Being as they are essentially the same film (I'll explain shortly) I figured I would combine the first two films in the Silent Night Deadly Night series. Silent Night Deadly Night was the original Santa slasher, much more akin to HALLOWEEN and Friday The 13th than its Christmas Evil counterpart, it nearly stopped the slasher sensation that was sweeping through the 80's due to anger from parents over the depiction of old St Nick. However this also gave the film a fair amount of notoriety at helped it spawn 4 direct sequels and a remake last year.
After witnessing the death of his parents by a delinquent dressed as Santa, Billy and his younger brother are sent to be brought up at an orphanage. Here Billy undergoes psychological torture that comes to a head shortly after he lands his first job at a toy store and is forced to dress as Santa for the season. Billy storms the town in a murderous rampage, his goal? Getting revenge on Mother Superior.
The film has dated somewhat and it's grasp of story telling is basic at best, Yet all the pieces are there for a fun and silly holiday time slasher film. It deals much more with the psychology of its lead rather than jumping in on the Santa action, but there are some classic moments here and it's obvious why it has become such a classic film.
SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT 2
SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT 2
However when it comes to Part 2, things take a dramatic turn to the just plain weird. Not Highlander 2 weird but strange in its own right. The sequel is made up of about 60% footage from the first film and plays out as a kind of, previously on Silent Night. Then continues it from there in the most vague and ridiculous sense possible.The film follows Billy's younger brother Ricky, who recounts the important events of his brother upbringing and the subsequent massacre that took place due to his treatment by the awful Mother Superior. Ricky is explaining these events to his psychiatrist who he eventually kills when he runs out of footage from the first film and goes on a vengeful rampage of his own in a bid to get revenge on Mother Superior.
Whats strange about the film, is that its kind of amazing, I'm not sure why, but it has all the best parts of the original and the stuff they added is just outright insane. Its so bad that it becomes almost art. The film itself inspired the Garbage day meme that has become a staple of internet humour and poor Eric Freeman who played Ricky has disappeared off the face of the earth, never for his face or amazing eyebrow acting to be seen again.
Happy Horror Holidays.
See You Tomorrow.
MJ
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