SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT IS EXTREMELY NAUGHTY

"PUNISH!!!"

Child abuse, sex, breasts, attempted rape, child endangerment, and murder...all this and more await those who trek into the pitch-black world of Silent Night, Deadly Night.

In Silent Night, Deadly Night,  Billy witnesses the brutal murder of his parents by a robber dressed as Santa on Christmas Night. Understandably, this traumatizes the poor kid. Things only get worse when he is sent to a Catholic orphanage run by a cruel Mother Superior (Lilyan Chauvin), who continually abuses Billy, unable to understand or sympathize with the cause for his odd and inappropriate behavior. Fast forward to ten years later, and Billy has grown into a handsome, odd, but good 18 year old (played by Robert Brian Wilson). He is hired by a department store, but when Christmas Eve rolls around he is asked to play the role of Santa for them. It doesn't take long before poor Billy completely loses his mind and sets out into the wintry night, hellbent on punishing anyone who he deems naughty.

Silent Night, Deadly Night's cast of characters are mostly unlikable. The few who aren't despicable  have little screen time. It's supporting cast consists of Linnea Quigley as Denise (a horny babysitter), Gilmer McCormick as Sister Margaret (The only kind nun in Billy's orphanage, who sympathizes with his plight), Britt Leach as Mr. Sims (the head of the department store), Toni Nero as Pamela (a kind co-worker at the department store whom Billy secretly pines for), Nancy Borgenicht as Mrs. Randall (The second in command at the department store), Randy Stumpf as Andy (an antogonistic co-worker at the department store) Tara Buckman as Billy's Mom, Geoff Hanson as Billy's Dad, Will Hare as Billy's Grandpa (who is the first to suggest to Billy that Santa punishes the naughty), Charles Dierkop as the Santa robber, Max Robinson as Officer Barnes,  and H.E.D. Redford as Police Captain Richards.

Silent Night, Deadly Night certainly isn't of a high quality, but it sure is entertaining (and it's theme song is pretty catchy too). The acting within the film isn't great, with the only real notables being Lilyan Chauvin as Mother Superior and Robert Bryan Wilson as Billy. You buy their characters, even if they aren't fully fleshed out. The movie spends a good chunk of time crafting a backstory for Billy. It's a nice effort, but it's hard not to start to get antsy waiting for the action to begin. Billy is the closest we get to a fully realized character, but once he dons the red suit he becomes just another mindless killer.

The film itself has a lot of kills, and there is a good variety to the methods of execution. Billy doesn't just stick to an axe, and isn't afraid to get creative. Silent Night, Deadly Night certainly seems to know what it is. It's tasteless, shameless, and silly. It's not hard to see why some would find it disgusting (indeed, the film often feels like it's rated NC-17. There's a lot of sex scenes, and we get around 5 pairs of breasts in it). Upon it's release, Silent Night, Deadly Night garnered wide backlash from concerned members of the public as well as movie critics. The film was even banned for a while.

Silent Night, Deadly Night makes for a better Krampus movie than 2015's Krampus does (oddly enough). It's a mean spirited, dark Christmas exploitation film that isn't afraid to shock, disturb, and amuse. It's certainly a film of questionable quality, but it's still a lot of fun for all the wrong reasons. Those who like unconventional Christmas films will likely find much to enjoy in this sick little flick.

4.5 STARS