Silent Night (2012)

From my favorite movies..

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

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.

I re-watched this to get in the Christmas mood, and it was much better than I had remembered. It is a very loose remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night, but creates a new story and is a breathe of fresh air in the 'killer Santa' genre. Killer Santa is a mystery and keeps you guessing til the very end. The film is very colorful and makes it feel like Christmas.Jaime King stars as Aubrey Bradimore, a deputy who has lost her husband earlier in the year. She's forced to come into work on Christmas Eve to find the sadistic Santa Claus killer. The death and gore effects were great. There are at least three scenes that pays tribute to the original 'Silent Night Deadly Night' I highly recommend SILENT NIGHT!!!

Some less than decent citizens in a remote Midwestern town are being dispatched of (some in very grizzly fashion) by a killer in a Santa costume and a young deputy (King) and her Sheriff (McDowell) try and track him down. Not much of a remake of the old Christmas slasher classic "Silent Night, Deadly Night" but it does borrow from it and even honor it with that flick's most memorable kill scene. I first saw "Silent Night" three years ago and it's been a steady Christmas time view for me since. It's extremely brutal on occasion (that wood chipper scene is just disgusting) but it's a decent horror/thriller/slasher that moves along nicely and is peppered with some very decent performances. Jaime King, in particular, invests in her role and is not only believable but a very likable and human character. McDowell goes the other way; delivering one cheesy line after the other but he does it so well and is obviously having a good time playing the token small town sheriff. There's no snow here but the Christmas atmosphere is nicely captured and the small town scenario always seems to be a big plus in these types of films. There are a few very effective and graphic sequences displaying just how angry this Santa is and some scenes definitely stay with you afterwords. I feel it kinda peters out at the end with a less-than-inspired conclusion but up until then it's an enjoyable ride for horror buffs with the stomach for some very unsettling imagery.

This film is severely low brow, kind of dumb and we've totally seen everything it has to offer (albeit better). Yet - for some reason - I really enjoyed it.Think 'Scream,' but with a Santa going around bumping off the townsfolk in various grisly ways then you're half way there. No, it's not as good as Scream (or even any of its sequels), but, if you're looking for a violent slasher flick to pass the time (and not require too many brain cells for) then this one fits the bill.You don't really need to know much about the plot = Santa-killer. You can probably fill in the rest yourself. Maybe it also helps to watch it around Christmas time. Seeing Santa roast perfect strangers with a flamethrower makes a pleasant change from those awful, sickly-sweet John Lewis commercials currently infesting the screen.Some people have complained about the killing of a child in the film, so, if you're squeamish and find that sort of thing unwatchable, you might want to steer clear.Otherwise, sit back and watch Malcolm McDowell deliciously overact (don't complain - he's doing it on purpose - this is kind of tongue-in-cheek, after all!) and deck the halls with burned-up bodies!