REVIEW – Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2

Published on: 28th December, 2009

REVIEW - Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2  | read this item

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The argument against sequels more often than not is that they are pointless. Often rehashing the same formula and characters (or carbon copies) and simply recycling them to be used again, very few are worthy successors to their often superior predecessors. Two films in particular come to mind when this accusation eventually turns to the slasher film. Along with 1983’s Boogeyman II, one movie notorious for stealing whole scenes from the previous flick was Lee Harry’s Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2, a movie that shamelessly consisted over around forty minutes of footage from Charles E. Sellier Jr.’s 1984 Yuletide classic. With Silent Night, Deadly Night having caused controversy amongst parental groups and critics such as Siskel & Ebert, prompting TriStar Pictures to remove it from the screens, perhaps the lack of willing executives willing to play their job on the line to throw money at a sequel is the reason that Part 2 would only result in half a film.

Having witnessed their parents brutally murdered by a man dressed as Santa Claus, Billy (Jonathon Best) Chapman and his baby brother Ricky are sent to live at an orphanage run by nuns. After years of abuse from the Mother Superior (Lilyan Chauvin), Billy (now played by Robert Brian Wilson) embarked on a brutal massacre whilst also dressed as Santa. After Billy was gunned down by police, Ricky was sent to a foster home but the memories of his youth still haunted him. Now eighteen, Ricky (Eric Freeman) is the resident of a mental hospital and recounts his story to a psychiatrist (James L. Newman), confessing how the influence of the Mother Superior had caused him to eventually turn to violence himself. Knowing that his final act must be to rid the world of the evil woman, he kills his doctor and sets out to finish what his brother had started.

There are two ways to look at Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 and, depending on which view you take, may affect your thoughts on the movie. Either you can consider the first half of the film a condensed version of Silent Night, Deadly Night, removing all irrelevant scenes and instead taking the view straight into the action, then followed by Ricky’s own story which brings the film to a close, or it can be considered a waste of celluloid and a feeble attempt by producers to wring more profit out of the flick. To be fair, both opinions are probably just as accurate but its worth depends on whether or not the viewer has a high tolerance for schlock and repetition. Silent Night, Deadly Night was an interesting and enjoyably sleazy slasher that boasted an adequate cast and some tasty murders, as well as Linnea Quigley baring her breasts once again. All this and more is featured in Part 2.

The elusive Freeman (who since seems to have vanished from the face of the Earth) is undeniably hammy and robotic in his performance but there is something undeniably likeable about him, particularly when he shouts out his infamous ‘Garbage day!’ catchphrase. Whilst Wilson gave the role of Billy a certain element of creepiness and sincerity, Freeman makes no attempt at making Ricky believable, sympathetic or three-dimensional. Instead, he is a pantomime villain that the viewer may take great pleasure in watching as he chews the scenery. The fact that so much footage is reused from the original film is a problem, as otherwise these would make a great double feature, but unless the viewer skips passed the first forty minutes of the movie then it may get a little tedious.

The supporting cast is nothing special but Elizabeth Kaitan is passable as his girlfriend, Jennifer. Kaitan may be recognizable to slasher fans for her appearance in Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (released the following year), although it is her turn in Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 she should be most proud of. Whilst Harry had little new footage to film, what he was able to shoot was rather bland visually, but allowed Freeman to work his camp magic. The screenplay lacks any kind of depth or attempt at making a serious horror movie, but has since become quoted by many fans online (just type in ‘Garbage Day’ on YouTube and see what comes up). Newman brings little to his role but, to be fair, he had little to work with.

On the whole, Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is definitely a waste of celluloid and is a movie the world could have lived without. It’s generic, uninspired and amateur. But these are among its charms, as the filmmakers clearly refuse to take the material seriously and instead made what could best be described as a feature length joke. But for those who had not seen the original, Part 2 is a must for slasher fans as it demonstrates the very worst the genre has to offer but is still somehow engaging. Freeman gives on of the all time camp performances and it is this that keeps the viewer interested, although it is perhaps ill advised to watch this immediately after the first film. The very definition of a guilty pleasure, but one worth experiencing.

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