Well Kiddies it’s the holidays again and I am here to share
two of my favorite Yuletide flicks for you to check out.
Silent Night Deadly Night was released in 1984 to much
controversy which is what I want to start off with.
Featuring the image of the arm of Santa Claus emerging from
a chimney clutching an axe the poster of the film sparked rage from Parents
Groups and PTAs eventually succeeding in having the film pulled from theatres
after a couple of Weeks.
Siskel and Ebert openly bashed the film referring to
the profits of the film as Blood Money.
The 2003 Anchor Bay release even featured much of the hate
mail that was directed at the film including ravings from Mickey Rooney who
went on to appear in the 5th Installment of the series.
I have many times felt that the hate directed at the film
was unnecessary since the film did not even feature The actual Santa Clause but
multiple men dressed as Santa Clause.
The plot follows Billy Chapman who when he was 8 Years old
is told by his institutionalized grandfather
(played by veteran actor Will
Hare) that Santa Clause was going to harm him that night. An unfortunate set of
unrelated circumstances leads to a man dressed as Santa Clause killing his
father and raping and murdering his mother while young Billy watches from the
bushes where he hides. The only survivors of the massacre are Billy and his
infant brother Ricky.
The movie then skips ahead to St Mary’s Orphanage where
Billy and Ricky are kept under the strict watch of Mother Superior and the kind
sister Margaret. Mother Superior subjects Billy to harsh punishments and
lessons of Punishment being absolute and Good while traumatizing him by
attempting to force him to sit on Santa’s lap.
Eventually Billy is given a job when he turns 18 working at
a toystore where he starts off well even developing a crush on his coworker
Pamela. However when Christmas time arrives he is plagued with Nightmares about
his feelings for Pamela and the fear of punishment from Cris Cringle.
On Christmas Eve the actor playing Santa Clause breaks his
leg and Billy is given the position.
That night after the store is closed the
owners treat their staff to a Christmas party where Billy is given many drinks
and drunken advice from his boss before going to the back where he sees Pamela
being attacked by his coworker where the flashbacks finally make Billy Snap and
he begins his Christmas killing spree taking out many that he encounters that
he deems to be “Naughty” hacking out his own trail back to the orphanage and
Mother Superior.
Unlike many Slasher films of its era this film follows the
killer throughout his life showing the events that made him into the killer and
giving the view not just more depth but also with the audience being shown his
side of the story the killer is given sympathy.
The Controversy was the implication that Santa clause was on
a killing spree where the film just depicted a man in a costume due to his own
childhood traumas.
Silent Night Deadly Night is not the only film with this.
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Both the 1972 Amicus Tales from the Crypt film as well as its
1989 HBO counterpart featured adaptions of the famous Vault of Horror #35 story
of a killer Santa terrorizing a murdering mother.
In 2005 former World Heavyweight Champion Bill Goldberg
Portrayed the actual Santa Clause going on a killing Spree in Santa’s Slay but
I say pass on that flick as a whole though it is worth a buy on Fearnet just
for the opening scenes.
The image of a creepy Santa Clause that children are afraid to
sit on the lap of owes more to Bob Clark’s A Christmas Story.
The film also features one of the most memorable kills in
the history of cinema.
The scene in question stars my good friend Linnea Quigley
being impaled on deer antlers all while topless.
13 Dead Bodies
6 Breasts
3 Beasts
1 Impaling
Arrow through the back
Hammer to the Head
Hanging
Slashing
Shooting
Heads Roll
4 Stars
I did attend a screening of the Fangoria rerelease at the Angelica and alot of the effects have been edited out of the cut so look for the Anchor Bay Release.
Silent Night Deadly Night spawned four sequels but the only
one that I say check out is the second flick.
Part 2 follows Billy’s brother Ricky who in the beginning of
the film the audience finds out is now incarcerated on Death Row for his own
killing spree.
Traumatized by the events of the first film Ricky grows up
in a Jewish family and develops murderous impulses when seeing the color red.
At first Ricky only kills the ones that he deems “Naughty”
but after killing the woman that he loved he embarks on a killing spree
resulting in his own arrest before escaping and targeting Mother Superior to
finish what his brother started.
The first half of Part Two features Ricky in prison telling
the story of the previous film consisting of Flashbacks. This was probably brought
on by the fact that the first movie was banned in so many places.
The movie has developed a cult following especially on the
Internet for the hokey acting and Dialogue.
The Scene where Ricky kills a man taking out the trash has
become a popular internet Meme.
As with all of the great horror flicks of the 80s Silent
Night Deadly Night in 2012 receved the loose Remake Treatment being titled
Silent Night.
Taking place in a small town in Wisconsin the film follows a
Deputy Sheriff (Jamie King) Who is in persuit of a killer Santa going around
the town killing those that he deems to be harming society including Soft Core
pornographers, Bratty Children, Creepy priests and the evil mayor.
The movie also features Malcolm McDowell as the inept
sheriff in a role rare for the great actor but he is fun to watch.
Some of the kills in the movie are great tributes to the
kills in the original such as the deer antler scene is featured but the top
kill is the wood chipper scene with actress Cortney Palm.
13 Dead Bodies
2 Breasts
2 Beasts
1 Backstory
Burnings
Impaling
Slashing
Shootings
Strangling
Santa Fu
Priest Fu
Antler Fu
Wood Chipper Fu
2 ½ Stars
