Just when you though it was safe to come back to SomeWhatNerdy….. Yes I’m back and this time it’s for an Xmas special, a review of the franchise “Silent Night, Deadly Night”.
I must admit to you that this film is a favorite of mine to watch during the holiday season, for those of you who don’t know this film was highly controversial upon it’s release, sparking protests from angry parents.
After visiting his deranged Grandpa on Christmas eve and being warned by him that if he hasn’t been good all year he will be punished by Santa, a young child (Billy) sees his parents brutally murdered by a maniac dressed as Santa. it is a memory that haunts him and has left him tragically traumatized.
We see the effects of this trauma when the movie takes us forward 3 years and he and his younger brother are in an orphanage. Once again its Christmas time and Billy is terrified of the traditional visit from Santa Claus. We are shown a truly disturbed child who doesn’t know how to move on with his life.
We fast forward again and Billy is now 18 years old, he gets a job in a toy store and seems to have gotten on with his life and turned out nicely despite his tragic past…. until once again Christmas time rolls round and he is asked to fill in for the missing Santa. Once Billy puts on the Santa outfit you can tell things are not going to end well.
Billy loses the plot and the killing spree begins, punishing those who are naughty. We see a-lot of brutality in the way he kills his victims, he is clearly a man who has lost his mind and won’t be stopped easily.
The film may seem campish and cheesy to today’s standards but it’s still very much an entertaining Holiday Horror. Robert Brian Wilson is amazing as adult Billy, you truly believe he is a very disturbed individual and also you feel compassion for him despite his murderous spree. It’s a shame he’s retired from acting, it seemed he had a bright future.
The whole cast is actually really good, the characters of the strictly disciplined Mother Superior and the loving and compassionate Sister Margaret are fantastic. We even see a young Linnea Quigley.
If you haven’t seen it then give it a watch, it’s a refreshing watch compared to the usual family friendly holiday films we are saturated with each year.
Miscellaneous facts about the film: