Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2

Silent Night, Deadly Night is hailed as a bit of a cult classic in the slasher genre. It told the story of a young man who snapped and went on a killing spree while wearing a santa costume.

Part 2 tells the story of his brother who is basically doing the same thing but is a tad brighter.

Sadly the first third of the film is heavily flashbacks so it feels like you're watching the first film all over again. When the new material kicks in it's essentially more of the same.

The original film despite it's fame remains to me as a distinctly average feature and this sequel is about on par.

A couple of fairly original deaths, a competent lead playing the manic Ricky Caldwell and the usual tropes and cliches of the sub-genre.

It's astounding that this managed 5 movies total, hopefully they haven't peaked already with this one as I'm part 3 bound shortly.

The Good:

Eric Freeman

Follows on from the first film well enough

The Bad:

FAR too much footage from the first film

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

A nun would have no problem moving into house no.666

Nuns are trained in the art of wheelchair ninjutsu

The church provides a spare wheelchair in case of acts of god

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987) is basically a re-cap of the original with a few improvements. Firstly it continues the story through the eyes of the other (and younger) brother, Ricky. As an even more homicidal and insane killer he narrates the story that was part one until he breaks free from jail and goes after "Mother Superior" and finally manages to behead the control-freak. Secondly, if you watch closely you'll notice several story changes and unused footage from the original Silent Night, Deadly Night. Finally, Ricky makes his older brother, Billy look very tame with such eye-candy as a killing spree taking up several urban city blocks. Such familiar yells like "Naughty" are met with new shouts like "Garbage Day!" This 88 minute video tape is out of print and a necessary addition to any horror freaks collection.

Though the rehash in the beginning is tedious (most wouldn't be watching this trash if they hadn't seen the first one) there are some of the funniest, most gratuitous scenes ever in this film. When Ricky is wandering on his rampage and menacingly spouting lines like "Garbage Day!" and "Punish!" it is absolutely hilarious : perhaps unintentionally, but hilarious nonetheless. This movie is well worth watching for that ten minute segment alone. The scene in the movie theater is a nice touch, and required the only thought given to the whole movie. Get this one at the local dollar video - don't pay more than 1.50 for it and you'll be happy. Also, if you HAVEN'T seen the first, dont - just watch this one and you're set.

This picture is nothing more than a dose of mindless fun, with some creative killings (have you ever seen an umbrella impaling before?) and some funny moments of self-reflection (the scene in the movie theater is a standout). Because of the extensive flashbacks in the beginning of the movie, in which footage from the first film is used, those who have seen the original recently will probably hate this; for the rest of us the flashbacks are almost a bonus: essentially you get to see two movies for the price of one. (**)

The first thing anyone will admit when mentioning this movie is that it is terrible. It is even admitted in the Anchor Bay DVD release that it was mostly edited from the original to extend the video shelf-life of the first film, which was also less than Citizen Kane. The new material is acted with less talent than a grade school play, and those same grade school children could have written the script were it not for the not so child-like subject. The movie is merely an attempt to capitalize on gore, nudity, and controversy. As such, if you haven't seen the original in a while, this is a decent horror film. The slasher genre makes no claims to being Oscar worthy, so don't expect it to be and you'll be fine.If you go into this movie wanting to watch a badly made gore-fest you won't be disappointed. I find the delivery of the line "Garbage Day" makes this film one of my horror favorites despite the fact I rate it 4/10.