Silent Night

Dir: Steven C. Miller

2012

***

Steven C. Miller's Silent Night is a very loose remake of Charles Sellier's controversial 1984 seasonal horror Silent Night, Deadly Night. The film doesn't start with an origin story, it just gets on with the killing by a man in a Santa suit. There are nods to certain killings seen in the original film (the infamous impaling on a stuffed Moose head) but on the whole this is a far more brutal and gory affair. Give the people what they want. Not only is our Santa devilishly evil, but the local law enforcement is headed by none other than cult favourite Malcolm McDowell, who is rather brilliant in the role. Silent Night is also influenced by the real life 2008 Covina massacre, although it's not too distasteful a likeness and to be honest the true crime has more similarities with 1980's Christmas Evil, so it's art imitating life, imitating art, in many respects. I'm pretty sure this is the first time has gone nuts with a flame-thrower though and that is to the film's credit. It's a basic slasher with a Christmas theme, nothing too clever but fans of the genre will lap it up and it certainly makes a change from watching It's a Wonderful Life or Die Hard as an alternative.