Silent Night, Deadly Night

Silent Night, Deadly Night is a 1984 American slasher film directed by Charles E. Sellier, Jr., and starring Robert Brian Wilson, Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero, Linnea Quigley, Britt Leach, and Leo Geter. The story concerns a young man named Billy, who suffers from posttraumatic stress over witnessing his parents' murder on Christmas Eve and his subsequent upbringing in an abusive Catholic orphanage. In adulthood, the Christmas holiday leads him into a psychological breakdown, and he emerges as a spree killer donning a Santa suit.

Not to be confused with Silent Night, Bloody Night.
Silent Night, Deadly Night
Theatrical release poster
Directed byCharles E. Sellier Jr.
Produced byIra Richard Barmak
Scott J. Schneid
Dennis Whitehead
Screenplay byMichael Hickey
Story byPaul Caimi
Starring
Music byPerry Botkin
CinematographyHenning Schellerup
Edited byMichael Spence
Production
company
Slayride Productions Inc.
Distributed byTriStar Pictures
Release date
  • November 9, 1984 (1984-11-09)
Running time
79 minutes
85 minutes (Unrated cut)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$750,000[1]
Box office$2.5 million[2]

The film was released by TriStar Pictures on November 9, 1984, where it received substantial controversy over its promotional material and content, which featured a killer Santa Claus. In addition to receiving negative reviews, it was pulled from theaters a week after its release. However, it was a success during its opening week, grossing $2.5 million on a budget of $750,000. Since its release, it has developed a cult following[3] and spawned a series, consisting of four sequels, with the fourth and fifth installments having no connection to the original film, as well as a loose remake in 2012.

Plot

In 1971, five-year-old Billy Chapman and his family go to visit a nursing home where his catatonic grandfather stays; when Billy remains alone with him for a few minutes, his grandfather suddenly awakens and tells Billy to fear Santa Claus, as he gives presents only to the children who have been good all year, and punishes the ones who have been naughty, no matter how briefly. While driving back, a man dressed in a Santa outfit seemingly has car trouble and gets Billy's family's attention. As they pull over to help, the Santa-clad criminal shoots the father with a pistol. He forcibly removes the mother, attempts to rape her and slashes her throat with a switchblade. Billy runs off to hide, leaving his baby brother Ricky in the car.

Three years later in 1974, Billy and Ricky are celebrating Christmas in an orphanage run by Mother Superior, a strict disciplinarian who persistently strikes children who misbehave and considers punishment to be a necessary and good thing. Sister Margaret, the only one who sympathizes with the children, tries to help Billy play with the other children, but Billy is constantly subject to Mother Superior's scrutinizing eyes and regularly punished. On Christmas morning, the orphanage invites a man in a Santa Claus suit to visit the children; Billy gets dragged by Mother Superior and he punches the man before fleeing to his room in horror.

10 years later, in the spring of 1984, a now-adult Billy leaves the orphanage to find a normal life, and obtains a job as a stock boy at a local toy store, thanks to Sister Margaret. At the store, he develops a crush on his co-worker Pamela; he has sexual thoughts regarding her which are often interrupted by morbid visions of his parents' murders. On Christmas Eve, the employee who plays the store's Santa Claus has been injured the night before and as a result Billy's boss Mr. Sims makes him take his place. After the store closes, the staff has a Christmas Eve party. Billy (still dressed in a Santa Claus suit) tries to have a good time at the party, but he keeps having memories of his parents' murders, causing him to feel depressed. At one point, he sees his co-worker Andy making out with Pamela and they both walk into the back room. Billy walks after them and sees Andy trying to rape Pamela. This finally, psychologically, triggers his insanity; he hangs Andy with a string of Christmas lights and stabs Pamela with a utility knife, uttering darkly that punishment is good.

A highly intoxicated Mr. Sims goes into the back room to check on the noises he heard. Just when he is about to leave, Billy murders him with a hammer. Billy turns off the store's lights, causing his manager, Mrs. Randall, to go check out the back room. She screams at the sight of Mr. Sims' corpse and tries to call police, but Billy cuts the phone line using a double-bit axe, causing her to run and hide. Billy walks around the store trying to find her and, at one point, Mrs. Randall jumps out and trips Billy, stealing his axe. Before she can escape, Billy shoots and kills her with a bow and arrow.

As Sister Margaret discovers the carnage and returns to the orphanage to seek help via telephone, Billy breaks into a nearby house where a young couple named Denise and Tommy are having sex and a little girl named Cindy is sleeping; Billy then impales Denise on a set of deer antlers and throws Tommy through a window. When this awakens Cindy, Billy then confronts her and asks her if she has been nice or naughty; she says she has been nice, and he gives her the utility knife he had used earlier. After this, he witnesses bullies picking on two sledding teenage boys and decapitates one of the bullies with his axe as the other screams in horror.

The next morning, the orphanage is secured with Officer Barnes and Captain Richards aided by Sister Margaret, who knows that Billy has committed the murders. The deaf pastor, Father O'Brien, who was dressed in a Santa outfit, is mistakenly shot by Barnes upon coming forward, mistaking him to be Billy. Barnes is then axed by Billy while distracted. Due to his Santa outfit, Billy gains access into the orphanage and confronts Mother Superior, now in a wheelchair. She taunts Billy due to her disbelief in Santa Claus and just as he prepares to kill her with his axe, Richards appears and shoots him in the back, much to Sister Margaret's shock. As the dying Billy lays on the ground, he utters to the nearby children "You're safe now, Santa Claus is gone." before succumbing to his wounds. As the children gather around, Ricky, coldly staring at Mother Superior, utters "Naughty".

Cast
  • Robert Brian Wilson as Billy Chapman (age 18)
    • Danny Wagner as eight-year-old Billy
    • Jonathan Best as five-year-old Billy
  • Alex Burton as Ricky Chapman at 14
    • Max Broadhead as four-year-old Ricky
    • Melissa Best as infant Ricky
  • Lilyan Chauvin as Mother Superior
  • Gilmer McCormick as Sister Margaret
  • Toni Nero as Pamela
  • Britt Leach as Mr. Sims
  • Nancy Borgenicht as Mrs. Randall
  • H.E.D. Redford as Captain Richards
  • Linnea Quigley as Denise
  • Leo Geter as Tommy
  • Randy Stumpf as Andy
  • Will Hare as Grandpa Chapman
  • Tara Buckman as Ellie Chapman
  • Geoff Hansen (Credited as Jeff Hansen) as Jim Chapman
  • Charles Dierkop as "killer Santa" (criminal in a Santa Claus outfit)
  • Eric Hart as Mr. Levitt
  • A. Madeline Smith as Sister Ellen
  • Amy Stuyvesant as Cindy
  • Max Robinson as Officer Barnes
  • Vinc Massa as Doug
  • John Michael Alvarez as Jim
  • John Bishop as Bob
  • Richard C. Terry as Mac
  • Oscar Rowland as Dr. Conway
  • Richard D. Clark as Officer Miller
  • Tip Boxell as Officer Murphy
  • Judith Roberts as Mother Superior (uncredited)
  • J. Paul Boardhead as Santa in store
  • Spencer Ashby as Santa in orphanage
  • Donald L. Shanks as Santa climbing in window (uncredited)
  • Angela Montoya as little girl on Santa's lap
  • Molly Cameron as little girl on Santa's lap's mother
  • Betsy Nagel as other mother in store
  • Joan S. Forster as other mother in store
  • Barbara Stafford as teen lover in orphanage
  • Paul Mulder as teen lover in orphanage
  • Dan Rogers as dispatcher
  • Spencer Alston as child in orphanage
  • Kristi Ballard as child in orphanage
  • Jacob Peterson as child in orphanage
  • Jonathan Wilde as child in orphanage
  • Susie Massa as child in orphanage
  • Sarah Stuyvesant as child in orphanage

Release

The film was released theatrically by TriStar Pictures on November 9, 1984,[4] opening in 398 theaters in the North East and Midwest United States.[5] On its opening weekend, the film finished eighth, grossing $1,432,800.[6] It outgrossed Wes Craven's landmark slasher A Nightmare on Elm Street, which opened the same day (albeit in 235 fewer theaters). Before being pulled from theaters, it grossed over $2.4 million in its first 10 days of release.[2]

In November 2013, it was announced that Fangoria in association with Brainstorm Media and Screenvision would be re-releasing the film to theaters in the United States throughout December 2013.[7]

Controversy and censorship

Silent Night, Deadly Night was one of the most controversial films of the 1980s due to its advertising campaign, particularly its posters and TV spots, that made significant emphasis on the killer being dressed as Santa Claus.[8] The PTA fought to have this film removed from theaters due to its subject matter and the fact that it was shown around Christmas, although an earlier film with a similar premise, Christmas Evil, had gone unnoticed. Television advertisements, which aired between episodes of family-friendly series such as Three's Company and Little House on the Prairie, led to parents complaining that their children were terrified of Santa Claus.[5] Large crowds (mostly angry families) formed at theaters and malls around the nation to protest the film; at the film's East Coast premiere at the Interboro Quad Theater in The Bronx in New York City, protesters picketed the theater and sang Christmas carols in protest.[9]

"Most protests were generated by the feeling that the depiction of a killer in a Santa Claus suit would traumatize children and undermine their traditional trust in Santa Claus."

Variety editorial, November 1984.[5]

In response, TriStar Pictures, the film's original distributor, pulled all ads for the film six days after its release on November 15, 1984.[5] The film itself was also withdrawn shortly thereafter, due to the controversy.[10] In response to the public outcry, producer Ira Barmak told People magazine: "People have taken offense at Santa being used in a scary context... Santa Claus is not a religious figure, he's a mythic character. I didn't deliberately ride roughshod over that sensitivity and I didn't anticipate the objection to it."[11] An editorial published in Variety stated: "Most protests were generated by the feeling that the depiction of a killer in a Santa Claus suit would traumatize children and undermine their traditional trust in Santa Claus."[5] When the film was castigated at length by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, the backlash against the film became louder and more widespread.

The film was due to be re-released by an independent distributor, Aquarius Films, in May 1985, with an ad campaign replacing the original "Twas the night before Christmas"-themed trailer with a new one that centered on the controversy surrounding the film and edited out all close-up shots of Billy, in the Santa suit, with weapons. The print ad material also replaced the original 'Chimney' picture with one that talked about the controversy. However, the film only had further test engagements.[12]

In the United Kingdom, the movie was never submitted for certification to the BBFC, and its sequel was denied a video certificate in 1987 after the distributors refused to make the cuts required for an '18' certificate. However, in 2009, Arrow Films submitted the film to the BBFC for classification, who passed the film uncut with an 18 certificate.[13] The UK DVD was released on November 23, 2009.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Silent Night, Deadly Night holds a 32% approval rating based on 19 critic reviews, with an average rating of 3.94/10.[14]

Siskel and Ebert condemned the film and Siskel went as far as to read names of the film's production crew on air, telling them, "Shame on you". Siskel also said that all the money the filmmakers were making off of this film was blood money.[15] Leonard Maltin also denounced the film, calling it a "...worthless splatter film", giving it zero stars and asking: "What's next, the Easter Bunny as a child killer?" A Daily Variety review argued that whatever arguments the film was making on the commercialism of Christmas was overshadowed by the graphic violence, which the reviewer saw as off-putting. Michael Wilmington wrote in the Los Angeles Times: "[it's] safe to predict that Silent Night, Deadly Night… will start making ‘Worst Movie of All Time’ lists almost immediately". One positive notice came from Kirk Ellis from The Hollywood Reporter, who complimented director Sellier's "workmanlike competence" and praised the cinematography and Gilmer McCormack's performance as Sister Margaret.[16]

Home media

The film was originally released on VHS in 1986 through USA Home Video. In 1987, The film was re-released on VHS tape by International Video Entertainment. By 1991, the film's home video rights were transferred to Avid Home Entertainment, which was released that same year.

The film was released three times on DVD in the United States by Anchor Bay Entertainment. The first release was a double feature disc alongside sequel Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 in 2003.[17] The second release was in 2007.[18] The first two Region 1 releases are currently out of print.

The film was released on DVD in the United Kingdom in 2009 by Arrow Video; this set includes an audio interview with director Charles E. Sellier Jr., poster, booklet including "Deadly Director: Charles Sellier Interviewed by Calum Waddell" and "Silent Night, Sex Night: The Slice and Times of Linnea Quigley".[19]

On December 4, 2012, the film was again released alongside Part 2 as a two-disc "Christmas Survival Double Feature", containing the same archival bonus features as the 2003 release.[20]

On September 16, 2014, the film was released on Blu-ray by Anchor Bay/Starz Entertainment. No new special features were included, with the exception of a few new commentaries, none of which any of the actors participated in. The Blu-ray contains exactly the same release as previous DVD editions with the extended scenes edited back into the film with noticeable picture quality changes. There has yet to be a release of the full, uncut print from a single source.[21]

On December 5, 2017, Shout! Factory, under its Scream Factory label, released the film in a two-disc set collector's edition on Blu-ray and DVD. It contains the film remastered in a 4K resolution from the original negative. It also contained new special features such as an interview and audio commentary from actors Robert Brian Wilson and Linnea Quigley, co-executive producers Scott J. Schneid and Dennis Whitehead, writer Michael Hickey, music composer Perry Botkin, and editor Michael Spence. It also contained a new documentary on the making of the film entitled Slay Bells Ring: The Story of Silent Night, Deadly Night which included interviews from the cast and crew. The original theatrical trailer, radio and TV spots are included. It also contained the original special features from the 2003 and 2012 DVD and 2014 Blu-ray releases as well.

Scream Factory also released a limited edition deluxe offer that contained the collector's edition set along with a 18x24 size poster of the new artwork for the film, as well as an 8" tall figure of Billy in his Santa suit holding his double-bit axe. This offer was limited to 2,000 orders and pre-orders started on September 7, 2017.[22]

Sequels and remake

Due to the minor success of the film, four sequels were created, two of which, Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 and Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!, focus on Billy's younger brother Ricky turning evil and becoming a serial killer similar to his older brother, in which he was killed from having become insane because of his past. Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation and Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker, however, are entirely different, and each focuses on a different Christmas-themed horror story.

A loose remake of the film, titled Silent Night, was released on December 4, 2012, starring Jaime King and Malcolm McDowell.[23]

References
  1. "30TH ANNIVERSARY SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT RETROSPECTIVE: PART 1". Dead Central. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  2. "Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  3. "Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2: So Bad It's Good". Flavorwire. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  4. "The Six Slays of Christmas - Day Five". Dread Central. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  5. Kerswell, J.A. "Ho-Ho-HOMICIDE: The Silent Night, Deadly Night Controversy". Hysteria Lives!. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  6. Greenberg, James (November 13, 1984). "'Oh, God! You Devil' Snags $5.5 Mil Nationally". Daily Variety. p. 4.
  7. "Special Announcement: FANGORIA Brings Holiday Horror Classic "SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT" Back to the Big Screen this December!". fangoria.com. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
  8. Rockoff 2011, p. 156.
  9. Muir 2012, p. 412.
  10. Unknown (2006). Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (DVD (Region 1)). United States: THINKfilm.
  11. Grant, Stacey (December 12, 2015). "Why Silent Night, Deadly Night Is the Best Christmas Horror Movie You've Never Seen". MTV. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  12. "No Christmas Present for 'Silent Night'". Daily Variety. September 5, 1985. p. 1.
  13. BBFC Website - Silent Night, Deadly Night Classification Archived 2011-08-12 at the Wayback Machine
  14. "Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  15. gradepoint (2 February 2009). "At the Movies, 1984-Silent Night, Deadly Night". Retrieved 27 July 2016 – via YouTube.
  16. "SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (1984) - Movie Detail". American Film Institute. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  17. "Silent Night, Deadly Night / Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (DVD)". DVD Empire. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
  18. "Silent Night, Deadly Night (DVD)". DVD Empire. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
  19. In the UK? Win a Copy of Silent Night, Deadly Night on DVD!
  20. "Silent Night, Deadly Night: Parts 1 & 2". December 4, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2016 – via Amazon.
  21. Each release of the film on DVD and Blu-ray by Anchor Bay Entertainment features notable differences in quality between the footage of the theatrical cut, and the excised footage re-integrated into the film. It is noticeable (and noted) on both the 2003 DVD release and 2014 Blu-ray.
  22. https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/silent-night-deadly-night-deluxe-limited-edition-with-exclusive-action-figure?product_id=6463
  23. "Malcolm McDowell Talks Silent Night, Deadly Night Remake". Dread Central. Retrieved April 18, 2012.

Works cited
  • Muir, John Kenneth (2012). Horror Films of the 1980s. 1. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-47298-7.
  • Rockoff, Adam (2011). Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, 1978-1986. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-78646-932-1.
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