Silent Night, Deadly Night – Film Review
by Craig Doyle

Director: Mike P. Nelson
Writer: Mike P. Nelson
Starring: Rohan Campbell, Ruby Modine, David Lawrence Brown

Following in the footsteps of recent cult-classic remakes like ‘Leprechaun’, ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’ is a modern retelling of the 1984 original. This Christmas horror follows Billy Chapman (Rohan Campbell), a serial killer donning a Santa suit on his annual rampage to fill his advent calendar with a kill every day of December, until the 25th. Billy’s efforts are challenged when he encounters Pamela and Mr Sim’s holiday store, on a layover between kills, where he has to face his biggest challenge yet, his feelings.

The relationship between Billy and Pamela (Ruby Modine) is the real beating heart of this film; their awkward interactions and almost schoolyard romantic moments play well thanks to their natural chemistry. It plays with dramatic irony very well, consistently leading to laugh-out-loud moments, as Billy struggles to keep his pursuit a secret, wanting to leave that part of his life to settle down. The character of Pamela is developed really well in her own right, as opposed to being presented merely as the lead’s love interest. Her relationship with her father, and the lengths she would go to, to stand up for herself and her family, are really powerful moments throughout, which pay off beautifully in the film’s concluding moments.

His moral dilemma is challenged by Charlie (Mark Acheson), the spirit occupying his mind, encouraging him to maintain his festive killing spree. This tumultuous symbiotic relationship shares similarities with 2018’s ‘Venom’, and the dynamic between Eddie as the host and Venom, as they bicker like an old married couple. This pairing here makes the film feel like a buddy-cop flick at times, especially when the pair work together to solve the mystery of the ‘Snatcher’, which looms in the background throughout. I really liked how this relationship developed, with flashbacks revealing their backstory slowly throughout the film as we learned more about them individually and how they worked together.

The film balances the horror elements and the camp absurdism very well. Slasher fans will be thoroughly entertained with this, with some truly gnarly kills throughout, with no punches pulled in how gruesomely Billy dealt with his killings. The standout sequence is Billy’s spree in the barnhouse, which I won’t give too much away on, as the shock and jaw-dropping reveal at the beginning of the scene is one of the funniest moments I’ve seen on screen this year.

‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’ is a blast throughout, and whilst the pacing may struggle at parts, and the fight choreography can be a bit janky and jarring, this Christmas-horror flick is a brutal laugh, which is bound to be a people-pleasing festive treat.