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Silent Night Deadly Night (1984)
I guess if there were a "golden era" for slasher films it would have to be between the years of 1980 and 1985, with 1985 kind of pushing it. Of course slasher films would continue to be made for years after but after that time period most of the films were simply formulaic and they really weren't bringing anything new to the genre. One of the last films out of that "golden era" would have to be the 1984 Christmas gone crazy slasher film, "Silent Night Deadly Night". It's a bit unconventional for a slasher film and to be honest I've felt for years that it's highly underrated.
"Silent Night Deadly Night" begins with young Billy and his family on the way to see his grandfather at the mental hospital. Upon getting there we learn that his grandfather is basically a mute that is until Billy's family leaves the room. While they are gone Billy's grandfather explains Christmas Eve a bit differently then most telling the boy that if he was naughty that Santa Claus was coming to punish him. On the ride home from the facility Billy and his folks end up running into a robber in a Santa Claus suit that results in Billy's parents getting killed by the psychopath. Years later after being in an orphanage he finds himself getting pushed into playing Santa for Christmas in a toy store, what results is a rampage that horror movie fans haven't forgotten since!
The film itself hit theaters toward the tail end of 1984 mainly in the Northeast and Midwest. The films distributor Tri-Star would actually pull the film from its scheduled West Coast release under pressure from the public. However the film would find its audience on home video much in the way that I had found the film years ago.
There are several things in my mind that make "Silent Night Deadly Night" not only a memorable film, but a special one as well. First off, it's endearing to horror fans everywhere due to Scream Queen Linnea Quigley's scene in which she shows the twins only to be disposed of in one of the more memorable kills in slasher film history. Also the film doesn't follow the conventional path that a lot of slasher films do. The deaths aren't occurring at a summer camp, the killer's identity isn't hidden at all and on top of that the presentation of the kills generally has no "stalk and slash" (think "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th" and the way the kills are shown on screen). At the time this was something that was followed literally as scripture, but generally the good films at this time were going outside of that a bit.
Overall "Silent Night Deadly Night" is one of the greatest slasher films ever made. Although it'll never have the impact that slashers like "Halloween" or "Friday the 13th" have had, but it's still a solidly entertaining and interesting film nonetheless. Plus without there being many quality horror films pertaining to Christmas, this is probably your best bet during the season outside of Bob Clark's classic "Black Christmas". HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Rating - ***
-Ed Demko
