Silent Night Deadly Night, 1984.
Directed by Charles E. Seller Jr.
Starring Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero and Robert Brian Wilson.
SYNOPSIS:
After witnessing the brutal murder of his parents at the hands of a criminal in a Santa outfit and forced to endure a brutal upbringing at the hands of a strict Mother Superior, young Billy grows up with a warped sense of morality regarding so-called “naughty” deeds and a deep anxiety about the festive season, developing a deep fear of the figure of Santa Claus. Billy eventually grows up and finally appears to be on his way to becoming a model citizen, however, when the holidays roll around his fragile mind finally cracks and donning a Santa suit, begins to inflict his own brand of punishment upon those he thinks have been “naughty”.
So we’ve come to Christmas Eve here at 12 Days of Christmas Horror and I hope you’re all as excited for the day that is to come as I am.
So as it is the season to be jolly and kind to one and other and all that Christmas card crap, I thought it only appropriate that or today’s review I take a look a film that is not only one of the darkest Christmas films ever made but also one of the most controversial slasher films of the 1980s. I am of course referring to the quintessential “Killer Santa” film 1984’s Silent Night Deadly Night, a film that tells us we should be good all year – otherwise, Santa will mess your shit up.
The acting in the film is surprisingly decent for an 80s slasher film with the characters being relatively well written and performed for the most part.
Robert Brian Wilson makes for a pretty compelling lead as Billy, managing to effectively portray the fragile mental state of a traumatised young man; it also helps that he makes for a bloody intense Santa Claus when he has to fill in for a co-worker at the toy store.
Wilson’s performance does suffer a bit in the second half when the character finally snaps and embarks on his Christmas killing spree, with much of his dialogue being reduced to saying “PUNISH” or “NAUGHTY while swinging an axe. But his manic gazes and sinister grins more than make up for this sudden lack of dialogue, with Wilson making for an effective and intense slasher killer overall.
Lilyan Chauvin cuts a very imposing and ruthless figure as Mother Superior, your classic angry nun who runs an orphanage as if it was bloody Colditz, instilling discipline in the children by way of a brutal beating, and lecturing that punishment is a good and necessary thing.
This sort of warped sense of morality, it could be argued, makes Mother Superior the real villain of the film if you look at things carefully. She knows Billy is traumatised by the murder of his parents at the hands of Santa-clad thug, but she insists that he sit on his lap, and instils in the boy the strange logic that he uses when committing his own murder spree later in the film. If anything she made him the monster he becomes in the end.
The film is incredibly dark in its depiction of events, with the violence being fairly brutal at times. The opening murder of Billy’s parents is particularly unpleasant to watch, and later flashbacks only serve to make the scenes even more gory and violent. And I’ll admit some of these more violent moments did make me feel uncomfortable, especially the scenes of sexual assault which are never pleasant, and could prove off-putting to some viewers.
Although sometimes the kills can a little over the top, like when he uses a bow and arrow with a level of skill you’d think he’d got his training in Sherwood Forest.
Despite the dark tone, however, the film does have a few moments of humour scattered throughout, although I’m not sure how intentional much of it is. Like when young Billy pays a visit to his grandfather, a visit in which the old man delivers a chilling monologue about Santa Claus punishing those who have been bad, seemingly confusing St Nicholas with Charles Bronson.
One moment that is meant to be scary but made me laugh is when Billy takes over as Santa for the toy shop in which he works. Seriously there’s nothing more darkly hilarious than seeing Santa threatening children with swift and brutal punishment if they won’t stop fidgeting on his knee.
The most noticeable and downright out of place moment has to be, I kid you not, an uplifting montage of Billy working in the toy shop, with it all set to this cringe-inducing cheesy inspirational song that makes the whole sequence seem like the opening of a bad 80s sitcom. It’s just an odd sequence that comes after nearly a solid half hour of misery featuring murder at the hands of Santa, and brutal discipline at the hands of Mother Superior. It’s just so bloody strange to see in a film with such a dark reputation, but it’s also really funny for all those same reasons.
This film is arguably best remembered for the controversy it unleashed upon its initial release in 1984, with the film being picketed by angry parents who thought the film send kids the wrong message, despite the fact that as a violent horror film, complete with sex and nudity, it was obviously not made for children.
The legendary film critic duo of Siskel & Ebert also denounced the film on their TV show, with Siskel reading the names of the filmmakers as a way of shaming them and going as far to say that the profit the film made “truly was blood money” because of course, it was.
Most notable, and surreal, in his condemnation though was Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney who said the filmmakers were “scum”; it should be noted that Rooney would later appear in Silent Night Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker a few years later. Guess time and a pay cheque heal all wounds I guess.
In closing, Silent Night Deadly Night is a surprisingly effective slasher, thanks in part to its rather well-developed story that actually focuses more on the psychological damage inflicted upon the Billy character by his traumatic childhood, making it somewhat more developed than your average most 80s gorefest.
While the film is no artistic masterpiece, it is an enjoyable and sometimes darkly hilarious film that some of you might get some kind of twisted enjoyment out of. Check it out if you’re in the mood for something a bit darker this Christmas Eve.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Graeme Robertson
