Silent Night, Bloody Night (1974)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Theodore Gershuny

Writers:

Theodore Gershuny (writer)
Jeffrey Konvitz (screenplay)

Release Date:

April 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The mansion... the madness... the maniac... no escape.

Plot:

A man inherits a mansion, which once was a mental home. He visits the place and begins to investigate some crimes that happened in old times, scaring the people living in the region.

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Christmas Eve | Serial Killer | Revenge | Psychopath

Cast

Patrick O'Neal	...	John Carter
James Patterson	...	Jeffrey Butler
Mary Woronov	...	Diane Adams
Astrid Heeren	...	Ingrid
John Carradine	...	Charlie Towman
Walter Abel	...	Mayor Adams
Fran Stevens	...	Tess Howard
Walter Klavun	...	Sheriff Bill Mason
Philip Bruns	...	Wilfred Butler (1929) (as Phillip Bruns)
Staats Cotsworth	...	Wilfred Butler (voice)
Ondine	...	Chief Inmate
Tally Brown	...	Inmate
Lewis Love	...	Inmate
Candy Darling	...	Guest
Harvey Cohen	...	Inmate

Also Known As:

Death House
Night of the Dark Full Moon (UK)
Zora (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

88 min | USA:81 min | Canada:64 min (dvd version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:18 | USA:R | Iceland:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York, USA

Company:

Armor Films Inc.

Trivia:

The house used for the Butler Mansion still stands in Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York.

Quotes:

Diane Adams: How old are you?
Jeffrey Butler: You mean how many years have I lived?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Nightmare Theatre's Late Night Chill-o-Rama Horror Show Vol. 1 (1996) (V)

Low Budget, Obscure, But Effective Holiday Horror Film.

"Silent Night, Bloody Night" is an odd little horror film that was spawned in 1974, the same year as Bob Clark's phenomenal Christmas horror-film "Black Christmas". This film is not nearly as great but is very eerie. The plot revolves around a small rural town in New England. Wilford Butler was killed in an apparent accident years before at his old home that is secluded from the main town. Now, years later, a man inherits the old musty mansion that has been uninhabited for quite some time now. But unfortunately, there is a mad psychopath who is lurking inside the old house, wanting revenge on an age-old murder. As the Christmas holiday nears, the killer lures more and more to the house, where they are butchered one by one.

This is really not a bad premise for a horror movie at all, especially for the time it was written. In the '70s this was some prime, original stuff. To start off, this movie is highly (and very obviously) low budget. The camera-work is shaky and dark, the acting is below average, and the quality of the print that is available for this film is awful - very rough, blotchy, scratchy, and messy. The sound is also really awful. But despite these shortcomings, this is a very atmospheric and spooky film. There are some really great point-of-view shots (which I thought the original "Black Christmas" had basically invented) of the killer, that are effective and eerie. The house in the film is dark and creepy, and the atmosphere is very strange and uncomfortable - the feeling this movie gives off is just plain weird, it could have to do with the mysteriousness of it due to its low-budget quality, and the fact that it's so unknown of. I enjoyed this movie, but I have to admit it's a strange viewing experience. The sepia-toned flashbacks are really creepy also, but the narration is lacking a little bit.

But while this is a bizarre film and does have its problems, "Silent Night, Bloody Night" actually has a rather intelligent plot behind it. The story is really interesting, but it takes awhile for the film to go anywhere. It's a little bit boring when it begins, and it gets a little tedious at times. But once it hits the 40-minute mark, things start to pick up and get more exciting and more interesting. And when the twist is introduced, everything comes together (a little loosely, but it still does), and it has the viewer realize how clever the movie was written. I really liked that about it, and I think it might have been a little bit ahead of its time. The acting is decent for a low-budget flick as well, with many of the performers being former "Factory" stars for pop artist Andy Warhol.

Overall, "Silent Night, Bloody Night" is an obscure, surreal little slasher movie. It's nowhere near the excellency of "Black Christmas" or other holiday horror films, but it's rather good. If you watch this film, don't expect anything of high quality, because that it is not. It's a gloomy, uncomfortable, and unique little '70s B-slasher film. You may enjoy it or you may not, but you might want to check it out, especially if you like this kind of thing. 7/10.