Silent Night, Deadly Night
Encyclopedia
- Not to be confused with the 1974 horror film Silent Night, Bloody NightSilent Night, Bloody NightNot to be confused with a more controversial and popular film called Silent Night, Deadly Night.Silent Night, Bloody Night is a low-budget 1974 psychological horror film directed by Theodore Gershuny. It stars Patrick O'Neal and cult actress Mary Woronov in leading roles, with John Carradine in a...
.
Silent Night, Deadly Night is a 1984 slasher film
Slasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...
produced by Ira R Barmak, directed by Charles E. Sellier Jr. and starring Robert Brian Wilson, Lilyan Chauvin
Lilyan Chauvin
Lilyan Chauvin , born Lilyan Zemoz, was a French-American actress, television host, director, writer, former Vice President of Women in Film, author, teacher and private coach....
, Gilmer McCormick
Gilmer McCormick
Gilmer McCormick is an American actress and singer best known for her performance in the stage and film versions of Godspell in the early 1970s and for her role in the 1984 horror film Silent Night, Deadly Night....
, Toni Nero, Linnea Quigley
Linnea Quigley
Linnea Barbara Quigley is an American scream queen, B movie actress, and film producer.-Early life:Quigley was born in Davenport, Iowa, the daughter of Dorothy and W. Heath Quigley, a chiropractor and psychologist. She moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s to pursue her dreams of acting...
, Britt Leach
Britt Leach
Britt Leach is an American character actor. He is best known for his role in the films Goin' South, Fuzz, The Last Starfighter, Weird Science, The Great Outdoors, Baby Boom, and Silent Night, Deadly Night...
, and Leo Geter
Leo Geter
Leo Geter is an American character actor who has appeared in many films, including the 1984 hit Footloose, as well as Near Dark, The Stand, and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, and Silent Night, Deadly Night....
. It focuses on a young boy who, after witnessing his parents' brutal murder at the hands of a man clad in a Santa suit
Santa suit
A Santa suit is a costume worn by a person portraying Santa Claus. The modern American version of the suit can be attributed to the work of Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly magazine, although it is often incorrectly thought that Haddon Sundblom designed the suit in his advertising work for the...
on Christmas, grows up tumultuously in a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
orphanage and slowly emerges into a spree killer
Spree killer
A spree killer is someone who embarks on a murderous assault on two or more victims in a short time in multiple locations. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as "killings at two or more locations with almost no time break between murders."-Definition:According to the...
himself. The film caused an uproar when released in 1984 during the holiday season, and has since developed a devoted cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
.
Plot
On December 24, 1971, Billy Chapman, a little boy, goes with his parents and younger brother Ricky to see their grandfather for Christmas at a mental institution. Billy's grandfather is sitting in a catatonic state, when Billy's parents go off to review his records with the doctor, leaving him alone with Billy. Grandpa starts talking to Billy, and tells him the frightening "truth" about Santa Claus: Santa not only gives presents to the good boys and girls, but punishes the naughty ones. As soon as the parents return, Grandpa goes back into his catatonic state. Afterwards, the family leaves the mental hospital.
Not far away, a man in a Santa Claus suit goes to a convenience store and robs it at gun point. He kills the clerk and runs out of the store. Later that night, the Chapman family are on their way home and see the same man in the Santa suit pulled over at the side of the road. When they ask him if he needs help, he pulls out a gun. Billy's dad puts the car in reverse and tries to get away, but the man shoots him and pulls his mum out of the car leaving his brother behind. Billy gets out of the car and hides. When he sees the killer rips his mother's blouse open and try to rape her, he looks away. Baby Ricky remains in the car crying and his mother resists and he slits her throat. When Billy looks up, the killer is gone.
Three years pass, and Billy and his brother are living at St. Mary's Orphanage. Billy is in class, and the kids have been assigned to draw Christmas pictures. When Billy shows his drawing of a bloody Santa Claus and a decapitated reindeer, the teacher sends Billy to Mother Superior. She sees the drawing and sends Billy to his room as punishment. Sister Margaret, a sympathetic nun, can see that Billy still is haunted by his parents' deaths. Mother Superior does not care what Sister Margaret thinks, and tells Margaret that she will take care of Billy personally. Later on, Sister Margaret lets Billy come outside to play. As Billy leaves his room, he hears the noise of a couple making love. Mother Superior sees it and beats them with a belt. When she comes out she is mad at Billy for leaving his room. She tells Billy that "Punishment is necessary, punishment is good," then sends Billy to his room and beats him with a belt. Later that night, Billy has nightmares and runs out of his room, only to be caught by Mother Superior, who then ties him to his bed. In the morning, when the kids line up to sit on Santa Claus's lap, Billy is forced to join in, but he wiggles away and punches the fake Santa and runs to his room, scared as Mother Superior comes in.
It is now 1984. Billy is now 18 years old and Sister Margaret is trying to help him get a job at Ira's Toy Store. He meets Mr. Simms, the store owner, who hires Billy. Things go well until Christmas. Billy's co-worker named Andy, starts yelling at him for no apparent reason and he claims Billy was an alright kid at first, but now he is giving him attitude, snapping at him and staring off into space. Billy has a crush on his female co-worker named Pamela, and has a dream about making love to her, but being stabbed for his acts. Billy gets scared when he sees the store Santa after he was yelled at again by Andy. The next day, Billy is asked to play Santa Claus because one of his fellow employees was injured. A little girl gets scared on Billy's lap as he is Santa, but Billy says stop it, she is being naughty, he does not bring presents to naughty children and he punishes them severely. Sister Margaret calls the store and asks how Billy is doing. When she is told the Santa incident, she hangs the phone up with a frightened look on her face. Later that night, when the employees are celebrating, Andy takes Pamela back to the stock room. When Billy goes to the room a few minutes later and sees Andy attempt to rape Pamela, he has flashbacks of his parents. Billy snaps, thinking that he has the power to punish, since he is now Santa Claus, declares "Naughty!" and hangs Andy by the Christmas lights. Pamela becomes upset and starts yelling at Billy, who stabs Pamela saying "Punishment is necessary Pamela, Punishment is good." Mr. Simms hears the noise in back and checks it out, thinking he is hallucinating in his intoxication. When he turns around, he is hit in the head with a hammer. The assistant manager, Mrs. Randall, sees the lights turned off and goes to look for Mr. Simms in the stock room. When she sees his corpse, she becomes hysterical and tries to call the police, but the phone line is cut. She sees Billy with an axe in his hand and tries to hide. When Billy comes closer, she knocks him down and tries to escape by breaking the window glass with the axe. Billy picks up a bow and arrow and kills her. Having killed everyone in the store, Billy leaves to go punish the "naughty people". When Sister Margaret comes to pick up Billy, she sees Mrs. Randall's corpse and screams.
Later, Billy sees two teenagers making love. The girl, Denise, hears something upstairs. Thinking the cat wants to come in, she opens the door. She sees that Billy is there. He shouts "Punish!", then impales her on the antlers of an antelope head hanging on the wall. The boy goes to look for her and sees her hanging on the wall. He tries to call the police, but Billy stops him and throws him out the window. A little girl sees Billy at the door in his Santa Claus outfit. He asks her if she has been naughty or nice. When she says that she has been good, Billy kindly gives her the box cutter he used to kill Pamela as a Christmas present, then leaves. The police are on the look out for Santa and nearly shoot a dad dressed as Santa going in his daughter's window. Billy goes through the forest as he hears police sirens.
Later on, two kids going sledding are attacked by two bullies. While one slides down the hill, Billy cuts the others head off. On Christmas morning, Captain Richards tells Sister Margaret there have been three more murders. Margaret tells the captain that there is an order to the killings, and realizes that Billy is the killer. Sister Margaret understands there is a connection after what he has been through during his childhood, while Richards thinks Billy is insane but not stupid. She quickly deduces that his next attack will be at the orphanage.
At the orphanage, the children are waiting to see Santa Claus. Mother Superior is in a wheelchair now due to an unknown illness and asks the children to write thank you notes to Santa. The police are looking for Santa and are ordered to shoot and kill if necessary. A man in a Santa suit walks up to the orphanage. Officer Barnes arrives and tells the man to stop. He ignores Barnes and continues walking toward the orphanage. When the police shoots him, the kids panic. The Captain and Sister Margaret think it is over until the dispatcher tells them the report is all wrong. Sister Margaret realizes too late that the police shot Father O'Brien, who did not stop because he was deaf. Officer Barnes unsuccessfully attempts to explain what happened to Mother Superior. She becomes angry at what happened and leaves. Barnes walks off to search the grounds.
When he sees an open door that leads to the basement, he goes down to look and finds nothing. However, when he gets back to the door, he hears "Punish!". Billy steps around the corner and slams his axe into Barnes' stomach. Billy starts walking toward the orphanage. One of the kids sees him and lets him in against Mother Superior's orders to keep him out, since she knows Billy will kill her as revenge for abusing him. As Billy is about to kill Mother Superior, she tries to reason with Billy by telling him "There is no Santa Claus." Billy frowns, says "Naughty!", and begins to swing his axe, but Richards shoots him. Although he killed many people, Sister Margaret is sad to see Billy die. Before he passes, Billy says, "You're safe now... Santa Claus... is gone." Billy's little brother Ricky, who watched Billy die, looks down at his dead brother's body, then slowly looks up with a cold stare towards Mother Superior and bitterly says, "Naughty...".
Cast
- Lilyan ChauvinLilyan ChauvinLilyan Chauvin , born Lilyan Zemoz, was a French-American actress, television host, director, writer, former Vice President of Women in Film, author, teacher and private coach....
as Mother Superior, an old Catholic nun who abused Billy at the orphanage when he was young. - Gilmer McCormickGilmer McCormickGilmer McCormick is an American actress and singer best known for her performance in the stage and film versions of Godspell in the early 1970s and for her role in the 1984 horror film Silent Night, Deadly Night....
as Sister Margaret, a nice Catholic nun who is Mother Superior's assistant and unlike Mother Superior, she was nice to Billy. - Toni Nero as Pamela, Billy's love interest.
- Linnea QuigleyLinnea QuigleyLinnea Barbara Quigley is an American scream queen, B movie actress, and film producer.-Early life:Quigley was born in Davenport, Iowa, the daughter of Dorothy and W. Heath Quigley, a chiropractor and psychologist. She moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s to pursue her dreams of acting...
as Denise - Robert Brian Wilson as Billy ChapmanBilly ChapmanWilliam Chapman was an English footballer, born in Murton, County Durham. His regular position was as an outside right, and during his career Chapman played in the Football League for Sheffield Wednesday, Manchester United and Watford...
(age 18), the primary antagonist. As a young boy, he was scarred for life when a criminal disguised as Santa ClausSanta ClausSanta Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
killed his parents, which is why Billy never liked Santa. - Britt LeachBritt LeachBritt Leach is an American character actor. He is best known for his role in the films Goin' South, Fuzz, The Last Starfighter, Weird Science, The Great Outdoors, Baby Boom, and Silent Night, Deadly Night...
as Mr. Sims - Nancy BorgenichtNancy BorgenichtNancy Borgenicht is an actress who starred in film and on television. She is best known for her role as Mrs. Randall in the 1984 horror movie Silent Night, Deadly Night. She also appeared in the 1988 horror movie Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers as the woman attendant. Her most recent...
as Mrs. Randall - H.E.D. Redford as Captain Richards
- Danny WagnerDanny WagnerDaniel Earnest "Danny" Wagner was an American guard who played in the National Basketball Association. He played with the Sheboygan Red Skins during the 1949-50 NBA season. Wagner had also played in the National Basketball League.-References:...
as Billy Chapman (age 8) - Leo GeterLeo GeterLeo Geter is an American character actor who has appeared in many films, including the 1984 hit Footloose, as well as Near Dark, The Stand, and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, and Silent Night, Deadly Night....
as Tommy - Randy Stumpf as Andy, Billy's co-worker.
- Will HareWill HareWill Hare was an American actor who appeared on television and films, often playing old crusty figures and father/grandpa roles.Hare was born in Elkins, West Virginia, the son of Frances Laetitia and George Thomas Hare.-Career:He had appeared on stage, screen, and television since he was 17...
as Grandpa Chapman, Billy's grandfather and his parents' father. - Tara BuckmanTara BuckmanTara Buckman is an American television and film actress. Her active career was mainly confined to the late 1970s to the mid 1990s. Though never reaching feature status, Buckman was nonetheless a regular guest star on many television series...
as Ellie Chapman, Billy's mother who later gets killed by the killer Santa by having her throat slit after he tried to rape her. - Geoff Hansen as Jim Chapman (as Jeff Hansen), Billy's father who also gets killed by the killer Santa Claus by getting shot.
- Charles DierkopCharles DierkopCharles Dierkop is an American film and television character actor.Dierkop was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and attended Aquinas High School in La Crosse...
as Killer Santa, a drunk criminal dressed as Santa Claus. - Eric Hart as Mr. Levitt
- Jonathan Best as Billy Chapman (age 5)
- A. Madeline Smith as Sister Ellen
- Amy Styvesant as Cindy (as Amy Stuyvesant)
- Max Robinson as Officer Barnes
Controversy and reception
Silent Night, Deadly Night was one of the most controversial films of the 1980s because the killer is dressed as Santa ClausSanta Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
. The PTA
Parent-Teacher Association
In the U.S. a parent-teacher association or Parent-Teacher-Student Association is a formal organization composed of parents, teachers and staff that is intended to facilitate parental participation in a public or private school. Most public and private K-8 schools in the U.S. have a PTA, a...
fought to have this film removed from theaters due to its subject matter and the fact that it was shown around Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, although an earlier film
Christmas Evil
Christmas Evil is a 1980 slasher film directed by Lewis Jackson. It is considered an obscure film but has gained a cult following which includes legendary film director John Waters.It was originally released as You Better Watch Out...
with a similar premise had gone unnoticed.
Upon its original release in 1984, the film created serious controversy. Siskel and Ebert
At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert
At the Movies was a movie review television program that aired from 1982 to 1990. It was produced by Tribune Entertainment and created by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, who had left Sneak Previews the previous year....
condemned the film and went so far as to read the film's production credits on air, saying "shame, shame" after each one. Siskel also said that all the money the filmmakers were making off of this film was blood money. Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
also condemned the film, calling it a "...worthless splatter film
Splatter film
A splatter film or gore film is a subgenre of horror film that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore and graphic violence. These films, through the use of special effects and excessive blood and guts, tend to display an overt interest in the vulnerability of the human body and the...
", giving it zero stars and asking: "What's next, the Easter Bunny
Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny or Easter Rabbit is a character depicted as a rabbit bringing Easter eggs, who sometimes is depicted with clothes...
as a child molester?" Large crowds (mostly angry families) formed at theaters and malls around the nation to protest the film. TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures, Inc. is an American film production/distribution studio and subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, itself a subdivision of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, which is owned by Sony Pictures...
, its original distributor, pulled all ads for the film six days after its release (November 15). The film itself was also withdrawn shortly thereafter due to the controversy.
It was later re-released by an independent distributor, Aquarius Films, beginning in spring 1986, with an ad campaign which replaced the original "Twas the night before Christmas" audio track with a new one that centered on the controversy surrounding the film and edited out all close-up shots of Billy, in the Santa suit, with weapons. The print ad material also replaced the original 'Chimney' picture with one that talked about the controversy.
In United Kingdom, the movie was never submitted for certification by the BBFC. As such, although it had never been actually classified as a Video Nasty
Video nasty
"Video nasty" was a colloquial term coined in the United Kingdom by 1982 which originally applied to a number of films distributed on video cassette that were criticized for their violent content by the press, commentators such as Mary Whitehouse and various religious organizations.While violence...
, its distribution was prohibited in the UK. However, in 2009, Arrow Films
Arrow Films
Arrow Films is a UK distributor of classic, horror, and cult films on Blu-ray and DVD.-Arrow Films:Arrow Films is one of the UK's leading independent distributors of world cinema, arthouse, horror and classic films...
submitted the film to the BBFC for classification, who passed the film uncut with an 18 certificate
18 certificate
The 18 certificate is issued by the British Board of Film Classification to state that, in its opinion, a film, video recording, or game should not be seen or purchased by a person under 18 years old....
. The UK DVD was released on 23rd November, 2009.
Its sequel was denied a BBFC certificate in 1987.
Release
The film was released theatrically in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures, Inc. is an American film production/distribution studio and subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, itself a subdivision of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, which is owned by Sony Pictures...
on November 9, 1984. On its opening weekend, the film outgrossed Wes Craven
Wes Craven
Wesley Earl "Wes" Craven is an American actor, film director, writer, producer, perhaps best known as the director of many horror films, particularly slasher films, including the famed A Nightmare on Elm Street and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, featuring the iconic Freddy Krueger character, the...
's landmark slasher A Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 1984 American slasher film directed and written by Wes Craven, and the first film of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. The film features Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Amanda Wyss, Jsu Garcia, Robert Englund, and Johnny Depp in his feature film...
, which also opened the same day. Before being pulled from theaters, it grossed $2,491,460 at the box office.
The film was released twice on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Anchor Bay Entertainment
Anchor Bay Entertainment
Anchor Bay Entertainment is a U.S. based home entertainment and production company and is a division of Starz Media, which is a unit of Starz, LLC. It was previously owned by IDT Entertainment until 2006 when IDT was purchased by Starz Media. Anchor Bay markets and sells feature films, series,...
. The first release was a double feature
Double feature
The double feature, also known as a double bill, was a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatre managers would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown.The double feature, also known as...
disc alongside sequel Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2
Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2
Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is the 1987 sequel to the 1984 slasher film Silent Night, Deadly Night.-Plot:The sequel picks up on Christmas Eve some years after the first one, with the 18 year-old brother of the killer in the first movie, Ricky Caldwell, being held in a mental hospital,...
in 2003. The second release was in 2007. Both region 1 releases are currently out of print
Out of print
Out of print refers to an item, typically a book , but can include any print or visual media or sound recording, that is in the state of no longer being published....
.
The film was released on DVD in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 2009 by Arrow Video. This set includes an audio interview with director Charles E. Sellier Jr., poster, booklet including “Deadly Director: Charles Sellier Interviewed by Calum Waddell” and “Silent Night, Sex Night: The Slice and Times of Linnea Quigley”.
The movie was re-released on 12 December 2009 in the Brattle Theatre
Brattle Theatre
The Brattle Theatre is a repertory movie theater located in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States of America. The theatre is a small movie house with one screen. It is one of the few remaining movie theaters, if not the only one, that use a rear-projection system; the...
as double feature with Black Christmas
Black Christmas (1974 film)
Black Christmas is a 1974 Canadian slasher film directed by Bob Clark and written by A. Roy Moore, and largely based on a series of murders that took place in Quebec, Canada around Christmas time. The film's score is by Carl Zittrer. It was distributed by Ambassador Film Distributors in Canada and...
.
Sequels
Despite its controversial release and subject matter, Silent Night, Deadly Night spawned four sequelSequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
s.
Sequels
- Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is the 1987 sequel to the 1984 slasher film Silent Night, Deadly Night.-Plot:The sequel picks up on Christmas Eve some years after the first one, with the 18 year-old brother of the killer in the first movie, Ricky Caldwell, being held in a mental hospital,...
(1987) - Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! is a 1989 slasher film directed by Monte Hellman. A direct-to-video release, the film is the second sequel to the 1984 film Silent Night, Deadly Night and centers around the Christmas-obsessed killer Ricky Caldwell awakening from a coma and stalking a...
(1989) - Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990)
- Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy MakerSilent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy MakerSilent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker is the fifth movie in the Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise. The film was also featured in an episode of Svengoolie. It stars William Thorne, Jane Higginson, Van Quattro, Tracy Fraim, Conan Yuzna, and veteran screen legend Mickey Rooney as The Toy Maker...
(1991)