Silent Night, Deadly Night III: Better Watch Out!

"When your nightmare ends, the real terror begins!"

1989 1h 30m EN

💀

3.9

SKIP

⭐

3.4

IMDB

★3.9TMDB · 107★3.4IMDB · 2,041

Horror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Ricky Caldwell, the notorious 'Killer Santa Claus', awakens from a six-year coma after being kept alive on life-support by a slightly crazed doctor experimenting with ESP and other special abilities. Ricky targets a young, clairvoyant blind woman, named Laura, whom is traveling with her brother Chris, and his girlfriend Jerri to their grandmother's house for Christmas Eve, and Ricky decides to go after her, leaving a trail of dead bodies in his wake.

“When your nightmare ends, the real terror begins!”

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Cast

Richard Beymer
Dr. Newbury
Bill Moseley
Ricky
Samantha Scully
Laura
Eric DaRe
Chris
Laura Harring
Jerri
Elizabeth Hoffman
Granny
Robert Culp
Lt. Connely
Richard C. Adams
Santa

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Monte Hellman
Writers: Rex Weiner, Rex Weiner, Monte Hellman
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

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Monte Hellman, shot by Josep M. Civit. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by J. Steven Soles. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Richard Beymer and Bill Moseley and Samantha Scully carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "When your nightmare ends, the real terror begins!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Monte Hellman directs. Josep M. Civit behind the camera. J. Steven Soles scores. Ed Rothkowitz cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
237 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "Silent Night, Deadly Night Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Monte Hellman, shot by Josep M. Civit. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by J. Steven Soles. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Ed Rothkowitz shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Richard Beymer and Bill Moseley and Samantha Scully carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "When your nightmare ends, the real terror begins!".
9IMDB entry: tt0098331 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 12 themes, including "santa claus", "sequel", "murder", "psychic power".

The technical file

Cinematography: Josep M. Civit
Original score: J. Steven Soles
Editing: Ed Rothkowitz
Production design: Phillip G. Thomas
Makeup / hair: Nina Kraft
Stunt coordinator: Rawn Hutchinson
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Silent Night, Deadly Night III: Better Watch Out! (1989)
IMDB rating: 3.4/10 · 2,041 votes
MPAA: R

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

Monte Hellman

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Community reviews

What people are saying

4EverFinalGirl2021-12-06
★ 3/10
Ever have one of those movies that makes it so difficult not to be all negative in the review? Where it’s hard to find anything positive? Meet Silent Night Deadly Night 3 Better Watch Out! I’m sorry but Bill Moseley and Robert Culp can’t save this movie. I mean, they tried to do something different with the whole psychic link, but no. Just no. This is so bad. And not the “so bad it’s good” kind of cheesy movie. I vaguely remember watching it a long time ago but didn’t remember it. Now I know why I didn’t remember it. The kills, for the most part, are off screen and the after effect is bad as well. Little to no blood or gore. I mean, Ricky has a nice little glass bowl on his head with his brain in it. And It looks like his brain is in some liquid that looks like red Kool-Aid. The acting is kind of dismal as well. Bill Moseley only gets to walk around like Frankenstein or a zombie without really saying much other than “Laura”. I can’t blame him though, it’s more the script’s fault. Robert Culp didn’t have much to do in this movie. Most of the time he’s talking as he’s driving. This is what irritates me the most. The plot. It had such potential. But they dropped so many plotlines. The idea of the psychic link between Ricky and Laura being better explored would have been a better movie than what we got. Kills/Blood/Gore: 1/5 Sex/Nudity: 1/5 Scare factor: 1/5 Enjoyment factor: 1.5/5 My Rank: 1.5/5

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