Title: Silent Night, Deadly Night
Describe This Movie Using One Bad Santa Quote:
KID: Your beard’s not real.
WILLIE: No shit. It was real, but I got sick and all the hair fell out.
KID: How come?
WILLIE: I loved a woman who wasn’t clean.
Brief Plot Synopsis: Up on the rooftop, reindeer pause/Santa’s about to break some homicide laws
Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: 3 Robot Santas out of 5.
Tagline: “Santa’s gonna slay.”
Better Tagline: “He’s gonna find out who’s naughty and Nazi.”
Not So Brief Plot Synopsis: When Jimmy (Rohan Campbell) was eight years old, his parents were murdered by Charlie (Mark Acheson), a janitor dressed as Santa Claus. The spirit of Charlie somehow inhabited Jimmy and — starting when he was 17 — began urging him to kill. Understandably itinerant, Billy ends up in the small town of Hackett, where he begins working at a Christmas store, befriending the owner’s daughter Pam (Ruby Modine), and realizing that a lot of the residents are very naughty indeed.
“Critical” Analysis: The original Silent Night, Deadly Night caused no small amount of consternation, especially among 1984’s usual pearl clutchers (Leonard Maltin famously hated it, for example). I didn’t see it until well after it’s release (it’s fine, but doesn’t quite live up to the moral panic). Still, the trailer alone “inspired” me to create a series of comics about Santa going into the wrong house/neighborhood and getting messily killed.
This was pre-Columbine, so nobody raised any red flags with the local constabulary.
Anyway, the newest version, courtesy of Mike P. Nelson (of Wrong Turn and V/H/S/85 fame), is actually the second remake. It’s also the 7th — is that right? Jesus Jones — entry in the SN,DN franchise. The new Billy has been at it for ten years, we learn, murdering a person a day in December in order to fill out a bloody advent calendar. And unlike the original, Billy isn’t murdering people due to unspeakable childhood trauma. Well, not entirely.
That’s where “Charlie” comes in. He serves as a kind of reverse moral compass to Billy, finding him suitable victims (when not arguing with him in an increasingly exasperated fashion). Charlie also guides him through unfamiliar situations, like dating, or having to dress as Santa in would-be girlfriend Pam’s Christmas boutique.
The supernatural angle is an interesting twist. As is shifting Billy from holiday themed serial killer to a force for revenge. Or at least a more overt one that 1984’s version. We’re in a post-Dexter world, after all. so Nelson’s not exactly breaking new ground. Hell, go back further: Hannibal Lecter was a sympathetic character, sort of.
He ate a census taker’s liver! Who hasn’t wanted to do that?
Holiday fare doesn’t come a lot bloodier than Silent Night, Deadly Night. Which is fitting, considering it’s produced by the founder of … Bloody Disgusting. If there’s a complaint, beyond the fact that Nick Junkersfeld shoots this like a Lifetime movie, it’s that Nelson doesn’t lean harder into the gore. We’re in a nice era for horror, so why not pull out the stops? It’s (probably) what Jesus would have wanted.
And if you’re anticipating That Scene — which I wasn’t even aware of before I saw this — you’re in luck. I swear, I’ve never anticipated a series of (fictional, onscreen) murders as much as I have when a certain someone said, “I’m dreaming of a white power Christmas.” Though I will admit to appreciating the irony of the lead Nazi using an Uzi to retaliate.
Silent Night, Deadly Night is haltingly enjoyable, picking up steam as Billy is steered towards an inevitable confrontation with the movie’s actual villain. Campbell (Halloween Ends) brings unexpected emotional weight to the role, and Modine (Happy Death Day) isn’t a shrinking violet. In short, it’s a perfectly acceptable alternative to spending time with your family this Christmas.
Silent Night, Deadly Night is in theaters today.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.