Customer Reviews

Silent Night, Deadly Night

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

NOTE: The four stars are merely for the film and it's earlier DVD presentation.

I've been waiting for December 11th, 2007. Why? Because I'm a huge fan of the "Silent Night, Deadly Night" film series. Most folks either love the films or loathe them. For me, they're all guilty pleasures. Never 100% genre classics in the conventional sense (the first is the closest, while the 3rd has the benefit of a most-skilled director, Monte Hellman), but fun nonetheless.

Of course, this isn't the first time "Silent Night" has appeared on DVD. Anchor Bay previously released a double feature DVD in 2003, containing the original film in it's uncut, restored form along with the notoriously bad "Silent Night, Deadly Night, Part 2". While I was thrilled to have these films on DVD, it always irritated me that neither a theatrical trailer nor TV spot was included for the first film (there was a trailer included for "Part 2"). How could this be? Anyone who knows the history of SNDN also knows that the film itself wasn't the cause for the tremendous uproar from parental groups, everywhere. Rather, it was the actual publicity materials (movie posters and televised commercial spots, especially) that sparked the true controversy. There had already been Christmas-themed horror films, some even involved Santa-suited psychopathic slasher fiends, but none of which received the degree of SNDN's multimedia marketing saturation. These were the ads that freaked out the mass public and ultimately won SNDN it's forbidden reputation. Overwhelmed by the astounding negative attention (including a slew of horrible reviews), the film's distributor, Tri-Star Pictures, withdrew it from circulation and eventually disowned the film entirely. Ironically, Tri-Star distributed "Santa Claus: The Movie" the following year.

I've come to expect such goodies from Anchor Bay and was truly disappointed to find that no trailers or TV spots were made available. So, when I learned of a new edition, I was hopeful that it might include SOMETHING more.

With the latest DVD firmly in hand, my eyes delighted to the words "theatrical trailer" advertised prominently on the back cover. That was all the incentive I needed to plop $13 at the checkout counter. Sadly, after a quick spin in my DVD player, I discovered these words held no such relevance. No trailer to be found. Even though the packaging boasts "one of the most controversial slasher films of all time... uncut, uncensored and back like never before," this is the exact same pressing as the '03 release. Such a phrase should indicate a "fresh presentation" of sorts. If by "like never before" Anchor Bay meant that this release features newer, over-blurbed packaging and that the disc is no longer a double-sided one containing a sequel, then perhaps the statement is correct.

On the subject of having no new special features, why didn't Anchor Bay consider doing an interview with Miss Linnea Quigley just for this disc? It could have been easy. They actually had such an opportunity after previously interviewing her for their "Night Of The Demons" release. "Hey, Linnea... might we ask about 'Silent Night' now... for a possible future DVD re-release?" Guess not.

To summarize, really what we have here is a re-hash of Part 1 only, in exactly the same presentation as before. The catch being that this DVD is in print while the other is not. I want my thirteen dollars back... like never before! NAUGHTY! NAUGHTY! NAUGHTY!

The Film :Silent Night Deadly Night
Year Made: 1984

Overview: A young boy witnesses the murder of his mom and dad. The child escapes and is raised in a orphanage where he is not well cared for. As a adult, the memories still haunt him from years ago. Once asked to put on a Santa Clause suit to entertain customers at his job, he can no longer keep the torment within. Unfortunately, those who are naughty will be seeing more red then just dreams of jolly old Saint Nicholas!

The package: 4 Stars. This review is for the 2007 release from Anchor Bay on DVD. The DVD case is really exciting to look at. All kinds of neat sayings and of course the famous photo adorns the cover of Santa holding his axe, on his way down the chimney of a house where someone has been very naughty that year! The DVD stays put in the holder very well and is easy to pop out. The inlay is very cool to look at, along with some very nice graphics on the disc itself. The extras included are very nice and I really enjoyed the interview with the director Mr Charles E. Seller JR. He gave some great insight into his thoughts about the film and anyone who opposes this film should give the interview a listen as to see that this man IS a class act who just wanted to make a great horror film and not cause people to be so upset. Their is a great photo gallery that is neat to look at also. Only bad thing and the only reason I did not give this package 5 stars is because it says that there is a trailer for the film on the box and there is none! I would have loved to have seen the trailer and if it's not going to be included then I just wish it had not been stated that it was on the box.

Spook Meter: 5 Stars. This film is scary and very intense to watch. What makes this gem of a film so great is the way it was shot. It was shot with a real place, real snow, and it just has this creepy look to the whole film as you watch it. I felt very much drawn into it in a emotional way. Many films try to go the easy way out and bring in snow machines for example on a scene and it just looks so lame. What you see here is the real deal and it just adds to the overall feel and creepiness to it. The actors and actresses played the parts perfectly! The film builds up at the perfect pace and it does not feel to rushed or to slow. Grandpa telling the boy about Santa was a highlight along with the sledding. I won't give out details but it is very well done and spooky to watch. I loved the music as well, as I felt it had a rawness about it that fit very well with what you were watching.

Gore/Violence Meter: 5 Stars. There is not much blood/gore but it is very violent and brutal to watch. The killing scenes will stick with you for a very long time after you finish watching this. Some films you watch and someone is killed and it just feels very fake. Silent night deadly night is NOT one of those films. The violence will pull your emotions out from the pit of your gut and you will be left with your mouth open thinking. How in the world did they do that? You know it's only acting but it feels so intense, it just draws you right in. With that said, I rate this meter high even though there is not tons of blood flow going on.

Profanity Meter: 4 Stars. There is quite a bit of bad language throughout the film. I strongly recommend a language blocker on your DVD player that can filter this out if you choose. Here is a breakdown of what you will hear. F*** Used 2 times. F***ing Used 1 time. God-D*** Used 1 time. Chri** Used 1 time. God, Oh my God, Used 7 times. Hell, Used 2 times. Bi*ch, Used 1 time. Dam, Used 1 time. Shi*, Used 2 times. Assh**e, Used 2 times. Bast**d, Used 3 times The term Wiseass is used 1 time.

Sexual Meter: 4 Stars. There is quite a few shots throughout that show a woman, naked from the top half, her breasts are shown. Quite a bit of sexual things shown in that aspect. People having sex, nothing too over the top but a guy touching a woman's breasts is shown more then once as well. I rate the sexual meter pretty high considering this film shows more in the nudity department, more so then most any other horror films ever do.

Final Thoughts: This is NOT a film that any kid should ever see. I LOVE this film from a horror aspect and the intence thought provoking emotions that this gem of a film does so very well at, and brings out of the viewer. Parents who get mad about a film like this should realize that they must control what a child would ever see. This is NO DIFFERENT then anything else that YOU must keep tract of what your kid watches, but don't complain about something that us older folks can enjoy. As a horror film buff, this is one of the all time classics and I can't say enough about how absolutly brilliant and completely amazing Silent Night Deadly Night is! I want to note also that this picture quality on this DVD is crisp and clear. I have Silent Night Deadly Night on DVD and on VHS. In fact I have two of the VHS classic big box releases that were made. There is just something really cool about those big boxes on VHS that are freaky to feast your eyes on. LOL. I almost do perfer the grainy look that a old VHS tape gives when watching this particular film. Somehow it makes it even more creepy to watch.

I hope you all enjoyed my review. Horror films aside for a moment.. I wish you all a Merry Christmas since it's 3:24AM as I type this. December 25, 2007 Christmas morning.

A small boy named Billy with his family have been traveling to see his grandpa at a mental institute in Utah, but grandpa tells Billy that Santa punishes naughty children and only gives presents to those that have been good leaving him frightened. During that night on their way home, they encounter a deranged lunatic in a Santa Claus outfit who murders his parents leaving him and his little brother to be orphaned. 4 years later they are at a orphanage runned by nuns especially the mean-spirited Mother Superior who punishes poor traumatized Billy who is scared of Santa Claus no thanks to that dark tragedy as it still haunts his mind. 10 years later, he's 18 years old and has a perfect job working at a toy store in town for the past months. Until Christmas which is his most loathed holiday, he gets a job playing the toy store's Santa Claus and later on Christmas Eve he snaps as he goes on a insane killing spree to punish those that have been naughty.

A shocking, gory and violent low budget horror slasher movie that became one of the most infamous and disturbing films of it's genre back in the early 80's, this movie was controversial in November of 1984 because of the subject matter and the fact that parents didn't like the idea of a homicidal Santa Claus. Tri-Star Pictures later pulled the film from out of theaters within the next few weeks but was released on video in a uncut format with footage to avoid an "X" rating. The film went on to become a cult favorite among horror fans especially for Linnea Quigley's appearence as a murder victim that gets skewered by Elk-horns and is one of the better "Halloween" imitators of it's time though not as excellent as "Black Christmas (1974)" it's still a solid holiday slasher flick that spawned a few sequels and a upcoming remake.

This DVD contains the uncut version that has some slightly good image even though some of the cut footage shown is a little grainy but that's alright and the sound is quite good with some good extras like a poster-and-still gallery, a gallery of outrage containing the controversy that sparked this movie with bad reviews and an audio interview with the director.

Also recommended: "Black Christmas (1974)", "The Shining", "Halloween Series plus 2007 remake", "Friday The 13th Series", "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "Freddy Vs. Jason", "Christmas Evil (a.k.a. You Better Watch Out)", "Gremlins", "High Tension (a.k.a. Haute Tension)", "The Toxic Avenger", "Psycho (1960)", "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer", "Mother's Day", "The Hills Have Eyes (1977 and 2006)", "Sleepaway Camp", "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Series plus 2003 remake and The Beginning", "Scream 1 & 2", "Tales from the Crypt (1972)", "Happy Birthday to Me", "Psycho II", "The Devil's Rejects", "Terror Train", "Hostel 1 & 2", "The New York Ripper", "Luther the Geek", "The Prowler", "Twitch of the Death Nerve (a.k.a. Bay of Blood)", "Graduation Day", "Prom Night", "Urban Legend", "The Funhouse", "Silence of the Lambs", "My Bloody Valentine", "Santa's Slay" and "The Toolbox Murders (1978 and 2004)".

I own the 2003 issue of this disc. I saw the film on its first release, when it caused right-wing fanatics to get their panties in big Christmas bunches.

I can imagine the script conferences for this film. It manages to do nasty and tacky things with everything associated with the holidays and takes amazing glee in doing so.

The film's writers go places no one had visited before, all the in the same movie, and I can almost imagine them, sitting over a bunch of drinks (???) thinking, "Can we write a movie that will push all the wrong buttons at the winter holidays?" In spite of the warped glee with which they pile on the nasty stuff, there is one punch they pulled: the Santa slayer character does not kill a child when given the opportunity. Someone must have advised the producers to show some restraint.

This is one of the ultimate guilty pleasure movies. The sequel was cobbled together from recycled footage and some expansion of the original script. Stay away from that one (even though it's on the same disc).

"Silent Night, Deadly Night" still stands up as one of the highlights of the slasher-flick genre. It's got all of the right ingredients: sex, violence, stereotyped mental illnesses, and Catholic nuns. The "uncut" footage that's spliced into this version is dark and grainy, but that somehow just adds to the fun. The sledding scene in particular will have you rolling around on the ground laughing with your friends!

This new uncut and uncensored version features a new audio interview with the director, as well as a collection of newsbites about the outrage surrounding the film's original release in 1984. (The best "outrage"? The Cleveland Plain Dealer's review: "Silent Night, Deadly Night is a sleazy, miserable, insulting piece of garbage." Yes...but so?)

I LOVE THIS MOVIE! I've been waiting for this to be released for the last couple of years. Just watched it last night, Christmas Eve. I was too young to watch it when it first came out so this was a real treat. I can see why there was some outrage when this first came out. DO NOT let anyone under the age of 13 or so watch this movie. This movie will definitely do a GREAT job of ruining a little kid's Christmas. One parent even wrote to the producers to complain that her child saw the commercial for this movie and was then too scared to sit on Santa's lap. I don't doubt it.

As an adult, I found it very amusing and entertaining. It's realistic by the fact that any crazed criminal can put on a Santa Claus suit and go on a murderous rampage. And by doing it during the Christmas holidays, that could create chaos for the police who are sent out with shoot to kill orders to find someone in a Santa Claus suit. The cops could easily gun down the wrong Santa, and yes that happens in this movie right in front of a bunch of little kids. The scene was craftfully done though, both realistic and horrific.

I definitely recommend this movie for horror film or thriller film addicts, or if you're just plain sick of watching It's a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street a million times every Christmas.

Great movie to own for X-mas Horror fans but don't buy it if you own the original DVD release because it's the exact same thing minus SNDN part II. The only thing different is the DVD package.

Probably the best Santa horror film ever. There's something about the camera filters they used in the 80s and the common method of acting of the time that makes this film a horror classic.

If you like the look and reality feel of 70s and 80s films on DVD this is for you. I mean, a guy could really put on a Santa suit and chop people up. Compare that deal with some wizard fighting a space monster or meeting a talking Lion after some kids walk through the back of a wardrobe. That just ain't going to really happen.

This film is so much better than hundreds of other horror movies shot with today's computer effects. It's like a Rob Zombie directed movie that Rob Zombie went back in time and directed.

My favorite scene is in the toy store. Grab the remote and hit pause. Check out all the cool toys on the shelves that are worth a mint today. Ask yourself how many toy stores carry and display halloween masks at Christmas time!

The sequel to this wasn't bad but it pretty much was a flashback rehash of this movie with the same story wrapped around it. The ones made after SNDN 1 & 2 were horrible.

This is a really good holiday slasher movie. It recieved alot of bad press when it 1st came out from "angry" mothers and parent groups. They were upset at the tv comercials that aired and got their kids undies in a bunch over the santa killer. Ive waited a long time to see this film and finally had a chance and guess what...it was GREAT. I LOVE this movie. The story,plot,pacing,acting,blood effects were all very good. I dont see why people in the 80s got so upset about, i would let my kids see this no problem at all. Its also a look at the mind of kid who has a very tromatic event happen in his life and how it affects him years later. How a fragile mind snaps under great distress. This movie is a MUST see for slasher fans and for me at least the best christmas themed horror ive seen so far(sorry to the fans of black christmas). If you are curious about this movie or a horror/slasher fan you need this dvd in your collection,and buy it fast before santa thinks you are "naughty" for not owning it. Enjoy.

On his awesome U.K. slasher movie website www.hysteria-lives.co.uk, Justin Kerswell estimates the golden age of the slasher movie to be between 1978 (when "Halloween" premiered) and 1984 (the year "Nightmare On Elm Street" debuted). One highly controversial entry not to be forgotten (and not to be missed) is the latter year's "Silent Night Deadly Night," which opened in theaters on November 9, 1984. Heralded by a classic movie poster (preserved well and reproduced exactly for this excellent 2007 Anchor Bay release) and the even more famous and little seen TV spots (featuring Santa with an axe warning the audience that punishment would befall the "naughty"), this film was an instant success and earned back its relatively meager budget and then some almost immediately. Unfortunately, its run in theaters proved to be short-lived, due to the widespread protests from concerned parents outraged over the TV spots, which were reportedly accessible by young children, as well as what they saw to be a blatant defamation of a sacred event (Christmas).

One must remember that "Silent Night Deadly Night" was marketed by a major studio (Tri-Star) and was playing in the same theaters as the usual banal mainstream family fare. The studio soon caved into the pressure and the TV ads and the film were pulled before the movie even opened on the west coast.

Thankfully, it would soon find a new audience when it hit video store shelves the following year. I was only 9 in 1984 when "Silent Night Deadly Night" was released and I still remember the original oversized video box promising unimaginable horrors to an unsuspecting viewer. But the box DID also state that the film was for mature audiences only and this is definitely true. It is an exploitation film after all and a sometimes very graphic one at that.

That's why, almost 25 years later, it was great to view this movie as an adult in its pure, uncut form. I remember viewing a relatively muddy VHS rental copy almost 10 years ago and I must say that this Anchor Bay DVD print is a thousand times better, almost looking brand new again.

The film itself is a delight to behold for the seasoned slasher movie fan, with abundant gore, sex, nudity and a trifle bit of the sleaze promised on the purposely exaggerated DVD cover.

At the same time, this movie is far more well done than most of the homemade slashers that appeared only a few years before in great numbers. It is well photographed, with a strong, attractive cast and the gore effects are top notch as well. This one truly does deliver the goods. Being as explicit as it is though it is again NOT a film for children or even the more sensitive adult viewer.

Anchor Bay again did a fabulous job on this reissue. The film had been out of print for a good five years, as it was previously released as a double feature with its far inferior sequel (one of four to be made!) that came out three years later. My favorite part is the audio interview with director Charles E. Sellier, Jr. It offers his recollections about the making of the film and the ensuing controversy that followed. Sellier comes off here as a very genuine, well spoken guy and is clearly not the schlock-meister that irate parents at the time may have deemed him to be. The man after all had previously even done some work in Christian television programming!

Strangely enough, I'm a Christian too but also a lifelong lover of underground music and films, and I find "Silent Night Deadly Night" to be a very entertaining movie, and one of the last great slasher films to be made. Highly recommended.

The DVD Anchor Bay put together is very good as usual. These people know how to make fans happy. Avoid the other 4 sequels which are very poor. However, the first film has really spooky music, a clear picture and transfer and several good moments to enjoy. The beginning where they visit the grandfather is creepy when he starts ranting about how Santa punishes bad children on Christmas Eve. And then Billy's parents are killed by a robber in a Santa suit on the same night. Fast forward four years and Billy is living in an orphanage with a strict, iron-handed Mother Superior who believes punishment is necessary for bad children. Fast forward another ten years and Billy is 18 and working at a department store over Christmas. After seeing a fellow co-worker harrassed in the back room while flashbacks of all the horror he experienced when he was younger, he finally snaps and begins a killing spree to punish all the bad (including one with antlers from a deer head hung on the wall!) For a holiday-themed horror film, I thought this was pretty entertaining. My favorite is Black Christmas and that one is much better by far, but this one is worth being in any horror fans collection. Even if it's just for all the controversy it caused when it was first released in 1984 because they idea of a killer in a Santa suit was too much for some people to grasp. While I agree kids don't need to see commerical advertisements and posters that suggest Santa is dangerous, this movie is pure adult entertainment. Kids go to summer camp and trick or treating, but I didn't see people complaining about the Friday the 13th or Halloween films when those came out. Silent Night Deadly Night should not be singled out because of that. Parents simply don't need to have their kids watching this, end of story. That's why it's rated R. And just a reminder to all parents that Santa is not real! We let kids believe he is real for the mere fun of it. People back then should have found something more worthwhile to protest about, it's just a movie! The strongest performance here is obviously Lilyan Chauvin's as Mother Superior. The rest are mediocre.