Silent Night 2012

You better watch out.

5.18 / 10   291 vote(s)
R
Comedy Horror Thriller Mystery

As their small Midwestern town prepares for its annual Christmas Eve parade, Sheriff and his deputy discover that a maniac in a Santa suit is murdering those he judges as naughty.

Release Date 2012-11-30
Runtime 1h 34m
Directors Trevor Cunningham, Richard Duffy, Markian Saray, Amanda Wowryk, Joseph White, Steven C. Miller
Producers Scott Purdy, Brad Reinke, Margot Hand, Patrick Murray, Gary Kay, Melissa Kay, Craig Ullman, Robert Mokhtarian, Edgar Sardarian, Erica Sardarian, Saleh Soulat, Sevan S. Baroni, Katrina Frolov, Vazgen Aghaeian, Michael Conway, Chris Conway, Kevin Novak, Harvey Insler, Ben Insler, Isaac Clements, Steve Ruff, Thomas M. Kastelz, Aaron L. Gilbert, John G. Carbone, John Carbone, Mark Sanders, James Gibb, Jayson Rothwell, Edward Mokhtarian, Edmund Mokhtarian, Sean E. DeMott, Adam Goldworm, Vincent J. Guastini, Kevin Kasha, Gary Preisler, D.J. Gugenheim, Armen Aghaeian, Geno Tazioli, Micah Gallo, Joe Laurin, Richard Saperstein, Brian Witten, Phyllis Laing, Shara Kay
Writer Jayson Rothwell

Santa with an ax …and a flamethrower

When a series of shocking murders occur on Christmas Eve in a town in Wisconsin, the Deputy (Jaime King) and Sheriff (Malcolm McDowell) must track down the culprit, hopefully before the big parade.

"Silent Night" (2012) is the sixth and most recent installment in the “Silent Night, Deadly Night” series that started in 1984. Unlike the original infamous flick, this one came and went without any outrage. Debuting 28 years after the original (and 21 years after the previous installment) it’s fittingly an all-around improvement.

This is not a remake, as some have believed, despite two scenes being homages to the original film. It’s a completely different story, completely different characters and completely different location. There’s also a link to the real-life Covina Massacre, which took place on Christmas Eve in 2008 wherein 45-year-old Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, dressed as Santa, killed 9 people by gunshot or arson at a holiday party in a Los Angeles suburb.

All the staples you would want in a slasher are present: a mysterious masked killer; brutal killings; a compelling story; a sympathetic female protagonist, i.e. the “final girl”; black humor that goes over the heads of some viewers; and stunning women (e.g. Courtney-Jane White, with a nod to Cortney Palm).

It doesn’t reinvent the wheel; it just does what it does well, including being noticeably better than the original. Not to mention it features powerhouse Malcolm McDowell.

The film runs 1 hour, 34 minutes, and was shot in Selkirk & Stonewall, Manitoba, just north of Winnipeg.

GRADE: B+

Wuchak