Presents or Punishment? Dashing Through the ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’ Series

December 23, 2020

Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) | TriStar Pictures/Sony — TriStar Pictures

With Christmas on its way this week, I thought it would be the perfect time to visit one of the few horror franchises where I have only seen the first. After some (extremely) light convincing from some friends, I’ve decided to jump in my big red sleigh and ride through the Silent Night, Deadly Night series. Did I receive presents or punishment this Christmas? Let’s find out!

Although the first Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) gets more attention around the holidays, I honestly believe it’s one of the more underrated and lesser-known slasher flicks out there. Billy’s (the antagonist) origin story is brutal to watch and incredibly realistic in comparison to other famous slasher films.

This film takes more of a ’70s-’80s serial killer profiling approach for the backstory. For those of you that haven’t seen the film, 8-year-old Billy and his baby brother are taken to see their senile grandfather around Christmas. Grandpa breaks his normal catatonic state to warn Billy that Santa punishes those who misbehave. On their way home, a hitch-hiking murderer dressed as Santa fools Billy’s parents into pulling over their car, then proceeds to murder his mother and father in front of him.

Billy and his brother grow up in an abusive orphanage, and when Billy starts working at a local department store, his past trauma triggers a murderous rage, causing him to deem everyone as naughty, and they must be punished. Although there are a lot of silly holiday-themed murders, the story is linear and clear, giving us a nice beginning, middle and end. I totally recommend checking out the first film.

This is where things start to get a little interesting, with Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 (1987). Never, ever, ever watch the first two films back-to-back. The first 40 minutes of part 2 are quite literally just scenes from the first film, with little 30 second explanatory moments of Ricky (Billy’s now-grown brother) rehashing Billy’s murders to a psychiatrist. Ricky then also goes on a murder spree, in hopes to get back at the abusive nuns that raised the brothers. The sequel is super cheesy, but there are still some fun deaths in it, including the famous “Garbage Day!” scene that pops up on every “Top 10 Hilarious Death Scenes” list out there. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of watching it right after I saw the first one. Watch this film at your own risk.

Next comes Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! (1989). Although it technically does continue the continuity of the first two films, part 3 lands smack down in supernatural territory. Ricky has been comatose for six years, and doctors are using a clairvoyant blind girl in attempts to establish a psychic link to learn more about him. Cue Ricky waking up, developing a Michael Myers style obsession over the girl, and killing anyone that gets in his way. I have no idea where this script fits in. This is without a doubt the worst film in the franchise, and I suggest skipping it unless you’re a completionist that likes to torment yourself with bad films, like me.

Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990) goes straight off the rails, but I like it. This film breaks completely from the rest of the franchise in a way that Halloween III: Season of the Witch does. It also has a lot less to do with Christmas than the rest of the films. There is a hefty bit to unpack with the story of the fourth film, so just know when you watch, you’re in for witches, giant roaches, slug-like larvae going in and coming out of all orifices, Clint Howard covered in slime, full-body burns, an uncool Reggie Bannister, and lots of yelling. This film was directed by Brian Yuzna, who directed Society and Bride of Re-Animator, if that gives you any indication of how crazy and goopy this film is. I’d probably rank in second out of the entire franchise.

The fifth film, Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (1991), also breaks away from all the other films. This is kind of ironic, considering the director, Martin Kitrosser typically works in the “Script and Continuity” department of films. Brian Yuzna returns to write the screenplay and we get to see Mickey Rooney in a rare villainous role. Murderous toys and fun gore effects are just a couple of the many things I like about this film. After watching, I wondered if it lent some inspiration to Michael Dougherty’s Krampus (2015). Part five throws out a lot of little Easter eggs from the other films, including a hilarious “Larry the Larvae” toy that clearly references part four. This one comes in right behind part four and is totally worth the watch.

The last film in the franchise isn’t a sequel, but a “remake/reboot” that came 21 years after part five was released. Silent Night (2012) is an extremely loose retelling of the original film. None of the backstory is used for the film, and the only real similarities are the killer Santa and some visual references. The backstory of the killer is a closer to the story of real-life mass murderer Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, in case you feel like checking that out. Malcolm McDowell is a welcomed sight as always, but the film falls flat as typical modern cookie-cutter slashers often do. If there is one thing typical modern slasher films do well-enough at though, it’s showing us lots of gore and boobs. This film delivers strongly on both. The remake is worth the watch, but nothing special.

So, I’ve made the list, and I’ve checked it twice. Did I receive presents or punishment for watching the Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise? I would say Santa’s verdict is…PRESENTS. I loved the first film and parts four and five were tons of fun. The remake and part two weren’t exactly good by any means, but they work well enough on their own. The only one that felt like a true punishment was part three.

Let us know what your favorite film of the series is! Lastly, I hope you have a safe and wonderful holiday, and you better be good, or Santa will PUNISH!