Jump Scares: Silent Night, Deadly Night
Looking for a killer holiday movie to watch? This one has a crazy Santa.
The holidays have officially begun! No matter which holiday you celebrate (or if you don’t at all), I hope nothing but good wishes to you.
To kick off the holiday cheer, I want to firstly introduce you all to a charity local to me that provides gifts for children during Christmas. Bright Holidays is a charity in Jacksonville, FL that helps schools provide gifts to underprivileged students and families during the season.
Obviously, you’re not obligated to donate, but sharing the link and spreading awareness is just as helpful. You can even search around your own local area for charities similar!
Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) is one of the first horror movies I think of in regards to Christmas.
Nearing 40 years old, the film is a great way to pass the time on a cold day with a hot cup of coffee. Preferably peppermint mocha or caramel brulée flavored coffee. Oh, and maybe pair it with a gingerbread cookie. Oh, and— sorry, I got sidetracked there.
I do definitely play into the stereotype of being a young adult with a mean coffee habit.
For those of you unfamiliar, it’s a film following the insanity of a young Billy Chapman. Billy, whose parents were murdered by a criminal dressed as Santa Claus, suffers from a serious case of PTSD.
Billy is forced to be the Santa Claus replacement at his work, and although he tries to enjoy himself, he eventually breaks down from the massive trauma that continues to haunt him over his parents. Thus, resulting in a night of slaughter.
There are plenty of Christmas horror movies that focus on a killer Santa — usually, these depict an evil version of the folklore character though. Silent Night, Deadly Night differs in its approach, opting to have a killer that’s a bit more complex than just another murderous Saint Nick.
It’s a pretty fun Christmas slasher, and definitely sparks holiday cheer with its festive kills. It’s sometimes labelled as a “so bad it’s good” movie, which is personally one of my favorite genres of movies.
There’s also a handful of sequels, as there usually is with these types of horror films. And, while I don’t think any of them were necessary, I can confidently say that Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987) at least provided us with one of the most iconic cinematic scenes in history.
Yep, that’s where that came from.
There was also a remake of the movie that was made in 2012 called Silent Night. It’s a very loose remake, however, and although there is a traumatized dude in a Santa suit killing people, it really isn’t the same. In fact, the killer isn’t even named Billy.
That’s not to say it’s a terrible movie. It’s certainly okay for what it is. Which, you know, is a 2012 slasher film full of silly kills and bad sex scenes.
But… it doesn’t hold much connection to the original.
There was also another remake that was announced for 2022, but um… that didn’t happen.
In fact, I have no idea if that’s still in the works or if they just gave up on it.
This is actually one of those films that I believe could benefit from a facelift. A remake of the film with a more serious tone could certainly be interesting, and I don’t think you would have to change much of the plot.
The plot itself is actually decent, it’s just the execution that needs to be updated.
Still, I find the movie to be a holly jolly good time and definitely worth a watch for the holiday season.