill while wearing a Santa suit is just one of those gifts that keeps on giving, and Mike P. Nelson's new reboot of the concept is something you'll definitely be glad to find under the tree this holiday season. Festive, fun, and packing a great conceptual twist, it's a movie that feels destined to enter the Christmas horror canon.
Like the original film, Nelson's Silent Night, Deadly Night follows a young man named Billy (Rohan Campbell), who watched his parents get murdered by a man in a Santa suit when he was just a boy. Now an adult, Billy drifts from place to place, never quite settling down or fitting in, because his childhood experience has given him an unusual calling. Every Christmas season he dons a Santa suit, goes out, and murders people who've been naughty. You know, like Santa.
But things are different this year. After turning up in a town and getting a job at a local decor and trinket shop, Billy actually makes a connection with the shop owner's daughter, Pamela (Ruby Modine). Even as he has to keep up his schedule of murder, Billy senses a chance to start over, to forge a new, slaughter-free life with someone who actually cares about him. But can his fresh start ever truly overtake his crimes?
The foundation of the two films is essentially the same, but there's a key difference in Nelson's version that flips the script, changing not just who Billy is but what his killing spree actually means in the context of the story. A guy in a Santa suit running around killing people is weird enough, but doing it with a purpose adds an entirely new, even supernatural layer to the narrative, and it's a very welcome addition. With his new plot device in place, which I'm trying very hard not to spoil, Nelson gets to explore new angles on this story, giving it a fresh spin while also delivering the killer Santa goods.
And those goods do arrive, even if it takes a little while to get there. The principal creative issue with this version of Silent Night, Deadly Night, especially if you're already familiar with the franchise, is that it takes a little while to set itself apart. The first act creeps just a bit, devoting itself to all the logistical concerns of establishing character and conceit in a way that sometimes feels a bit stilted, more like scaffolding than storytelling. Then, things take A Turn.
I will not, under any circumstances, tell you what this Turn is until you've seen the film, but when it clicks into place, the complexion of the whole film shifts. Give the film the grace of a first act that does a lot of table-setting and you will be rewarded with something raucous, funny, and bonkers in a way that no other film in this franchise ever has been (and this franchise is really bonkers, y'all). Once his true intentions come through, Nelson has a ball playing with a new set of rules and a new master plan, piling on the creative kills, knowing winks to past films in the series, and more. It's a delight, even if you have to wait a moment to see it.
There is more to appreciate about Silent Night, Deadly Night, too, from the use of Campbell as the killer, cleverly playing on how horror audiences saw him in Halloween Ends, to the genuinely charming use of Christmas decor throughout. It's a film that wants to subvert expectations but not one that wants to do so with cynicism and an approach that tells you Christmas is an automatic bummer, which I appreciate deeply. The contrast between the violence and the beauty is there, but Nelson never lets one obliterate the other, and that makes Silent Night, Deadly Night a truly joyous (you know, for the sickos) piece of Christmas horror filmmaking. It's a killer Santa movie done right, and you'll definitely want to add it to your seasonal viewing this year.
Silent Night, Deadly Night is in theaters December 12.
