12 Movies of Christmas: Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

Hello, Bloggers, welcome to a new segment on 12 Movies of Christmas. For this review, I figured I'd review a film that is a slightly underrated yet extremely controversial slasher film set on Christmastime. This film, which angered mothers across the country, is known as Silent Night, Deadly Night.

                          Story:
                     Silent Night, Deadly Night is about a man named Billy (Robert Brian Wilson) who, along with his brother, was put away in an orphanage when he was a child after his parents were killed by a man dressed up as Santa Claus. When living in that orphanage, he was living under the care of a strict and abusive Mother Superior (Lilyan Chauvin). Slowly, he begins to go on a killing spree while dressed as Santa Claus and like Santa himself, punish those who are naughty.

                     What I Liked About It:
                    Now, before I get into what I liked about this film, I'd like to get into the film's controversy and why it caused such a stir. It is pretty much because of the film's premise about a killer Santa Claus and the fact it was shown around Christmas. The PTA complained to the film's studio and fought to have this film banned from theaters, which proved to be successful as this film was pulled from theaters shortly after. I personally would've rather they just calmly told their kids it's  a piece of fiction. It's not like they were old enough to see it anyway because this movie is a hard R.

                     Anyhow, what I liked about this film was how it gives the main character a backstory and gives us an insight as to who he is and why he is the way he is. I liked how it does that and is aware of what it wants to be. It's definitely not a horror film of The Shining, Rosemary's Baby, or even Black Christmas caliber, in terms of its story or direction, but I think the makers of the film were pretty aware of that. Although, I honestly didn't find it too scary. It was rather tongue-in-cheek and cheesy, but I still got an enjoyment out of it, despite the film being set around Christmastime.

                    What I Didn't Like About It:
                    Nothing.

                    Consensus:
                   Overall, Silent Night, Deadly Night is a typical 80's cheesy slasher film that fans of the genre can enjoy and those that love gory movies can enjoy. This is definitely not a film to watch with your family on Christmas. It'd be better to watch it by yourself like I have because that way you won't have to worry about the person you're watching it being embarrassed or grossed out.

Rating: 3.5/5