Customer Reviews

Silent Night, Deadly Night [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I think "Silent Night,Deadly Night" is an awesome movie,me being a horror film fan,this movie makes us see that even on Christmas,murders can happen.Why were people protesting about a movie like this back in 1984 is beyond me.The way I look at it,if you don't like what the movie is about,don't go see it,just like if you don't like a tv show,change the channel.I love this movie.The film starts out when Billy and his family go visit his grandpa in a nut house,as soon as Billy is left alone with his grandpa,he talks to him,tells him about Santa Claus punishes naughty people,later, a guy dressed in a Santa Claus suit ends up robbing a mini-mart and kills the clerk.The part that made me laugh was when the Santa Claus fins out how much money he has,he says"31 bucks,Merry F***ing Christmas".Billy's dad sees a car on the side of the road,the robber and killer in the Santa Claus suit kills the dad with the gun and rapes and slits the mothers throat.Billy runs and hides from Saint Nick.Billy's life becomes a living hell in an orphanage because of the Mother Superior and later on ends up working at a toy store and goes nuts soon after he sees a fellow female employee get raped by a jerk who also works there and kills him.She is not thankful and he kills her saying"punishment is necessary Pamela,it is good".Billy goes on his killing spree,punishing naughty people,he dies at end by the police,his brother sees it and looks up and says"Naughty.Silent Night Deadly Night is a classic,so they made a movie about a guy in a Santa Claus suit killing people,in real like there are bank robbers in Santa Claus suits robbing places around Christmas.I give this movie 2 thumbs up.

I remember being about 9 years old when I heard this movie was banned from theaters. Of course I immediately wanted to see it. Unfortunately I had a very hard time finding the original until now. 20 years after it's release I finally got to see it.

On Christmas Eve little Billy Chapman saw his parents brutally slaughtered by a man wearing a Santa Claus outfit. Needless to say this traumatized poor Billy. After spending years in an orphan house raised by strict nuns Billy seems to have become a well behaved and perfectly sane young man. At the age of 18 Billy gets a job in a department store and everything is going just fine until... he's forced to dress up as jolly ol St. Nick himself. At this point something snaps inside him sending him into a psychotic frenzy and killing anything and everyone around him.

This is a typical 1980's horror movie. Bad acting, some T&A, a thin plot but some great killing scenes. This is a must see for any fan of the genre!!

Here is a bizzare little horror film that few seem to have seen. I came upon this film in a video store in my area that is now out of business.
This is quite a disturbing and enjoyable film which puts the killer in the beloved santa claws outfit, with some creative death scenes reminicent of both the Friday the 13, and Halloween series. If you are an avid fan of horror, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. This is a forgotten gem with an interesting take on one of America's biggest holidays.
I would suggest that you don't waste your time with any of the sequels, however if you are like me and have a morbid as well as a sick curiosity, may I suggest the second of the series as this proved to be the most tolerable in my opinion.

While not generally a fan of that particular genre known as the "slasher flicks", which mushroomed out of all proportion during the 1980's in the wake of the huge success of John Carpenter's classic "Halloween", I do find that this film contains some quite interesting elements interdispersed among its often very disturbing scenes. "Silent Night, Deadly Night", is certainly not your average "family", Christmas movie complete with snow, sleigh bells and a jolly Father Christmas, and it would never be suitable in any generation for children's viewing. That of course doesn't necessarily make it a bad movie and I believe using the holiday season as a setting for such a bloody tale as this will always cause people to have very strong and definite views on its worth as a piece of suitable entertainment as has proven to be the case. There have been far more gory movies released than this one however "Silent Night, Deadly Night", earned eternal infamy when upon its release in 1984 the film was picketed in many countries by family organisations outraged at a lovable figure like Santa Claus being depicted in the guise of an insane mass murderer who goes on a bloody rampage on Christmas Eve. Probably the film got more notoriety than in actual fact it deserved however for the record it is not a film for the squeamish and does contain some very frightening moments.

We first see young Billy Chapman as a young child on Christmas Eve 1971 when with his parents and younger brother he is visiting his hospitalizied Grandfather. Strangely the Grandfather comes out of a comatose state just long enough to warn young Billy to "be afraid of what Santa can do to naughty young boys". On the way home tragedy strikes when the family car is held up by an escaped convict wanted for murder dressed in a Santa Claus suit. He shoots the father and brutally rapes and kills Billy's mother right before his eyes permanently traumatizing him. We then jump forward about 4 years where Billy and his younger brother are now living at St. Mary's school for orphans run by the cold hearted Mother Superior (Lilyan Chauvin), who is frustrated by Billy's inability to fit in. The kindly Sister Margaret (Gilmer McCormick), can see that Billy's problems are very deep seated and are the result of the horrors that he witnessed as a young boy and that need professional help. His irrational behavour takes the form of savage depictions of Christmas scenes in his drawings and a terror of the image of Santa Claus. The years pass and Billy (Robert Brian Wilson), grows into a young man and Sister Margaret still trying to help the disturbed boy she knows so well arranges for him to begin work in a Toy Store in town. Working for the jovial Mr. Sims (Britt Leach), everything at first goes well and Billy becomes an excepted part of the stock control team. However Christmas time arrives and when the store Santa breaks a leg Mr. Sims innocently recruits Billy to become the Santa in his place. Billy 's old fear of Santa Claus returns and he begins behaving very irrationally. At the Christmas Eve store drinks after closing Billy still dressed in the Santa outfit suddenly snaps when he sees two of the store employees having sex in the stock room. Billy has a flash back to his parents brutal murder and he begins a killing spree beginning with all his store co workers who he feels "need to be punished", for being naughty. Sister Margaret unfortunately visits the store later to see how he is going and instead finds the terrible carnage caused by the insanely possessed Billy. The police begin tracking him down but Billy continues his murderous rampage killing first an innocent young couple and a snow sleigher. He then begins a journey back to St. Mary's Orphanage pursued by Sister Margaret and a Police Inspector. Christmas is being celebrated at the Orphanage and through a tragic error the homes Santa is shot by a policeman who thought he was Billy approaching the children in the play yard. Billy then turns up at the Orphanage and after brutally killing the policeman who is on patrol there he breaks in on the Mother Superior and the terrified children. Just as he is about to kill the Mother Superior with his axe however he is shot down by the Police Inspector who arrives just in time with Sister Margaret. Billy dies in Sister Margaret's arms however his younger brother standing close by suddenly becomes possessed by that same demon spirit that drove Billy on his bloody killing spree and says a simple but very eerie "naughty", indicating further trouble ahead.

"Silent Night, Deadly Night", would never be up there with "Halloween", or "Nightmare on Elm Street", as far as absolute suspense or sheer terror goes however as a tale of the mind being totally taken over by the trauma of an early horrific experience it does hold some interest. Within the limitations of the role Robert Brian Wilson does reasonably well as the young man who is suddenly set off on a killing spree by having to be a store Santa Claus. His innocent good looks actually serve the part very well and he is definately a scary individual once his mind is affected by the traumatic flash backs to the murder of his parents. None of the supporting characters have much to build on in their characters as is generally the case in these types of films however Gilmer McCormick as the kindly Sister Margaret does a good job in her efforts to protect Billy from himself. Having alot of the action set in a Catholic Orphange is quite interesting and the two nuns are quite distinct characters that show interesting good and bad elements. Even though these things dont hold much importance in these types of films, "Silent Night, Deadly Night", does have the benefit of some beautiful on location photography in snowbound Utah which does give the film a better look than most of its kind.

It is of course unsettling for a Christmas lover like myself to see Santa portrayed as an axe weilding maniac as he is in "Silent Night, Deadly Night", however I never associate this movie with the Christmas season that I enjoy and instead treat it as an at times nail biting fright movie that was very much a product of the decade it was made in. Never could it be considered as the best "slasher flick" whatever that would mean anyway, as experts in this genre would I'm sure say that there is not enough blood or gore despite the terrible murders that take place. Frankly I'm not a great fan of blood on screen anyway and the scenes where little is shown are far more effective in my book. The reasons why Billy goes on his killing spree I find much more interesting than the actual murder spree itself. "Silent Night, Deadly Night", is not for everyone's taste to be sure however along with "Halloween", it is really the only one of the 1980's slasher films that holds some interest for me. Turn down the lights and lock the doors when you watch "Silent Night, Deadly Night", and certainly dont expect the usual holiday fare with this movie.

I dont know why this got all the bad rep, its not that bad. its more cheesy then scary. and this movie was made for people over 17 not for kids to see. A young boy sees his parents brutally murdered and gets sent to an orphanage. years later he begans killing people dressed as santa claus, including a "reindeer" scene that will have you shaking your head. linnea quigley is in it for less then 5 minutes so i'm sure her fans are dissapointed! All in all not as bad as everyones making it out to be, but its more cheesy then anything!

Boy was this movie freaky! The story unfolds with a young boy and his family traveling to visit his grandfather who is in a nursing home and who never speaks to anyone. After the parents say their peace to the grandfather, they leave the young boy alone with him. The old man looks wildly at the young boy and asks him if he had been a good boy that year and explains that Santa knows if he has or hasn't and that bad little boys get punished by Santa. The traumatized young boy and his family travel home late at night and stop for a stranded motorist, 'Santa'. The man in the Santa suit proceeds to kill the boy's father and rape and kill his mother, leaving only him and his sibling alive. Needless to say the boy goes mental about Christmas and things progress from there until he is an adult when things really get messy. This is definitely a movie for those into 'Friday the 13th' or 'Nightmare on Elm Street'. Although it gets kind of cheesy and aside from the gratuitous nudity(come on this was 1984 where even PG-13 movies had a little nudity!) some of the death scenes are classic like the sledding decapitation scene. Not for the faint of heart!

I think thi is one of the weirdest,off the wall movies ever made.I have seen alot of horror films,I mean alot of them and this one is one of the best horror films i`ve seen.I mean its so violent and sexual and its during Christmas.I don`t have a problem at all with these kinds of movies.I am not a sick person.I just think of it as entertainment.When you watch Silent Night Deadly Night,it will make your mind blow.In the beginnig its Christmas Eve and this kids perents get murdered by a convict dressed like Santa Claus and watches it.Then grows up in a orphanage getting abused by a nun and leaves as a adult to live a poitless life working in toy store.Then has to dress up as Santa Clause,the thing that destoyed his life and then become a murder himself.Just to get shot at a younge age.I think its more sad than scary,but it is a cheap horror with unknown actor,sex and sick killing.So I say watch this movie.Others I say to watch is Don`t Look in the Basement,The Mutalater,and Three on a Meathook.

For Adults Only! Contains nudity, sexual situations and violence. Please do not watch while children are around.
Very disturbing film to watch, especially the first 28 minutes.
A mom (Tara Buckman), dad (Jeff Hansen), young son (Jonathan Best) and a baby (Melissa Best) come back from a trip from seeing Grandpa in a nursing home. meanwhile a crook in a Santa Claus suit robs and kills a conveinence store cleark. The family as they are driving down the road, see the Santa crook and the crook kills the mom and dad. The young boy, Billy, hides off the road.
The boy (Danny Wagner) is sent to the St. Mary's home of Orphaned Children. That tragic night is still bottled up inside of him. The boy has turned out to be very nice, but sad. He is so wrongfully punished and abused by the mother Superior (Lilyan Chauvin). When he is forced to sit with a Santa Claus, with all of his might he gets away from him. Billy thinks it is his punishment to see Santa Claus.
As a man, Billy (Robert Brian Wilson), the good nun (A. Madeline Smith) sets him up with a job. Billy is well liked by the boss and women, but a series of events is about to make this nice man snap. Especially, when he sees two people having sex in the workplace.
Filmed in Utah.
Sequels: Slent Night, Deadly Night II (1987)Silent Night Deadly Night / Silent Night Deadly Night Part 2
Silent Night, Deadly Night III--Better Watch (1989). Out!Silent Night, Deadly Night
Silent Night, Deadly Night 4 (1990) Silent Night Deadly Night 4 - Initiation [VHS]
Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toymaker (1991) Silent Night Deadly Night 5 [VHS].

Not of the film series, but along the same horror vein, Santa's Slay (2005).

All hype, and controversy aside, I think this thing had the potential to be a really good movie. First of all, it was a story about a crazy axe-wielding Santa Claus, for crying out loud. I don't think that had ever been done before. The closest thing to it was maybe that movie where the guy in the Santa Claus suit walks into a bank with a gun, and robs it, and I've never even seen that flick (I just remember seeing a clip from it in the movie "Terror In The Aisles"), but like all original and creative ideas it was met with skepticism, humor, and of course outright fear. That is probably why this movie was so cheaply made. No self-respecting cinematic company would take part in such an outlandish, off-the-wall project. Hence, they had to settle for a production company that no one had ever heard of. The film suffered, as a result.

I think this might have been a better movie if they had been able to sink maybe say, a hundred thousand more dollars into it (1984 dollars, mind you), hired a better camera crew, screen writer, and music composer. The acting, and the special effects were actually fairly good, especially Robert Brian Wilson, who played Billy, the troubled young lad who would eventually run amok with an axe while wearing a Santa Claus suit.

Say what you will, but it's no secret that film companies have a lot more freedom these days, and if Castle Rock Entertainment, or New Line Cinema were to produce this film today I think it might have turned out as good as "A Nightmare On Elm Street 3," or any number of it's successors. But even as it stands it's a fairly interesting, and entertaining movie. Good for laughs, if nothing else. Don't buy it, though. Rent it first, and see how it rubs you.

IF YOU LIKE MOVIES THAT MAKE YOU BELIEVE A LOVEABLE MAN CAN BE A CRAZY SEREAL KILLER THEN THIS MOVIE IS FOR YOU!!! THERE IS NUDITY, BLOOD,STRONG SEXUAL CONTENT,SUPRISES,TWISTS,SCREAMS, AND
VIOLENCE THAT IS NOT CUT OUT, ALL ROLLED UP INTO 1 SCARY MOVIE! WHAT ELSE COULD A HORROR LOVER ASK FOR?...