This movie is sensational!
Having originally outgrossed Nightmare on Elm Street during its first run before being yanked for being too much for persnickety parents -- take THAT, Freddy! -- Silent Night, Deadly Night is one of the many films I remember seeing posters and VHS boxes for in the ol' video store as a kid -- along with the likes of Slumber Party Massacre and Sleepaway Camp -- that made me both frightened and curious...
Growing up into an avid cinephile, I forgot my youthful memories of the films until recently when a buddy of mine who specializes in the 80s slasher/horror genre got me hooked right into the scene. I've found loads of great films that are simple, pure fun, Silent Night, Deadly Night probably being my favorite for hardcore passion and purity of vision.
No compromises here!
What's great about the film is that you don't just get some off-the-wall outrageous and wild moments of true slasher uniqueness -- images that will be indelible in your mind for the rest of your life, for sure! -- but also some circa 80s magic: everything from hair to clothes to one of the best/worst soundtracks you've ever heard (some of the songs, including one that plays over a hilarious TV-show-esque montage makes you think Trey Parker is singing with his signature sardonic crooner's drawl).
After watching a film like this, it's easy to see why well-known cineaste-filmmakers like Tarantino are so into the genre: again, the purity of vision and outright passion to put something out that is just pure entertainment, going the distance in every way without worrying about anything but constructing a commercial product that will appeal to the most base, primal sensations and overstimulate to the point of nearly being overwhelming makes for something far too rare in the rest of cinema history. Watching a movie like this is like eating a bucket full of chocolate!
This is true exploitation at its very best; it's a film that makes you feel dirty for watching it at points, and -- yes -- that you should be "punished" for watching/enjoying its splatterfest.
Give it a try...!
Having originally outgrossed Nightmare on Elm Street during its first run before being yanked for being too much for persnickety parents -- take THAT, Freddy! -- Silent Night, Deadly Night is one of the many films I remember seeing posters and VHS boxes for in the ol' video store as a kid -- along with the likes of Slumber Party Massacre and Sleepaway Camp -- that made me both frightened and curious...
Growing up into an avid cinephile, I forgot my youthful memories of the films until recently when a buddy of mine who specializes in the 80s slasher/horror genre got me hooked right into the scene. I've found loads of great films that are simple, pure fun, Silent Night, Deadly Night probably being my favorite for hardcore passion and purity of vision.
No compromises here!
What's great about the film is that you don't just get some off-the-wall outrageous and wild moments of true slasher uniqueness -- images that will be indelible in your mind for the rest of your life, for sure! -- but also some circa 80s magic: everything from hair to clothes to one of the best/worst soundtracks you've ever heard (some of the songs, including one that plays over a hilarious TV-show-esque montage makes you think Trey Parker is singing with his signature sardonic crooner's drawl).
After watching a film like this, it's easy to see why well-known cineaste-filmmakers like Tarantino are so into the genre: again, the purity of vision and outright passion to put something out that is just pure entertainment, going the distance in every way without worrying about anything but constructing a commercial product that will appeal to the most base, primal sensations and overstimulate to the point of nearly being overwhelming makes for something far too rare in the rest of cinema history. Watching a movie like this is like eating a bucket full of chocolate!
This is true exploitation at its very best; it's a film that makes you feel dirty for watching it at points, and -- yes -- that you should be "punished" for watching/enjoying its splatterfest.
Give it a try...!