maxlewis-05644 So this is a pretty decent but generic slasher but what can you expect for a Christmas horror movie. The acting is campy at times but also works quite well for the humor at times, the gore is fun at times as it seems to be taking the mickey out of itself, but overall an entertaining holiday slasher.

meddlecore A good description of this film would be that it is a combination of the earlier Silent Night, Deadly Night, and latter Krampus. The antagonist is similar in demeanour to the Krampus (though far more vicious); and there's that one part where a Grandfather awakens from a catatonic state, bearing a warning- like is also seen in Krampus. While many of the kills are reflections of those seen in Silent Night, Deadly Night (ie strangulation with Christmas lights and the impalement of a scantily clad teenager upon a trophy head). There's not much of a plot here, though. Just a whole lotta killing carried out by a sociopath in a Santa suit on Christmas Eve.The kills, however, are vicious as hell...and extremely gory. With the special effects having been done quite well- as in, they are rather realistic.Some examples include: woodchippering a half-naked chick, whose already had her leg cut off, while alive; axing a dude's head in half (while the camera doesn't (seem to) cut away); lots of scythe related stabbings and slicings; and one violent bludgeoning, with a set of "ho, ho, ho" brass knuckles.By the time it's over, it is pretty obvious that this was all a vain attempt to create a franchise in the image of Silent Night, Deadly Night. But there is simply not enough story to keep you intrigued. And what elements of a storyline are there; are dropped at the most inopportune times, and developed so poorly, that they are almost entirely irrelevant to the overall story.Poor storytelling, but lots of gore. They clearly expect to make a sequel...so at the very least, there's lots of room for improvement.4.5 out of 10.

callanvass A man dressed up as a Santa is slaughtering people on Christmas Eve in a Midwestern town. It's up to officer Aubrey Bradlemore (Jamie King) & Sheriff Cooper (Malcolm McDowell) to stop him. I would consider this movie to be a very loose remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night. It does borrow some things from it, but it does its own thing for the most part. Unfortunately, this is a real stinker of a film. It tries way too hard to be explicit and offensive that it becomes easily noticeable. The original was an entertaining slasher with some genuine controversy. But unlike that movie, this movie lacks the psychological edge that Silent Night Deadly Night had. The plot is nowhere near as strong. We don't know what makes the killer tick. We get an idea during the ending, but I felt that was a stupid thing to do. In the original, Billy is mentally damaged, this guy seems like a complete psychopath for the sake of it. Sometimes that can be good, but not in this case. Gore hounds will most likely be pleased, others may abhor at the nasty stuff in this movie. I won't spoil all the goodies, but here is a few examples. We get a chopped off leg, a ridiculously bloody bullet to the head, sliced off fingers, stabbings, and lots more. Those that liked the original like I did will get a kick out of the deer antler impaling. I did feel shocking a 14-year-old to death was crossing the line, though. The acting is merely average. Jaime King is better than this film deserves. She had every reason to phone it in, but she didn't. Her character is way too thin to care about, sadly. Malcolm McDowell is pretty poor in this movie. He has a couple of good lines. "Don't put avocado on the burger" "Big mistake, bringing a flamethrower to a gunfight" . Brendan Fehr is reduced to a cameo in the beginning. The rest of the cast are strictly amateur hour. The ending paves way for a possible sequel. All I have to say to that notion, is please, no. This is a mean-spirited affair that bored me to tears. Stick with Silent Night, Deadly Night. 3/10

Coventry Call it a silly tradition, but I like to watch at least one holiday-themed horror movie each year around Christmas. After all, we can't all watch "Home Alone" or "Miracle on 34th Street" for the four hundred twentieth time, can we? This year I found in my stocking "Silent Night"; a totally insignificant but pleasantly deranged and entertaining Christmas horror comedy stuffed like a turkey with season's beatings! Partially a remake of the infamous (but overrated) cult slasher "Silent Night, Deadly Night" and partially inspired by the tragic real-life Covina massacre (husband kills ex-wife and former in-laws with a homemade flamethrower), "Silent Night" is primarily tongue-in-cheek with over-the-top acting performances and grotesquely gore killings. In the sleepy little town of Cryer, Wisconsin, Deputy Sheriff Aubrey reluctantly prepares herself to work a shift on Christmas Eve, while the rest of the town – including her beloved dad – attends the annual holiday parade and 'Santa Claus of the year' election. However, for Aubrey and her colleagues it will become a night full of ho-ho-horror, since a maniacal killer dressed as Santa came to town and leaves a nasty trail of mutilated corpses behind. The big bad Santa seemingly just targets sinners and scumbags, but the town of Cryer is full of them and Santa isn't finicky! I don't quite understand why the makers insist on labeling this a remake of "Silent Night, Bloody Night". Okay, so the film recycles the idea of a killer that suffered a severe childhood trauma during the Christmas period, but the original draws a detailed portrait of the culprit, whereas the remake barely just mentions the traumatic experiences as a footnote. Some of the death sequences are re-used as well, like the notorious deer-antlers impalement, but you could also call that a homage. "Silent Night" is a traditional slasher in the vein of the 80's classics, meaning there's a tremendously high body count and some gratuitous nudity; yet also a complete absence of suspense, logic or character depth. The most regrettable change since the 80's is that all the gore is computer generated and thus a lot less shocking or repulsive. Nonetheless does "Silent Night" feature a few sick highlights, like the chipping of topless model and an axe head-split. Director Steven C. Miller (his "Scream of the Banshee" was putrid) gathered quite an impressive cast for such a silly flick, even though they all have a history of appearing in B-movies. Malcolm McDowall clearly had a fun time as the grumpy old Sheriff who considers himself to be a gifted FBI-detective and Donal Logue appears as a cynical Santa who inevitably becomes the prime suspect. Jaime King ("My Bloody Valentine", "Mother's Day") is a likable female heroine, while the lovely Courtney-Jane Smith and Cortney Palm provide the film with a bit of ravishing bare flesh. In terms of holiday-horror, it certainly was a lot more enjoyable than the "Black Christmas" remake or any of the actual "Silent Night, Bloody Night" sequels, for that matter.