Silent Night Reviews

This purports not to be a remake of the controversial eighties slasher 'Silent Night, Deadly Night', but it certainly owes that film a large debt. There are scenes which are practically lifted from the older film, such as a girl staked on antlers and a monologue about the dark side of Christmas delivered by a geriatric. The eighties film was fun thanks to it's clever use of black humor but this movie can't decide what tone it's after. For the most part it's played like a straight cop drama and when it does interject humor it fails to raise even a snigger.
The only interesting thing about this non-remake is the fact that it's characters are all named after former players of Leeds United soccer team. I don't think Johnny Giles would approve.

The original Silent Night, Deadly Night had a kernel of a genuinely decent psychological horror story that was mostly only cheesy because of its low budget and exploitative leanings. The new semi-remake, Silent Night, is a slickly-produced, higher budgeted film that is trying desperately to be a dumb B-movie slasher, but out of an obvious love of the genre. Which is the better film? Honestly, it's just a matter of taste-- but I think they're both equally entertaining in opposite ways.

Unlike most remakes these days, the new Silent Night film is very much its own animal. It inverts the structure of the original, swapping out the protagonist-killer for a more traditional tale about cops tracking a costumed psycho on a major holiday. You'd think that would make the film a lot more bland and boring-- after all, the unique perspective of the story was one of the most creative elements of Silent Night, Deadly Night-- but director Steven C. Miller manages to bring a wonderfully retro flavor to the film, milking every single cliche for all its worth. (more to come)

I couldn't tell if this film was deliberately trying to spoof itself or if the acting in it was just plain awful. Either way the mix of horror and comedy really doesn't work here. McDowell is hammy as the town sherrif but also looks permanently annoyed throughout (with his Agent, maybe?). King is playing the whole things straight but therefore looks out of place alongside some of the more 'looser' acting styles. The worst culprit is the actor playing the priest who is so over the top I kept expecting him to look at the camera and give us a wink! The kills are more fun than other recent remakes though and if you like your gore you won't be disappointed here. Forget about trying to justify the plot too as it doesn't make a whole load of sense. A bit of a mess then but some decent horror moments.

A rather loose remake of the notorious 80s slasher Silent Night, Deadly Night, Silent Night is an unrelentingly brutal return to 80s slasher violence and griminess. Well crafted and genuinely twisted, Silent Night features numerous sly nods to the original but also develops its own unique plot complete with unforgettable death scenes. Fans of 80s slashers should definitely check it out...

new take on "Silent Night, Deadly Night" if you have seen or know anything bout the controversial original you may feel this is lack luster storywise but gore and cheap thrills its still the same

Definitely a re-imaging more than a re-make of the 1984 original, which is fine. However, some impressive splatter moments (and some callbacks to the first movie - and one from Part 2) aside, the execution is lacking anything terribly impressive. Too much "shakey-cam" and too little invention. And it's glossy in a way that is generic; the original was hardly a tour-DE-force of film-making, but it has a certain grimy grindhouse charm that this desperately lacks. There's genuine opportunity here for something inspired here but it just comes off as lazy.

As a remake of the first Silent Night Deadly Night, I don't think this worked all that well. But as a modern-day sequel to a franchise that's been silent for well over a decade, it would have made a lot more sense. The kills were gruesome and cool to watch, the visual style was oversatured and dirty looking like Hobo With A Shotgun, and Malcolm McDowell gave his most entertaining performance in years. I thought this one was good, but just good. Not great, and not nearly as memorable as the original or its sequel, though this one did have a throwaway line referencing Garbage Day.

someone needs to get the director of this movie a tripod. shaky cam does not equal intensity, it equals nausea. enuff with the subpar fuckin remakes.

Thought this was fun. Not as bad as it could have been. Not amazing but not bad either. Liked the few nods to the original.

If your a fan of the Original Silent Night Deadly Night from 1984 you will probably enjoy this movie, although it doesn't take much from the original, I would call the movie more of a re-imagining than a remake. The only really similar things are the Grandfather is in a catatonic state and talks to the kid when he's alone. You have the famous Linnea Quigley topless deer horn death scene, The killer Santa seems to leave little kids alone, giving them candy canes and gifts after he's killed their parents. I like what they did to his face, using those creepy white see-through masks attached to the Santa beard, that was original. The movie follows a similar storyline (the Santa killer) being the little kid in the car at the beginning seeing his father die). I still think the original is more put together though, and more shocking. This "remake" doesn't go into details about the kid going nuts, his identity is a total secret until the end, and you don't feel half as bad because you don't see a crazy Santa killing both of his parents when he's watching. I'm surprised they didn't have as much backstory. But I do like what they did to the movie overall. Malcolm McDowell tends to get on my nerves, I don't know why he plays an arrogant asshole in movies, he's basically being himself in real life, I know i met him LOL I am very turned off by the man. Jamie King was good in the movie too.

I actually quite enjoyed this movie, it's by no means a master piece but it was surely entertaining. However I only recommend it if you're a fan of the original Silent Night Deadly Night. Also don't go in expecting a serious movie.

Has lots of potential and good homages to old slasher flicks but it slighty suffers from lack of character development and likeable characters.

Great instant classic slasher remake! This is the first and probably only remake that I can say is better then its father born in 1984! A nice throwback,gory and fun.

It seems to want to be more than just another "crazed slasher" movie, but if that's the case it probably needs to excise the scene of the topless chick being fed to a wood chipper. You can't have it both ways, Silent Night.

Nothing more than a gory geek show, leaving the viewer feeling icky and unpleasant.

Thoroughly disappointing attempt to top the classics. Pays some homage to Silent Night, Deadly Night while being thoroughly inferior even with obviously a better budget and even cast. The story of the killer isn't anywhere near as compelling or twisted and it really weakens what was one of the best traits of the original. Made for DVD quality at best and for the most part a yawn.

add nothing new to holiday horror genre but Silent night is still a merciless, bloody, and intense slasher film that's satisfying enough for horror fans [B]