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.

BONUS: SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT, PARTS 3-5:

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

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

Silent Night, Deadly Night Parts 1 & 2

Cinema Shock Christmas Special

CAST & CREW

Possession

Event Horizon