Out this Friday is Silent Night, Deadly Night, a remake of the 80s cult classic of the same name. This is the second remake and the seventh film in the franchise. And they all range from appreciated cult classics to absolute garbage. Will the seventh time be the charm for this festive film?
Silent Night, Deadly Night follows Billy (Rohan Campbell), a young man who wanders America, drifting from town to town after the horrible murder of both his parents at the hands of a man dressed up as Santa Claus when he was 8. How does he spend his time? Well, he listens to a voice that tells him to kill people during Christmas. Life is simple for Billy, that is, until he lands in the small town of Hackett. Here he meets Pamela (Ruby Modine), and he falls for her. He decides to stay in Hackett against the protests of his inner voice, hoping to get to know Pamela better. During this, though he does not stop his killing ways and the dark secrets of Hackett spill out as the streets run red with the blood of his victims.
There are bad people, and there are people who do bad things
Silent Night, Deadly Night is a brilliant slasher, easily one of the best horrors of 2025. It’s also one of the best Christmas films I’ve seen this year. Now this might be because I’ve been watching a lot of the Netflix Christmas films, and I now have such a low bar that my quality barometer has been thrown off (curse you, Kiefer Sutherland and Tinsel Town).
The reason Silent Night, Deadly Night is so enjoyable is that writer/director Mike P. Nelson has a clear vision of where he wants to go with this version of the Silent Night story. He gives you a story that is seemingly obvious and full of tropes, and then, as the film reaches its midpoint, it flips its narrative, and you see the whole film in a whole new light. It’s brilliant, honestly. Are the tropes still there for a low-budget slasher with a Christmas theme? Yes, however, this works to the film’s advantage. At first, you believe that Billy is a simple psychopath, going from town to town hacking his way across the Midwest.
However, even from the jump, I knew something was off about Billy; there was something about him that made him far more compelling than most slashers. This is down to Rohan Campbell’s performance as Billy. He seems like a wounded animal snapping at the world, but there is a reason for it, and when the film hits its third act, I was so impressed with Billy and everything that I learned about what made him the monster he is. Ruby Modine’s Pamela is an excellent foil to him; she’s layered, has a brilliant level of fire to her, and some of the best imagery in the film involves her.
Dead of the night
The MVP in Silent Night, Deadly Night is the voice that accompanies Billy. Voiced by Mark Acheson, this voice guides Billy, in a way, raising him into this particular brand of monster since he was 8. The back and forth between Billy and his dark passenger is brilliant. There is a rapport there that is oddly charming and fun.
Now this wouldn’t be a Silent Night film if it didn’t have over-the-top gore, and if you’re here for that, then you are in luck. This film goes nuts at several points throughout its runtime, and the cinematography, when Billy goes Kris Kringle on his victims, is memorably chunky. There is a Santa Party around the midpoint of the film, and it was wild, even if there are several writing tropes baked into it that I felt softened the film’s edge.
Ultimately, though, Silent Night, Deadly Night is a must-see for fans of the franchise, as well as horror fans in general.
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