While I was out doing some Christmas shopping, I somehow spotted a dual disc on sale that contained Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) and its sequel, Silent Night, Deadly Night II (1987). I’ve only ever seen about 60% of the first film and never even seen the trailer for the second. Obviously, this became an early Christmas present to myself. Here’s my thoughts on this Christmas sequel.
Silent Night, Deadly Night II is written and directed by Lee Harry with a host of other screen writers. Cast members include Eric Freeman (Children of the Corn), James Newman (Legally Blonde II), Elizabeth Kaitan (Friday the 13th Part VII), Darrel Guilbeau (“Final Fantasy: The Crystal Bearers”), Jean Miller, Corrine Gelfan, Michael Combatti, and Nadya Wynd.
“Ricky, the brother of the killer in the first film, talks to a psychitrist about how he became a brutal killer after his brother died, leading back to Mother Superior.”
…I just… I don’t understand why this movie had to be made. I know the horror genre is especially cluttered with sequels and remakes, but I don’t understand why this movie had to be made. I know that the first film was noteworthy and successful in its own right, making back 3x its budget and causing protests nationwide, and so maybe Silent Night, Deadly Night II was trying to capitalize off of that buzz. The only problem is this title is especially horribly written, which is frightening considering almost four different screenwriters worked together on this “masterpiece.” The first half of the movie is flashbacks of re-used archive footage profiling the entire last feature, then there’s twenty minutes of pointless, suspense-less build up that climaxes with a very awkward mass murder sequence and laughable chase scene involving a nun in a wheelchair. Who backed this film? What company actually thought this was a good idea? I’m not alone in my thoughts because Silent Night, Deadly Night II only made $153,000 based on a budget of $250,000 while in theaters.
Everything about this flick is horrible, just horrible. The storyline is basically non-existent, I can’t think of any good kill scenes except the guy’s head in the car, and the acting… My god… The acting is the worst part. The worst one of all was the lead, Eric Freeman. He wasn’t believable in anything he did, whether he was supposed to be “in love,” “serious,” “funny,” or “batshit crazy.” So stiff and unnatural. His walking handgun massacre scene was so badly acted that the whole thing was laughable. I will personally slap anyone who things that part of the movie – or any of it, really – is the slightest bit scary. Was that the point? Was this movie supposed to be cheesy, campy, and “so bad it’s good?” Am I missing the point? Boring, awkward, and not a single good performance, except for Elizabeth Kaitan, and even though it has a strong production quality for such a small budget, not even that can salvage Silent Night, Deadly Night II.
It was branded as a horror-comedy during the time of its release. Where were any of the two elements? WHERE?!
I’m giving this a 3.5 out of 10. Avoid this and save your money for a better holiday classic. What’s even scarier is there are more Silent Night, Deadly Night sequels out there………
