Silent Night, Deadly Night Parts 1 & 2 (1984, 1987)
Cinema Shock Christmas Special
"Garbage day!"
Merry Christmas from Cinema Shock! For this week's episode, we're doing something special and taking a break from our Roulette Extravaganza to give you a holiday-focused deep dive into not one but two of our favorite cult Christmas movies.
First up is one of the most controversial slashers of the 80s, one that was so immediatley infamous that its studio pulled it from theaters almost immediatley, despite it doing decent business at the box office. SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT has gone on to become one of the most popular and well-regarded entries in the highly specific Killer Santa subgenre.
Not wanting to let a good money-making controversy go to waste, the rights owners for SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT rushed a quickie, no-budget sequel into production just a few weeks after the first film hit home video and SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT PART 2 is as famous — if not more so — than its predecessor, but for... entirely different reasons.
In this episode, we take a detailed look at the productions of these two films, and grapple with their legacies as holiday cult movie staples.
SYNOPSIS: Little Billy witnesses his parents being brutally murdered by Santa. Years later, when he has to fill in for an absent in-store Santa Claus, his childhood trauma materializes once again.
After being traumatized by his brother Billy's murderous rampage years earlier, Ricky Caldwell has become a serial killer himself and is now living in a mental hospital. Relating his story to a psychiatrist, Ricky recounts the details of their murder sprees and vows to avenge his brother's death.
CAST & CREW
PART 1:
Directed by: Charles E. Sellier, Jr.
Screenplay by: Michael Hickey
Story by: Paul Caimi
Produced by: Ira Barmak | Scott J. Schneid | Dennis Whitehead
Cast: Robert Brian Wilson | Lilyan Chauvin | Gilmer McCormick | Toni Nero | Britt Leach | Nancy Borgenicht | Linnea Quigley | Will Hare | Charles Dierkop | Don Shanks
Cinematography: Henning Schellerup
Edited by: Michael Spence
Music by: Perry Botkin
Release Date: November 9, 1984
PART 2:
Directed by: Lee Harry
Screenplay by: Lee Harry | Joseph H. Earle
Story by: Lee Harry | Joseph H. Earle | Dennis Patterson | Lawrence Appelbaum
Produced by: Lawrence Appelbaum
Cast: Eric Freeman | James L. Newman | Elizabeth Kaitan | Jean Miller
Cinematography: Harvey Genkins
Edited by: Lee Harry
Music by: Michael Armstrong
Release Date: April 10, 1987
Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, and Justin Bishop..
For episode archives, merch, show notes, and more, visit cinemashock.net