********Eight Out of Ten Stars********
The plot is based upon a little boy who witnesses his parents being murdered on Christmas Eve by a robber dressed as Santa Clause. After being placed in a Catholic orphanage, and being treated with the usual incompetent state and private rehabilitative causes, this boy grows up to be a young man unable to control his drive to murder on Christmas.
As a die hard horror film maniac, who finally viewed this film for the first time on Christmas day of 2009, I wonder, why did I wait so long to see this movie? This film was simply incredible in every possible way. I've decided to buy it on DVD and make it a yearly viewing tradition in my household. "Silent Night Deadly Night" attempts to elicit many varying emotional responses from audience members: Fear, pity, laughter, sorrow, just to name a few. This movie is way more than just another slasher flick.
There's a tremendous amount of social commentary wrapped up here, including the ridiculousness of traditional Catholic discipline. Throw in some bullies and miserable co-workers getting murdered, and this film is actually sort of therapeutic for those of us who've been traumatized by these types of societal pricks.
The story is pretty well done; my only complaint is that Billy didn't spend more time in the film breaking into random homes on Christmas Eve. I believe there was only one random home break-in, and that simply wasn't enough. The scare factor would have ratcheted up had the producers taken advantage of these home invasions on Christmas Eve.
Acting wise, the film is so so. Some of the acting is incredible and some of it's hammy cheese. The only thing is, is that the hammy cheese acting seems almost intentional, and really kind of adds flavor to the gritty sleazy overall feeling of the film. So at the end of the day, I would be safe to say the acting is more than acceptable, considering the budget and the overall type of film this was trying to be.
The producers knew full well what kind of sleazy, offensive movie they were making here, and they don't try to make it out to be anything other than that. And that's why I love this movie, it's honest and real; unlike most of the fake ass crap that Hollywood has gotten in the habit of making lately.
From a technical perspective, I don't think one could have asked for much more from a budget of this size. The directing, cinematography, editing, and sound are all at the very least average. And what more can you ask from a movie of this stature. I mean, they weren't trying to win an Oscar with this film. Oh, and the sound score was pure 1980's beauty; all the songs included were nostalgic hits for me.
The only other complaints I have, besides the lack of home invasions, is for one, that the film wasn't longer. It came in at slightly over an hour and twenty minutes, which wasn't enough for an iconic eighties sleaze fest. My other complaint was that the producers didn't film this specifically around Christmas. While there is snow, you can tell the producers threw up some Christmas lights on a couple houses to complete the Christmas affect, and it just wasn't enough to complete a true Christmas feeling.
All in all, I love this film. It's a true American sleaze classic that deserves respect. I recommend it to all true blue horror fans and to conservative religious mothers who are overprotective of their sheltered children :) Merry Christmas! And God bless us everyone!
The plot is based upon a little boy who witnesses his parents being murdered on Christmas Eve by a robber dressed as Santa Clause. After being placed in a Catholic orphanage, and being treated with the usual incompetent state and private rehabilitative causes, this boy grows up to be a young man unable to control his drive to murder on Christmas.
As a die hard horror film maniac, who finally viewed this film for the first time on Christmas day of 2009, I wonder, why did I wait so long to see this movie? This film was simply incredible in every possible way. I've decided to buy it on DVD and make it a yearly viewing tradition in my household. "Silent Night Deadly Night" attempts to elicit many varying emotional responses from audience members: Fear, pity, laughter, sorrow, just to name a few. This movie is way more than just another slasher flick.
There's a tremendous amount of social commentary wrapped up here, including the ridiculousness of traditional Catholic discipline. Throw in some bullies and miserable co-workers getting murdered, and this film is actually sort of therapeutic for those of us who've been traumatized by these types of societal pricks.
The story is pretty well done; my only complaint is that Billy didn't spend more time in the film breaking into random homes on Christmas Eve. I believe there was only one random home break-in, and that simply wasn't enough. The scare factor would have ratcheted up had the producers taken advantage of these home invasions on Christmas Eve.
Acting wise, the film is so so. Some of the acting is incredible and some of it's hammy cheese. The only thing is, is that the hammy cheese acting seems almost intentional, and really kind of adds flavor to the gritty sleazy overall feeling of the film. So at the end of the day, I would be safe to say the acting is more than acceptable, considering the budget and the overall type of film this was trying to be.
The producers knew full well what kind of sleazy, offensive movie they were making here, and they don't try to make it out to be anything other than that. And that's why I love this movie, it's honest and real; unlike most of the fake ass crap that Hollywood has gotten in the habit of making lately.
From a technical perspective, I don't think one could have asked for much more from a budget of this size. The directing, cinematography, editing, and sound are all at the very least average. And what more can you ask from a movie of this stature. I mean, they weren't trying to win an Oscar with this film. Oh, and the sound score was pure 1980's beauty; all the songs included were nostalgic hits for me.
The only other complaints I have, besides the lack of home invasions, is for one, that the film wasn't longer. It came in at slightly over an hour and twenty minutes, which wasn't enough for an iconic eighties sleaze fest. My other complaint was that the producers didn't film this specifically around Christmas. While there is snow, you can tell the producers threw up some Christmas lights on a couple houses to complete the Christmas affect, and it just wasn't enough to complete a true Christmas feeling.
All in all, I love this film. It's a true American sleaze classic that deserves respect. I recommend it to all true blue horror fans and to conservative religious mothers who are overprotective of their sheltered children :) Merry Christmas! And God bless us everyone!
