Silent Night, Deadly Night

"He knows when you've been naughty."

1984 1h 19m EN

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 461

ThrillerHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After a man dressed as Santa Claus brutally murders Billy Chapman's parents, little Billy then endures the cruelty of a sadistic nun at his orphanage. Years later, when adult Billy has to fill in for an absent in-store Santa, his childhood trauma brings him to the breaking point.

“He knows when you've been naughty.”

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Cast

Robert Brian Wilson
Billy at 18
Lilyan Chauvin
Mother Superior
Gilmer McCormick
Sister Margaret
Charles Dierkop
Killer Santa
Toni Nero
Pamela
Randy Stumpf
Andy
Linnea Quigley
Denise
Britt Leach
Mr. Sims

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Charles E. Sellier Jr.
Writers: Michael Hickey, Paul Caimi
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 79-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

42 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Silent Night, Deadly Night Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Charles E. Sellier Jr., shot by Henning Schellerup. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Perry Botkin Jr.. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michael Spence shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Robert Brian Wilson and Lilyan Chauvin and Gilmer McCormick carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Charles E. Sellier Jr. directs. Henning Schellerup behind the camera. Perry Botkin Jr. scores. Michael Spence cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 79-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Shot for just $1.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
342 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Part of the "Silent Night, Deadly Night Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Charles E. Sellier Jr., shot by Henning Schellerup. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Perry Botkin Jr.. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Michael Spence shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Robert Brian Wilson and Lilyan Chauvin and Gilmer McCormick carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "He knows when you've been naughty.".
10IMDB entry: tt0088117 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 17 themes, including "holiday", "santa claus", "gore", "murder".

The technical file

Cinematography: Henning Schellerup
Original score: Perry Botkin Jr.
Editing: Michael Spence
Production design: Dian Perryman
Makeup / hair: Perri Sorel
Sound: Mel Metcalfe
Stunt coordinator: Frank L. Bare II
Runtime: 79 min · 1h 19m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,065,000
Box office: $2,491,460
Return: 234% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

Part of

Silent Night, Deadly Night Collection

Series about slashers about childhood traumas that lead to Santa Claus killing sprees, and other horror stories occurring on Christmas.

Also by

Charles E. Sellier Jr.

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-04-13
★ 6.5/10
The Original Bad Santa. A cult horror classic, Silent Night, Deadly Night is something of a treat for the old school horror faithful. Plot has a young boy witness the slaying of his parents by a man dressed as Santa Claus. He grows up in an orphanage run by an over zealous Mother Superior, moves out when manhood beckons and gets a job in a department store. Come Christmas time he is coerced into being the store Santa and promptly cracks up, grabbing an axe and wreaking slasher hell on everyone who gets in his way. That's pretty much it, the stalk and slash formula in all its bloody glory. It's done very well here, with invention, genuine shocks and it's all boosted by having the mad Santa as an angelic faced beefcake (Robert Brian Wilson). Of course any new-age horror film fan coming to it for the first time now will struggle to see what the appeal is? So listen to the staccato music, feel the nastiness - the humbug of it all, observe that the film makers don't use filler or padding - they get in for some short sharp shock, and it's deliberately icky to garner a reaction. Masterpiece of horror cinema? No of course not, the acting is sub-standard, the ending rushed, but in the same year as Wes Craven unleashed one of cinema's ultimate bogeymen upon us, Charles E. Sellier Jr. and his writers offered us a reason to actually hope Santa Claus doesn't exist. 6.5/10
Wuchak2022-04-15
★ 6/10
Beware: An ax-wielding Santa A traumatized boy grows up at a Catholic orphanage in a small Utah town near the mountains. Once he gets a job at a toy store at 18, havoc ensues. "Silent Night, Deadly Night" (1984) is infamous for causing moral outrage when it was released, but I never understood the indignation. Not only is this a horror flick, it’s a slasher. Shock and grisly killings come with the territory. Aduh. Consider clowns for a moment. They are whimsical & funny and yet no one had an issue when they were used for scares in “He Who Gets Slapped” (1924), “Terror on Tour” (1980) and “Poltergeist” (1982). How exactly is Santa off limits, especially since he was depicted as the killer twelve years earlier in “Tales from the Crypt” (1972), not to mention four years earlier in “Christmas Evil” (1980)? Unlike many slashers, this one takes the time to establish why the killer does what he does. The tone is mostly serious, but there’s also a wink of humor or camp here and there. While it lacks the mood and artistry of “Silent Night, Bloody Night” (1972), it’s serviceable as a one-dimensional (and sometimes amusing) slasher. I appreciated the scenic mountain town locations. Linnea Quigley is notable on the female front as Denise, as is winsome Toni Nero as Pamela. Both are shown top nude so, if that offends you, I suggest staying away. The full version is succinct at 1 hour, 22 minutes (while the theatrical version is 3 minutes shorter). It was shot at Heber City & nearby Midway, Utah, which are both east of Salt Lake City on the other side of the mountain pass. GRADE: B-