Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
*** (out of 4)
Low-budget slasher is without question one of the most controversial of the "Golden Age" of the genre. A young boy sees his mom and dad viciously murdered by a man in a Santa suit, which of course traumatizes him. After years in an abusive orphanage, the boy grows up and one Christmas Eve his job requires him to put on the red suit. He flips out and goes on a killing spree. SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT is a fine little movie that manages to do quite a bit with its very limited budget. There are some very obvious flaws including some questionable script moments, some really bad acting and some at times weak direction but there are also some very effective moments. The opening of the film has always been rather creepy in a low-budget way and especially the early scenes with grandpa. I'm sure every kid remembers being young and having some old person creep them out and the film perfectly shows this. The opening murders of the parents are also quite effective when seen through the eyes of a kid. The first half of the film really isn't all that violent because it's building up the trauma of the main character so that he has a reason to snap later in the picture. This here is something not too many slashers tried and while it doesn't work perfectly due to the screenplay, it's at least a good shot. Once the death scenes start up we get quite a few memorable ones, which of course are best seen in their uncut glory. There's the infamous reindeer sequence plus several rather over-the-top but effective scenes at the toy store. Fans of the red stuff are going to get quite a bit of it here even though it's certainly not the most graphic film out there. There's also plenty of gratuitous nudity including some great shots of a young Linnea Quigley. Again, the performances are all pretty bad and this takes away from some of the elements that the story is trying to tell. Still, the low-budget actually adds a certain atmosphere to the picture that it wouldn't have had with more money and a more talented cast. SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT is certainly a very flawed film but it remains an entertaining slasher.
