Starring Jonathan Best, Tara Buckman, Lilyan Chauvin, Charles Dierkop, Leo Geter, Linnea Quigley
Directed by Charles E. Sellier, Jr.
Distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment
“You scared, ain’t ya? You should be! Christmas Eve is the scariest damn night of the year! Santy Claus only brings presents to them that’s been good all year. All the other ones, all the naughty ones, he punishes! What about you, boy? You been good all year? You see Santa Claus tonight you better run boy, you better run for ya life!”
Who could forget that lovable rant from the faux-catatonic grandpa at the opening of one of the most controversial films of our lifetime?
Yep, it was back in good old 1984 when parents, critics, celebrities, industry folk, and everyone in between collectively threw a hissy-fit over nothing. Not old enough to remember and wondering what was up their asses? Let me wax on a bit. Every body was up-in-arms because this low-budget cheapo flick featured a killer who dressed in a Santa suit. Ponder that if you will. No one ever claimed it was the real Santa killing folks in this movie. Just some schmuck dressed like him. Hell, he didn’t even have the beard on all the way. Yet, everyone needs a cause I guess. That and a clue. Just a few weeks after its opening, Silent Night Deadly Night was yanked from cinemas. Thankfully we have Anchor Bay to set things straight for the horror fan looking for a little holiday inspired slaughter, as they’ve just released the most complete cut of the film — ever — just in time for Christmas.
That’s the gist of things, and honestly other than it being a gooey good time it’s just your standard slasher fare. Certainly nothing for anyone to lose their minds over. You have got to give it to Anchor Bay though. They almost always go the extra mile for fans. What they’ve done here is found two cuts of the film and spliced them together to create the most complete release to be found anywhere. Every so often you’ll notice a dip in picture quality as one print was in much better condition than the other, but that’s a small price to pay to finally have the movie the way that it was meant to be seen.
Silent Night Deadly Night is not a great flick. Hell, it’s not even a good flick (yet it does look like an Academy Award winning film in comparison to its four sequels). What we have here is an uber-sleazy guilty pleasure that is aired in my household at least once every December. For me it’s up there with The Grinch Who Stole Christmas cartoon. Click the link below to buy it and then stick it sraight into some one’s stocking today! If only to watch them grimace!
Happy Holidaze!
Special Features
3 out of 5
Special Features:
2 1/2 out of 5
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