Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972)

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.

Director:

Theodore Gershuny

Writers:

Theodore Gershuny, Jeffrey Konvitz (screenplay)

Stars:

Patrick O'Neal, James Patterson, Mary Woronov

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Wilford Butler returns home on Christmas Eve and his house had been turned into a mental institution for the criminally insane. But the day of his return, he is set on fire and dies. The towns people believe his death was an accident, and the institution-house is later closed down. Wilford leaves the house to his grandson Jeffrey. A few years later, Jeffrey finally decides to sell this grandfather's house, but the towns people including the Mayor have mixed feelings on keeping people away from the house, especially when a serial killer escapes from another institution and finds refuge there. The killer makes frightening phone calls and kills anyone coming near the house. But what does the killer have in common with what happened to Wilford Butler years before?

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Plot Keywords:

slasher film | serial killer | christmas eve | christmas | giallo esque | 

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Taglines:

The night earth became an inferno of horrors!

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 November 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Zora

Filming Locations:

1026 W Shore Rd, Mill Neck, Long Island, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$295,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Armor Films Inc., Cannon Productions, Jeffrey Konvitz Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min 64 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Final film of Candy Darling.

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Goofs

Main character Jeffrey Butler is riding with John Carradine, who plays Towman. Butler and Carradine have decided to go out to the Butler house to see what is going on. Instead, Towman pulls into the drive of another house, and Jeffrey Butler says, "Towman this isn't my house, it's Tess'. Tess is another of the townspeople, and it is her house, but Jeffrey would not have known that because he has never been to the town before.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

The word 'Bloody' in the opening title card is red, where as the text of the rest of the credits are white.

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Connections

Featured in The Professor's Scary Movie Show: Christmas Special 2017 (2017)

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Soundtracks

Silent Night, Holy Night
(uncredited)
Music by Franz Xaver Gruber

User Reviews

Uneven performances, convoluted and clever storyline, dark and gory

The delightful Mary Woronov stars as a witness to some very grisly goings-on at the gorgeous old Butler House. The house has been abandoned since the death of the family patriarch Wilfred, about 20 years ago. Now, a member of the family, Jeff (James Patterson), has returned to sell the house off. (Patterson - dying of cancer during the filming of Silent Night Bloody Night - gives a depressive, menacing and bizarre performance, which works quite well here). There is an inexplicable amount of local concern about the house, and soon, the reasons begin to reveal themselves.

Some of the acting in this film is quite poor, and there are rather immense problems with believability and plot holes galore. Nevertheless, this ambitious and complex film deserves attention for its clever storyline and affective (if annoying) low light photographic technique. There is too much voice-over, but without it, comprehending the plot might be impossible. The film is alternately engaging and tedious, largely depending on who is on screen.

All-around, for an axe-murder film, Silent Night Bloody Night is surprisingly subtle, clever and well directed. Recommended for horror fans.