{"id":138910,"date":"2020-12-22T05:16:07","date_gmt":"2020-12-22T02:16:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/what-critics-said-about-silent-night-deadly-night\/"},"modified":"2020-12-22T05:16:07","modified_gmt":"2020-12-22T02:16:07","slug":"what-critics-said-about-silent-night-deadly-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-critics-said-about-silent-night-deadly-night\/","title":{"rendered":"#What Critics Said About &#8216;Silent Night, Deadly Night&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#What Critics Said About &#8216;Silent Night, Deadly Night&#8217;<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\">\n                <\/aside>\n<p><!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 3.7.8--><em>They Said What?! is a biweekly column in which we explore the highs and lows of film criticism through history. How did critics feel about a certain movie at the time, and do we see it differently now? In this entry, Chris Coffel explores the original critical reception of the controversial Christmas slasher Silent Night, Deadly Night.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>In November of 1984, TriStar Pictures and director <strong>Charles E. Sellier Jr.<\/strong> created quite the stir with the release of <em><strong>Silent Night, Deadly Night<\/strong><\/em>. The film follows Billy (<strong>Robert Brian Wilson<\/strong>), an 18-year-old recently released from the orphanage in which he was raised. As a small child, Billy witnessed his parents\u2019 brutal murder at the hands of a man dressed in a Santa Claus suit. As a result, Billy suffers from trauma associated with Christmas and the jolly fat man.<\/p>\n<p>The film had an impressive opening week at the box office but caused an uproar with critics and audiences alike. The taboo premise of a killer Santa Claus resulted in negative reviews and protests, ultimately grounding the film before taking flight. Despite pulling in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boxofficemojo.com\/release\/rl1215399425\/weekend\/\">nearly $1.5 million<\/a>, roughly twice the film\u2019s budget, it was quickly removed from theaters. For critics, the murderous St. Nick was at best a cheap ploy to gain attention and at worst an insulting misstep. For viewers, it was a direct attack on the sanctity of Christmas. Time has been far kinder to this delightful slice of festive camp. Not only have modern audiences warmed up to the idea of a Santa slasher, but the film has earned praise for its attempt at tackling trauma, something overlooked in 1984.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou people have nothing to be proud of,\u201d <strong>Gene Siskel<\/strong> exclaimed on an episode of <em>At the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Movies<\/a><\/em>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Ph3lfukgfeU\">speaking directly<\/a> to those responsible for <em>Silent Night, Deadly Night<\/em>. During the brief segment, Siskel publicly shamed the writer, director, and production studios by name for soiling Santa\u2019s good name and pristine reputation. \u201cYour profits truly are blood money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Siskel\u2019s longtime co-host, <strong>Roger Ebert<\/strong>, agreed, adding that he\u2019d \u201clike to hear them [the filmmakers] explain to their children and their grandchildren that it\u2019s only a movie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ken Tucker<\/strong> of <em>The Daily Dispatch<\/em> called <em>Silent Night, Deadly Night<\/em> \u201canother garbage movie\u201d that \u201cattracted more publicity than your usual garbage slasher film.\u201d Tucker <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/clip\/65730639\/the-dispatch\/\">wrote that<\/a> the setup of a murderous Father Christmas was a \u201ctruly disturbing image\u201d to base a movie. Worse yet, the filmmakers couldn\u2019t even manage to do much with it, churning out \u201can abomination made dull with pious self-righteousness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe film features something to infuriate and offend almost everyone,\u201d <strong>Keith Roysdon<\/strong> wrote in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/clip\/65731031\/muncie-evening-press\/\">his review<\/a> for the <em>Muncie Evening Press<\/em>. The concept is one done in bad taste, according to Roysdon, and if that bad taste were visible, it \u201cwould be as visible from space as the Great Wall of China.\u201d For Roysdon, <em>Silent Night, Deadly Night<\/em> doesn\u2019t even manage to work as shocking exploitation because it\u2019s \u201cso dull and so badly made, with terrible acting, phony-looking makeup and inept direction by Charles Sellier.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For <em>Herald &amp; Review<\/em>, <strong>Gary Minich<\/strong> called on the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Legion_of_Decency\">Legion of Decency<\/a> to save us from the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>alling <em>Silent Night, Deadly Night<\/em>. Minich felt the film was merely a rehash of previous genre efforts, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/clip\/65731494\/herald-and-review\/\">calling it<\/a> a \u201clow-budget quickie that borrows nearly every scene from predecessors.\u201d Most of all, Minich was upset to be reviewing it, fearful that some poor souls would be encouraged to see it regardless of his harsh words.<\/p>\n<p>Much like Minich, <strong>Charles Oestreich<\/strong> of <em>The Argus<\/em> wasn\u2019t happy to be giving <em>Silent Night, Deadly Night<\/em> publicity. Oestreich <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/clip\/65731460\/the-rock-island-argus\/\">described the movie<\/a> as \u201cjunk,\u201d calling it the sort of film that would typically play to a scattering of folks for a week or two and then quickly disappear. \u201cIts only claim to fame, its exploitation of a sacrosanct icon \u2014 Santa Claus \u2014 is reprehensible,\u201d Oestreich wrote. That exploitation, combined with the film\u2019s controversial ad campaign, provided the movie with more notoriety than your standard low-grade slasher. And Oestreich feared this would open the world of horror to other things we hold as sacred, such as motherhood, flags, and apple pie.<\/p>\n<p><em>Poughkeepsie Journal<\/em>\u2018s <strong>Mike Hughes<\/strong> was one of the few critics in 1984 to appreciate what the creators of <em>Silent Night, Deadly Night<\/em> were hoping to achieve. Hughes <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/clip\/65730885\/poughkeepsie-journal\/\">wrote that<\/a> it was only a matter of time before Christmas became a staple of horror and admitted to there being \u201cpotential to the idea of a killer in a Santa suit.\u201d Once Billy dons the red suit and starts hacking away at those he deems naughty, \u201cit works fairly well.\u201d It\u2019s the build-up to get to that point that didn\u2019t work for Hughes, who wrote it off as \u201cexcruciating\u201d and at times \u201csickening.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll be the first to admit that <em>Silent Night, Deadly Night<\/em> isn\u2019t without its flaws. It\u2019s a bit derivative, and if it weren\u2019t for the Christmas aspect, it likely would be another forgotten slasher. But that\u2019s also why it\u2019s brilliant and works so well. It takes something we\u2019ve seen before and packages it in a way to make it stand out from the crowd. <em>Silent Night, Deadly Night<\/em> followed in the footsteps of <em>Christmas Evil<\/em> \u2014 a much better killer Santa film released four years prior \u2014 and added in the sleaziest parts from the <em>Friday the 13th<\/em> franchise and a marketing campaign that didn\u2019t shy away from what it was. While the film was punished for it upon its release, it launched a series with four sequels and a remake while paving the way for countless killer Santa flicks to follow.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s also something to be said about the filmmakers\u2019 efforts to delve into the psyche of Billy. He does many terrible things throughout the film, like decapitating a poor boy trying to have some sledding fun, but he truly wants to be good. The problem is he\u2019s never had the proper support system. Billy experienced a horrific event at a young age and then was just tossed in an orphanage. Once he turned eighteen, he was released on his own, expected to be just fine. Silly as the film may be, it\u2019s a pretty accurate commentary on how America handles mental disorders.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Henry Stewart<\/strong> commented on this very subject when <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bkmag.com\/2015\/12\/16\/the-best-old-movies-on-a-big-screen-this-week-nyc-repertory-cinema-picks-december-16-22\/5\/\">writing about<\/a> a midnight screening of the film for <em>Brooklyn Magazine<\/em>. Stewart notes that not allowing Billy to confront his psychological issues triggers a psychotic break and sends him on a yuletide killing spree. In Billy\u2019s attempts to punish the immoral, \u201che embodies Reagan-era conservatism, then at its peak, mocking the strict discipline of compassionless, law-and-order, moral-policing reactionaries.\u201d The way Stewart sees it, \u201cthe country\u2019s commentators weren\u2019t ready for such gruesome treatment of a sacred-cow like Christmas,\u201d which saddled the film with an unfair reputation.<\/p>\n<p>In a recent Blu-ray review of <em>Silent Night, Deadly Night<\/em> for <em>Little White Lies<\/em>, <strong>Anton Bitel<\/strong> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/lwlies.com\/articles\/silent-night-deadly-night-blue-ray-review\/\">writes that<\/a> while the film is undoubtedly a gory slasher, it has more in common with Alfred Hitchcock\u2019s <em>Psycho<\/em> than <em>Friday the 13th<\/em> or <em>Halloween<\/em>. Bitel argues that Billy isn\u2019t just a mindless killer. He\u2019s a troubled young man that needs help. \u201cHe is both an ill-fated victim and a ticking time bomb, and if his eventual explosion delivers all the by-numbers cat and mouse and multitool culling that is expected of the slasher subgenre,\u201d Bitel writes, \u201cit is his personal psychodrama which keeps us engaged with what is as much a human tragedy as a succession of sensational thrills.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bitel also wisely points out the irony surrounding the parents that protested the film and helped get it pulled from theaters. \u201cIf parents were concerned by the negative impact that the film might have on their children\u2019s perception of Christmas, the film itself is preoccupied precisely with this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Matt Donato<\/strong> placed the film third amongst his top five Christmas horror films in a piece for Slashfilm. Donato <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.slashfilm.com\/best-christmas-horror\/#more-455469\">writes that<\/a> the film works and has earned its cult status \u201cbecause the slasher elements play surprisingly well.\u201d And they play well because Billy isn\u2019t just a random killer. He\u2019s a \u201cpsycho-snapped orphan boy poisoned by the memory of his parents\u2019 death,\u201d and the only way he can cope with the holidays is by killing those he deems naughty.<\/p>\n<p>At <em>All Horror<\/em>, <strong>Adrian Torres<\/strong> declared <em>Silent Night, Deadly Night<\/em> to be amongst his three favorite Christmas horror movies, with a strong case for the top spot. \u201cThe movie is just so empathetic and surprisingly realistic,\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allhorror.com\/reviews\/silent-night-deadly-night-1984-review\">Torres writes<\/a>, crediting the film for diving into Billy\u2019s extreme childhood trauma. Of course, it\u2019s still a horror movie, so Torres also points to the film\u2019s iconic death scenes, including a \u201cnaked chick being impaled on antlers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to becoming a yearly favorite in horror circles with regular December screenings, <em>Silent Night, Deadly Night<\/em> routinely finds itself appearing on the best of Christmas horror lists. At FSR, we placed the film at nineteen in our ranking of more than a hundred Christmas horror movies. And if I had my way, it would be much higher.<\/p>\n<p>Slashfilm slotted <em>Silent Night, Deadly Night<\/em> at twenty-four in their ranking of Christmas horror, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.slashfilm.com\/christmas-horror-movies-ranked\/3\/\">calling it<\/a> \u201ca snow-covered slasher that does a lot right.\u201d <strong>Kristin Hunt<\/strong> put the film third on a list of \u201cmust-see holiday horror movies\u201d for <em>Mental Floss<\/em>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mentalfloss.com\/article\/88641\/15-must-see-holiday-horror-movies\">citing the film\u2019s ability<\/a>\u00a0to overcome critics and become a \u201cbonafide franchise.\u201d For Uproxx, <strong>Matt Prigge<\/strong> ranked the movie as the fourth-best Christmas horror entry, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/uproxx.com\/movies\/best-christmas-horror-movies-ranked\/\">calling it<\/a> \u201csleazier and slimier than <em>Bad Santa<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s hard not to laugh at the film\u2019s history. The outrage from those that sought to destroy <em>Silent Night, Deadly Night<\/em> likely enhanced its long-term value. People flock to controversy, and this is no different. The film still has its naysayers, but there\u2019s no denying that it\u2019s a staple of holiday horror, and that doesn\u2019t appear to be changing anytime soon.\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/what-critics-said-about-silent-night-deadly-night\/#utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=what-critics-said-about-silent-night-deadly-night\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#What Critics Said About &#8216;Silent Night, Deadly Night&#8217;&#8221; They Said What?! is a biweekly column in which we explore the highs and lows of film criticism through history. How did critics feel about a certain movie at the time, and do we see it differently now? In this entry, Chris Coffel explores the original critical&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":138911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Silent-Night-Deadly-Night.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[87397,1412],"class_list":["post-138910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-silent-night-deadly-night","tag-they-said-what"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}