Silent Night, Deadly Night

R

Released Nov 9, 1984

1h 19m

Horror

List

46%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

40%

Audience Score

5,000+ Ratings

An orphan raised by nuns (Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick) grows up to be a killer toy-store Santa Claus.

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Matthew Rozsa

Salon.com

Buried beneath the blood-soaked Santa suit, "Silent Night, Deadly Night" has something a lot of slasher films lack - a unique identity, and thus cult film status.

Rated: 3.5/4

Oct 31, 2021

Full Review

Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

if his eventual explosion delivers all the by-numbers cat & mouse and multitool culling that is expected of thesubgenre, it is his personal psychodrama which keeps us engaged with what is as much a human tragedy as a succession of sensational thrills

Nov 9, 2020

Full Review

Richard Corliss

TIME Magazine

We're not knocking the transformation of a hallowed holiday figure into a homicidal maniac...it's the pleasure Billy and the movie take in leering at, then dicing up young women that lands Charles E. Sellier Jr.'s sicko Santa on our worst list.

Nov 29, 2018

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

While not as much of a success as other slashers honoring holiday traditions, it has enough superficial silliness to make it worth revisiting every December.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 20, 2023

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Alix Turner

Ready Steady Cut

The 80s horror movie in which the guy with the axe is dressed up as Santa.

Rated: 3/5

Jan 27, 2021

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a distressingly generic endeavor...

Rated: 2/4

Dec 27, 2020

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Mike F

Incredibly corny and not scary in the least but there are some good laughs and I really enjoyed the killer santa theme

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/25/23

Full Review

Fleegle B

A really great Christmas movie. the remake is just as awesome

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The Horror nerd in me absolutely loves this movie, watch it every year around Christmas! Naughty!!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/13/23

Full Review

Ian

A very good christmas horror film. this movie had more plot then i thought it would, i imagined this movie being a slasher but with Santa, i guess it kinda is that but they take there time with the story and split it in three different parts, each part being a different time period. i really like how the movie looked, for being an 80s film the cinematography is great and the jump cuts and editing is damn good as well. most of the characters are surprisingly fleshed out for an 80s slasher and the gore was also pretty solid. one thing i still don't understand is the stuff the grandpa said at the beginning, what was the point of that besides to be creepy. anyways i had a lot of fun with this and the christmas feel of this movie is definitely there. may be a yearly watch for me, i really enjoyed this. we'll see how the sequels hold up because i plan on watching those as well.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/07/23

Full Review

Jay H

The first 30 minutes or so are rather unpleasant. Once Billy starts his killing spree, the movie is a hoot.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/23/23

Full Review

Computey D

A Santa Slasher Movie Classic.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/18/23

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Charles E. Sellier Jr.

Director

Lilyan Chauvin

Mother Superior

Gilmer McCormick

Sister Margaret

Toni Nero

Pamela

Robert Brian Wilson

Billy (Age 18)

Britt Leach

Mr. Sims

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Synopsis

An orphan raised by nuns (Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick) grows up to be a killer toy-store Santa Claus.

Director: Charles E. Sellier Jr.
Producer: Ira Barmak
Screenwriter: Paul Caimi, Michael Hickey
Distributor: TriStar Pictures, Paragon Video, Live Video, USA Films
Production Co: TriStar Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 9, 1984, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Runtime: 1h 19m

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