30th Anniversary Silent Night, Deadly Night Retrospective: Part 1
John Squires
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And so, looking to capitalize on the slasher trend of the time, and inspired by Caimi’s idea of a killer in a Santa suit, Schneid, his producing partner Dennis Whitehead and hired writer Michael Hickey got to work on a completely original 30-page treatment, which they called Slayride.
Rather than simply copying the tried and true slasher movie formula, the trio instead decided to take a bit of a different direction with their movie, a unique way of presenting the gory slayings that sets Silent Night, Deadly Night apart from the pack.
“We agreed that the most interesting and fun way to do it would be to examine the sequence of events that lead, like dominoes falling, to Billy-as-Santa’s ultimate Christmas eve killing spree,” recalls Hickey, “rather than following the usual approach of focusing on the victims.”
Based on the treatment they worked up, Schneid and Whitehead were able to raise the funds needed to hire Hickey to write the full screenplay, telling the story of a young boy who is shaped into a killer before our very eyes – forced by various events in his life to carry out Santa’s duties: reward the nice, and punish the naughty… severely.
Enter Ira Barmak – the Ira in Ira’s Toys. The script in the can, Schneid and Whitehead signed over the ownership rights of the property to Barmak, who formed a company called Slayride Inc., in order to make the movie. It was at this point that Barmak completely took over the reins of the sleigh, leaving the two men who conceived the idea in the dust – in fact, Schneid says, he and Dennis weren’t even invited to the cast & crew screening.
Barmak at the time had a deal with TriStar pictures to make low-budget films, the company realizing the potential for horror movies to turn small piles of money into much bigger piles of money – thanks to films like Halloween and Friday the 13th pulling in huge numbers at the box office. When Barmak brought Hickey’s violent screenplay to their attention, TriStar found precisely what they were looking for, inking a deal to make Slayride their first foray into low-budget horror territory.
Fresh off a string of big-budget films, TriStar soon became uncomfortable about venturing into the brave new world they were at first eager to head into, and it was then-President Jeff Sagansky who convinced his friend Charles E. Sellier Jr. to come on board the ship. A veteran of film and television, Sellier had previously created the popular TV series “The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams,” and Sagansky felt that bringing Sellier into the project would ensure that they weren’t getting in over their heads.
While not a fan of horror movies, Sellier agreed to do the film as a personal favor to his friend. “Jeff Sagansky had given me a lot of work in the past and I did not want to let him down,” said the director, in a candid interview with Calum Waddell for Arrow Video’s UK DVD release of the film.
Filming took place in the winter of 1983, in the Utah towns of Salt Lake City and Haber City. Directorial duties during the 32 days of the shoot were shared by Sellier and Michael Spence, Spence being credited on the project as editor and 2nd unit director. In truth, Spence directed a large portion of the film, brought in by Sellier to tackle the more action-oriented sequences and handle the tough night shoots. Spence had worked as an editor for Sellier in the past and had just come off of doing 2nd unit work on another film with him, and he jumped at the idea of helping to direct portions of Silent Night, Deadly Night.
Spence was involved in location scouting, arranging shot lists and even casting, and when it came time for the cameras to roll, he found himself with a lot more on his plate than he was used to, as a 2nd unit director. “Because of the tight schedule,” Spence told us, “Charles gave me a lot to do.”
In addition to filming the usual establishing shots and filler material that 2nd unit directors are tasked with, including insert shots of the creepy nutcrackers and clown faces seen in Ira’s Toys, Spence also helped out with several scenes that Sellier just didn’t have time to get around to, including the toy store murders, the demise of the unlucky sleigh-rider, and the decapitation of the snowman. As Sellier mentioned in an audio interview included on Anchor Bay’s ‘Christmas Survival Double Feature’ DVD set, he admittedly didn’t want to deal with filming outdoors and at night, which he suggests is one of the reasons he gave Spence so much to do.
Spence, who looks back on the film as a great learning experience, was more than happy taking on the increased workload, and was allowed the freedom to flex his own creative muscles. Though a few of his ideas made it into the film, including the white flashes used during the flashback sequences, he does recall one Evil Dead-inspired moment that ended up on the cutting room floor.
Remember the female clerk in Ira’s Toys, who Billy kills with a bow and arrow? Spence got a little bit more creative than Sellier wanted with the scene. “I had seen Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead and loved some of the moving camera stuff he did,” recalls Spence. “So we attached an arrow just below the lens and dollied in very fast creating an arrow tracking shot as the arrow flew to the victim. But Chuck thought it was just a little too over the top, so it was not used.”
THE RETROSPECTIVE CONTINUES ON THE NEXT PAGE!
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