Silent Night, Deadly Night 4K UHD Review
“Silent Night, Deadly Night” is a Christmas horror classic.
Written by Michael Hickey, “Silent Night, Deadly Night” is a Christmas horror slasher. The story (which spans several years) begins during Billy’s childhood where he and his family are off to visit grandpa at the mental hospital during Christmastime. The creepy grandpa tells him a story about how Santa is going to punish him for being bad. Billy’s fears are realized when a criminal dressed as Santa murders his parents in front of his eyes. Billy and his little brother Ricky are then sent to Saint Mary’s Home For Orphaned Children where Mother Superior doesn’t treat him too kindly, but Sister Maragret is quite sympathetic. The story jumps ahead 10 years where a now adult Billy (played convincingly by Robert Brian Wilson) is hired on at a toy store. Unfortunately, his trauma has not subsided at all. When he’s asked to become the store Santa, Billy reluctantly does so, but snaps and begins to go on a rampage (as Santa) killing the “naughty.”
40 years ago, “Silent Night, Deadly Night” stirred up quite a controversy among parents, teachers, and even some critics. Many viewed Christmas as sacred and saw this slasher as depraved. Cut to modern times and it’s actually quite tame when compared to this year’s Christmas themed “Terrifier 3.” Moreover, the film went on to spawn a franchise and a new version in 2025 is on the way. It’s certainly had staying power and outlasted any controversy it once had.
While the premise may be on the warped side, the Charles Sellier, Jr. slasher actually plays more like a tragedy. This is not merely another violent 80’s slasher with a high body count. Granted, the film is loaded with elements that will please slasher fans like the headless body on a sled and the appearance of Linnea Quigley, but there’s more to this particular film. At its core, this is a haunting psychological story of how damaging trauma can be to a person throughout their life. In many ways, ‘Silent Night’ was ahead of its time as trauma horror is very in right now.
Note: This set contains the theatrical and unrated cuts. The 4K is the theatrical version only. The theatrical and unrated cuts are on 2 separate Blu-ray discs.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 1.85:1 2160p. How does it look? The new 4K restoration (for both cuts) maintains the grain while providing sharper image quality. Fans will undoubtedly be pleased by this transfer.
Audio Track: 2.0 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? A higher quality track would have been preferable but this is a perfectly adequate 2.0 track nonetheless.
Extras:
* New commentary by Amanda Reyes and “The Hysteria Continues” podcast on the 4K and Blu-ray (the only extra on the 4K disc).
* 3 brand new sets of interviews on the Blu-ray for producer Scott Schneid (“The Night He Came Home…For Christmas: Creating Silent Night, Deadly Night”), editor Michael Spence (“In Search of Charles Sellier Jr: Remembering The Director”), and producers Scott Schneid and Dennis Whitehead (“Naughty Or Nice: 40 Years Of Silent Night, Deadly Night”).
* R-Rated theatrical trailer and VHS trailer, radio spot, and 2 TV spots
* Poster and still gallery
* An extended audio interview with director Charles E. Sellier from Deadpit Radio.
* 2 archival commentary tracks. One by actor Robert Brian Wilson and producer Scott . Schneid and the other by writer Michael Hickey, composer Perry Botkin, producer Scott J. Schneid and editor Michael Spence.
* “Oh Deer!- Interview With Actress Linnea Quigley”
* “Santa’s Stocking Of Outrage”- Quotes from outraged people.
* “Slay Bells Ring: The Story Of Silent Night, Deadly Night”- A 45 minute featurette with a host of interviews about how the project came to be.
* “Christmas In July- Silent Night, Deadly Night Locations”- A look at the shooting locations then and now.
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