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Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 More at IMDbPro »

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98 reviews in total

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11 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
One of the worst sequels of all time, 4 January 2009

Author: dyl_gon from Canada

Silent Night Deadly Night 2 is the film version of those terrible recap specials that come every couple seasons or so on a popular television show. Comprised of recycled clips from previous episodes, these specials usually are close to un-viewable. They take the best clips from the series that most people have already seen and place them one after another out of context, thus stripping them of any of the original comedic value or suspense. Likewise, Silent Night Deadly Night 2 is mostly comprised of footage from its predecessor. In fact, over forty-five minutes of the footage has been cribbed from the original. This has never really been done in any movie before, and there's a good reason for this, even beyond that these clips have to be viewed in their original context to retain the same power. Most people watching the sequel have already seen the first entry. No one wants to sit through the same stuff over again. Sequels are supposed to continue the story, not rehash it. This is why while the original Silent Night Deadly Night is a personal favorite of mine, this film is possibly one of the worst sequels of all time.

Silent Night Deadly Night 2 focuses on Ricky, the younger brother of Billy who was the original "Santa Claus" killer from the original. Ricky has followed in the path of his brother and become a serial killer as well. Now detained, he recounts his story to a psychiatrist. Cue footage from the first film, used in the form of flashbacks. Not only is this boring, but it makes absolutely no sense at all. Ricky's flashbacks date back to when he was less than a year old in some cases, where it would be almost impossible to have any memory. In other instances it is certainly impossible for him to remember several of the flashbacks as many don't even involve him. The fact that Ricky has memories of things that he was never a part of and would never have a way of finding out, is just one of the many enormous plot-holes.

After about forty five minutes, Ricky begins recounting his personal story of growing up. Thankfully the recycled footage ceases and the audience is presented with something new. Unfortunately, it is insanely stupid, venturing into so-bad-it's-good area half the time and just bad area the other half. Despite not being old enough to have been emotionally scarred by the same events that sent his older brother over the edge, Ricky has also become a psychopath. The difference here is that while his brother was set off by the sight of Santa Claus, Ricky gets murderous tendencies whenever he sees the color red. When he sees a red truck he subsequently murders the owner with it. When he sees a red umbrella, he uses it to impale a gangster in what is possibly the lamest death sequence ever. When he sees a red blanket, he nearly has a heart attack. The problem with this is that it's virtually impossible to avoid the color red on a daily basis, meaning young Ricky would have heart attacks every time he got a test back graded with red marker. Not to mention that this makes for a fairly pathetic serial killer. All you have to do is put on a red t-shirt and he will probably wet himself (although by the end he has inexplicably gotten over this fear and dons a Santa suit).

In one mind-boggling sequence, Ricky takes his girlfriend to the movie theatre to watch the original Silent Night Deadly Night. Keep in mind this is a sequel to Silent Night Deadly Night that continues the exact story from where it left off. Even Ricky has a "huh" moment as the film starts and is revealed to be the first entry in the series. How can Ricky, who was in the first film and has crystal clear memories of events that occurred within it, go and watch the first film in a movie theatre? Does this mean that Ricky is delusional and the events from the original never happened? Or does this mean that Ricky has crossed over out of the movie-universe and into the real world. No, all it means is that the writers were probably snorting cocaine while they typed out this script.

It doesn't go much lower than the movie theatre sequence, but there are still plenty more examples of stupidity sprinkled throughout the rest of the film. Eric Freeman's ridiculously over-the-top acting as Ricky, accompanied by eyebrows that seem to bounce around his face like they've been injected with acid, turn his "Garbage Day" rampage into a laugh riot as he blows up cars with his pistol and shoots at people taking out the trash. The scene has since become a viral video hit, garnering hundreds of thousands of views on sites like Youtube. By the end of the film the director seems to be trying to turn Ricky into some sort of classic horror movie villain, as he is practically unfazed as he is remedially shot in the chest. While this works for inhuman villains such as Jason Voorhees, it makes absolutely no sense for Ricky to be brushing off shots straight through his chest like they are bug bites. Then the ending comes around and it truly is just plain retarded.

Silent Night Deadly Night 2 could have been enjoyable in a so-bad-it's-good way. There are certainly some instances that made me laugh out loud. However, over half of the running time consists of boring, recycled footage from the original Silent Night Deadly Night, which makes it not worth the time to get to the "good" stuff. If Silent Night Deadly Night was a nice, little Christmas gift, Silent Night Deadly Night 2 is just huge lump of coal

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11 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
A joy if you like bad horror, 31 January 2005

Author: jordan_tyrell from Canada

The first thing anyone will admit when mentioning this movie is that it is terrible. It is even admitted in the Anchor Bay DVD release that it was mostly edited from the original to extend the video shelf-life of the first film, which was also less than Citizen Kane. The new material is acted with less talent than a grade school play, and those same grade school children could have written the script were it not for the not so child-like subject. The movie is merely an attempt to capitalize on gore, nudity, and controversy. As such, if you haven't seen the original in a while, this is a decent horror film. The slasher genre makes no claims to being Oscar worthy, so don't expect it to be and you'll be fine.If you go into this movie wanting to watch a badly made gore-fest you won't be disappointed. I find the delivery of the line "Garbage Day" makes this film one of my horror favorites despite the fact I rate it 4/10.

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12 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Hilarious!!!, 3 August 2006

Author: keane11180 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I was told by a lot of people not to see this one because it is all just flashbacks of the first one. While the first 35 minutes are flashbacks, with the gore mostly cut out. The last hour or so is so worth it!!. This movie is so freaking funny, I almost whizzed myself a bunch of times. The first one is great, but it is not nearly as funny. This is mostly due to the fact that Robert Brian Wilson shows no emotion and takes himself too seriously in the role of Billy. He tries to hard to be psycho. Eric Freeman who plays Ricky in #2 is hilarious and makes the last hour spectacular. It is almost like he realizes how corny this concept is and he just has fun with it. He does not take himself seriously at all. His facial expressions and delivery of lines are so over the top, it is great. Plus with line like "Garbage Day!" are hilarious when you see him deliver it and then kill someone. All though I have to say the funniest part is his girlfriend, when she realizes he is going after her. All she can say is "Oh no!", with no emotion in her voice or on her face. Just because of the last hour, I have to say that this is a very worthy sequel.

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11 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
I couldn't decide whether to give this movie a 1 or a 10., 6 July 2003

Author: amykatherine from Omaha, Nebraska

This movie is so awful it's fantastic. It has everything -- a lead actor who moves his eyebrows up and down to convey strong emotion, unnecessary (ludicrously unnecessary) nudity, idiotic death scenes (the best one is when Ricky shoots a car with a handgun and it flips over and explodes). Yeah, that makes sense. Oh, and the script is outstanding. Watch for a provoked Ricky saying, "Punish!!!" and "Garbage Day!"

If you get a chance to see this one, don't miss it. It's one of my favorite movies ever.

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8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
It's Ricky's turn, 2 January 2007

Author: sgtking from United States

It's a wonder that this first of four sequels to the 1984 cult classic exists at all. The first film was picketed until it was pulled from theatres, causing it to take a nosedive at the Box Office. But then this was the 80s, the decade the VCR was invented, and so the controversial horror film found a new life on video. It took three years, but a sequel was given the greenlight and was released to theatres instead of going straight to video like some of the later sequels. However, this film isn't known for the same thing the original is. Instead this sequel is famous because the first 40 minutes or so is mostly footage from the original in the form of flashbacks. Boy talk about low budget film-making. On the upside though, the rest of the running time is all new footage featuring Ricky, the brother of the first film's killer, instead of being a re-cut version of the first film like originally planned.

Pros: Moves at a fast pace. The acting, though not great, isn't too bad. It's fun to watch Eric Freeman chew the scenery("Garbage Day!" lol). Some creative kills. Some intentionally/unintentionally funny stuff. A good score, especially the main theme. And finally it's pretty gutsy of the makers of the film to use so much footage from the first film and adding around 40 minutes of new footage as a wraparound. You gotta admire them for that.

Cons: Maybe they shouldn't have used as much footage from part 1 as they did. There are a few minor continuity errors with the first film, like Ricky's last name and who gave Billy his job for example. Some mediocre acting, but thankfully it's from the actors in minor roles. No suspense or anything new.

Final thoughts: This is in no way a great film. Instead it's one of many so-bad-it's-good horror films of the 80s. It's deeply flawed, but sometimes the faults add to the fun, which is true in this case. It's also amazing that this was not the final nail in the coffin, for there have been three more sequels since and talk of a possible remake of the original.

My rating: 3/5

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8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
A ridiculous sequel to "Silent Night,Deadly Night"., 1 May 2006

Author: HumanoidOfFlesh from Chyby, Poland

Little Ricky(Eric Freeman),the brother of our killer Billy from "Silent Night,Deadly Night",is grown up now and has inherited his brother's dislike for naughtiness.In the office of his 13th psychiatrist,he tells his family's background,including events following the first movie,where Ricky kills random people."Silent Night,Deadly Night Part 2" offers nothing new in comparison to the original.In fact the first 35 minutes or so are just flashbacks from the first film.The acting of Eric Freeman is incredibly lousy,however the killing spree in a yuppie neighborhood is slightly amusing to say the least."Silent Night,Deadly Night Part 2" is mildly entertaining in its intentional awfulness-that's why I'd give it 5 out of 10.Stick with the original.

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8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Silent Night, Deadly Night part one and a half, 31 December 2004

Author: Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I didn't know this film actually was a re-cut of the original when I begun watching it (remind me to check this site ALWAYS before renting a film!) so my first thought was: shenanigans! The entire first half of this "sequel" contains sequences – not even essentials ones – of the 1984 shocker, talked together as some sort of wraparound story by Ricky Caldwell whose brother was responsible for the infamous Christmas killing spree. The film then all of a sudden turns into a real sequel, with a summary of Ricky's repertoire as a demented killer and finally results in a grotesque 80's cheesefest where he chases a nun in a wheelchair. I don't really know how to judge the wholesome but it sure is fun. The acting skills of Eric Freeman (who plays Ricky) are bad beyond comparison and there's absolutely no depth or tension to detect in the screenplay. But on the other hand, I can't be too harsh because the murder sequences are great! Someone gets stabbed to death with an umbrella and Ricky even makes the eyes of his girlfriend's previous lover blow (by the way, why are all the jocks in 80's horror movies called Chip???). Silent Night, Deadly Night is a very stupid film….half déjà vu and half ludicrous. But you might as well describe it as a truly sweet horror treat for 80's fanatics. The sequences where nutball Ricky wanders through the streets killing people randomly and laughing ridiculously simply have to be seen to be believed. Enjoy!

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5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Take part one and put it through a blender....., 28 November 2007

Author: NateF88 from IL

..... and you've got part 2. If you've seen part one, you've seen this sequel. Yes, the flashbacks do get annoying, and Ricky is a god awful narrator and character to follow. Flashbacks and references aside, it's oddly almost completely different. The murders here are dumbed down a bit, aiming for the more simplistic and spontaneous rather than the thoughtful and creative like in part 1.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, as there are a few disturbing moments added into here that weren't in the original, but everything else about the movie is incredibly incompetent. The acting, sets, cinematography, and even the special effects are mostly amateurish, and even laughable.

You'll figure out the scenes that make this film a classic among "bad" movie lovers, but other than that, I see no reason to watch this film (or even the rest of the series) after the conclusion of part 1.

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5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Silent Night, Deadly Night Part1..OOps, I mean part 2, 9 March 2007

Author: Scarecrow-88 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Ricky(Eric Freeman), the brother of Billy(the killer from the first film)is the psycho donning the Santa outfit..well, for a moment or two..this time, explaining to a psychiatrist what occurred to his brother years back. This screen time is merely a shameless excuse to save money while taking cash from paying customers who ventured in to see it. They practically show most of the first film and then we get thirty or so minutes of Ricky killing people. The most inventive kill comes when he attacks bookie with an umbrella that opens after being thrusted through the stomach. He provides us with little snippets of his past while chatting with the psychiatrist(..who stupidly insisted that a security guard wait outside the room..this understanding that he's in the room with a man who shot numerous people for no reason whatsoever). We get a little understanding of a possible love-life with Elizabeth Kaitan's Jennifer. There's a confrontation with Jennifer's former boyfriend who has a smart-Aleck mouth and says the wrong thing which sets off Ricky's trigger leading to the use of jumper cables as a weapon! The film has a truly sickening scene where Ricky goes on a shooting rampage down a suburban street killing as many innocent people as his gun allows him. Even more despicable than that is when Ricky attacks a wheel-chair bound, facially scarred nun with an ax.

Eric Freeman is truly awful as the killer of the film. Even worse is how the film tries to turn this putrid slasher into a comedy. Dreadful trash.

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5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Garbage Day, 19 July 2004

Author: skidiskadisss

This is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. Eric Freeman is such a bad actor it is laughable. the way he moves his eyebrows when he talks is priceless. there is a scene in which Ricky is walking down the street that is worth the rental fee or buying it. i don't want to spoil it you have to see it for yourself. there are so many lines in this movies that you will remember forever. Ricky is a character you will never forget and is played brilliantly bad by Eric freeman. i don't want to spoil all the funny scenes in this movie.

the bottom line is Silent Night Deadly Night 2 is hilarious and if you are in the mood for a funny cheesy 80's horror film this is perfect for you. 10/10

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