Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

After his parents are murdered, a young tormented teenager goes on a murderous rampage dressed as Santa, due to his stay at an orphanage where he was abused by the Mother Superior.

Director:

Charles E. Sellier Jr.

Writers:

Paul Caimi (story), Michael Hickey

Stars:

Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lilyan Chauvin	...	Mother Superior
Gilmer McCormick	...	Sister Margaret
Toni Nero	...	Pamela
Robert Brian Wilson	...	Billy at 18
Britt Leach	...	Mr. Sims
Nancy Borgenicht	...	Mrs. Randall
H.E.D. Redford	...	Captain Richards
Danny Wagner	...	Billy at 8
Linnea Quigley	...	Denise
Leo Geter	...	Tommy
Randy Stumpf	...	Andy
Will Hare	...	Grandpa
Tara Buckman	...	Mother (Ellie)
Geoff Hansen	...	Father (Jim) (as Jeff Hansen)
Charles Dierkop	...	Killer Santa

Storyline

A young boy watches his parents killed by a thief in a Santa suit. He spends his youth in an orphanage, staying quietly to his self, but his mind is further bent by an ironhanded Mother Superior. He finally gets a job at a local store, where he finally snaps when he is required to wear a Santa suit, and goes on a killing spree that leads him slowly back to the orphanage.

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Plot Keywords:

orphanage | sex | mother | santa suit | boy | 

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Taglines:

If "A Nightmare on Elm Street" gave you sleepless nights, or if "Halloween" made you jump in every shadow or if every "Friday the 13th" was more frightening that the others... THEN BEWARE!

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 November 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Slayride

Filming Locations:

Heber City, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,065,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures, Slayride

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min 85 min (uncut) 96 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

All the film's TV ads were immediately pulled off the networks because of the trailer showing Santa Claus carrying an axe, which practically depicted him as a mass murderer. This motivated parents to protest the film and instantly had it yanked out of theaters after making a profit with its limited release.

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Goofs

Following the murder of Ellie Chapman (Tara Buckman's character), she is shown one more time before the flash-forward to 1974, during which her heart can be seeing beating against her bare chest; even far more visible is the carotid pulse beating against the stage blood on her neck.

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Quotes

Officer Miller: Can you believe this? It's Christmas Eve and we got orders to bring in Santa Claus.

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Connections

References Batman (1966)

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Soundtracks

"Christmas Flu"
Written by Morgan Ames

User Reviews

He knows when you've been naughty

Second viewing- 7.5/10.

"Santa's Watching, Santa's Creeping, Now you're nodding, now you're sleeping. Were you good for mom and dad? Santa knows if you've been bad"- The best damn original song from any horror movie... ever. In my opinion, of course.

A very enjoyable flick. The kills are top notch, the acing is... passable. The setting is spooky ad the music is super duper great.

So rather Santa's raping you, strangling you with Christmas lights, or decapitating you, there's tons of Christmas bloodshed to go around.

You've Made it Through Halloween, now try and survive Christmas