DVD review (region 1)
Directed by Charles E. Sellier, Jr.
Starring Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero, Robert Brian Wilson
Release Date Out now

One Christmas Eve, little Billy Chapman is witness to the horrific murder of his parents. Years later, Billy attempts to adjust to normal life working in a department store – but when he is made to dress up as Santa, it pushes him over the edge…

The concerned parents and community leaders who tried to get Silent Night, Deadly Night banned back on its release in 1984 were the greatest marketing tool that the producers of the film could have wished for. At the time the film was picketed by irate crowds who thought that the idea of a killer dressed up as Santa destroyed the magic and innocence of Christmas. Now the film is being released with the tagline “Hordes of angry mothers couldn’t keep it away!” There’s a lesson in the perils of mass hysteria in there somewhere.

As for the movie itself, it’s an enjoyable, if hardly groundbreaking slasher flick, that features a succession of gory killings (death by Christmas lights, death by antelope antlers etc) and a dash of black comedy (the killer’s catchphrase is “Naughty!”).

The film is strongest in its opening 15 minutes, which has a weird, off-kilter atmosphere (especially in the scene featuring Will Hare's creepy Grandpa character) that almost makes it feel like a dark fairytale. After that it settles down into something slightly more conventional, though the film differs from other slashers of the time in its lengthy back-story for the killer and only sparing use of POV tracking shots. There have been four sequels so far and a remake is on the cards.

Considering this is a DVD, the extras are remarkably static – a stills gallery, a selection of comments from outraged parents and reviewers and an audio interview with director Charles E. Sellier, Jr. Still, gorehounds will be pleased to note that this is the uncut version of the film. Matt McAllister

VERDICT: 6/10
A few ‘ho, ho, hos’ and some ridiculous slayings make this a fun entry in the golden age of slasher flicks.