- Directed by Lee Harry
- April 10, 1987
The brother of the original Santa killer goes on his own murderous rampage.
Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is the sequel to the Cult Classic Silent Night, Deadly Night though given the 30 minutes of recycled footage that feels like so much more it is more a repackaging than anything else. The first was offensive upon its release because it had a killer Santa. This is offensive to this day because of more than the reuse of old footage.
The opening is ridiculously long with absolutely nothing happening, then dramatic and menacing shots of our (eventual) killer Ricky Caldwell (Eric Freeman) and an orderly (J. Aubrey Island) before diving into the flashbacks that are the backbone of this movie poorly disguised as a conversation between Ricky and his doctor (James L. Newman). To heighten the drama since the acting certainly cannot, Ricky smokes while looking out a window into the distance. Why is a psychotic allowed a lighter?!
Director Lee Harry and pals waste no time getting into the extended flashback that Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is almost solely known for. Not sure if Freeman had acted before or did anything on film but his voiceover is comically bad. It gets worse when he is actually on camera. The bugged out eyes and the flat delivery meant to be menacing is painful. Then again so is everybody else because there is not a single actual actor to be found here.
The acting in the first one could get a bit rough. Here you could liken the experience to using sandpaper after you have eaten very spicy food. If they had decided to go dark comedy and write ANY bad jokes to use during not only the old clips but the new inserts, I could almost forgive them because you could look at it as an attempt at comedy.
Saying this has a story would be generous. Somebody decided to go supercheap and repackage the last movie as a new movie. If you do not believe me then check out some comments by director Lee Harry. I get this was done in a different era, but I cannot believe even then that it would work. Credit the director and a few others for giving us the minimal originality we did get.
For a movie connected to a Christmas slasher whose title is a play on a phrase referencing Christmas, visual allusions to the holiday are almost nonexistent in the new stuff. It’s all taking place in sunny Southern California or somewhere during summer or close to that particular season. It is not until the last few minutes when Lil Ricky dons a Santa suit to kill Mother Superior (Jean Miller taking over for Lilyan Chauvin) that Christmas returns to the series in fresh images.
I have heard it said that Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 crossed into so-bad-it’s-good territory. No it does not. Keep such lies from your mind and out of your mouth. Becoming accidentally good requires a special magic this COMPLETELY lacks. Lee Henry and pals were not trying to create a good movie. They were trying to NOT completely repackage an older one. The former is that missing mysticism. Combine that with excessive flashbacks and the poorest of poor acting with a very goreless movie then you have something you could doze off while watching.
While the first was no great artistic achievement, Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is a step down. Lacking scares or gore or comedy or anything really it is a cultural curiosity but not a Christmas treat.
Warren Watched A Movie 