Silent Night (2012) Review – A Brutal and Competent Slasher Remake

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are reviewing Silent Night from 2012.

A slasher remake yet based on a true story

Directed by Steven C. Miller, this is something of a remake of the 1984 slasher Silent Night, Deadly Night. Despite this, Silent Night is also based on a true story. The story follows a pair of police officers tasked with stopping a maniacal Santa Claus who is killing everyone he deems to be naughty this Christmas.

“At its heart, Silent Night is very much your standard slasher. Everything you have come to expect from the genre is present: brutal kills, buckets of gore, and tongue in cheek humour.”

The movie is inspired by the real life Covina Massacre. A man entered a Christmas party on the 24th of December wearing a Santa costume, and killed 9 people via gunshots and arson. Apparently, investigators believe the perpetrator committed the massacre as something of an act of revenge. Whether this is true or not we will never know as he offed himself at his brother’s house the next day.

I suppose there are moral issues regarding horror movies based on real life events. I am not sure that you can ever justify making entertainment out of people’s suffering. In this case, however, if I am being perfectly honest, I believe the influence of the Covina Massacre, as far as Silent Night goes, is minimal. I think the makers just wanted to have that “based on a true story” tag at the beginning of the film. People love that type of stuff, after all.

Christmas slasher fun

At its heart, Silent Night is very much your standard slasher. Everything you have come to expect from the genre is present and accounted for here. We have brutal and inventive kills, buckets of gore, tons of violence, tongue in cheek humour, a topless woman running from a crazed killer, and an action packed ending. This is absolutely Slasher 101! With that in mind, it is easy to set your expectations to a reasonable level.

The kill count here is fairly modest. It ramps up toward the end but there is a fair bit of exposition between murders. The officers have a case to solve, after all. This is a movie that leans heavily on its investigation element to bulk out the story. We are going to be following the cops around as they try to crack the case. It’s pretty rote as far as this kind of thing goes. We have a healthy dose of horror legend Malcolm McDowell to keep things fun, though.

The kills themselves are a mix of the more traditional slasher fare along with a few novelty kills. Naturally, I don’t want to spoil anything but I am sure the words Fargo, wood and chipper will give you an idea. There’s some brutal stuff here and it is all delivered with a suitable amount of gore and blood.

Santa incognito

Something which makes the movie a little more entertaining is just how difficult our killer is to track down. As you can probably imagine, finding a killer in a Santa outfit, around Christmas, is a tough task. There are mall Santas everywhere, people in the streets are collecting charity donations dressed as the big guy, as well as others simply heading to fancy dress parties. This plays a pivotal role in Silent Night‘s plot as the cops are forced to consider anyone who fits the bill as a potential suspect.

“Finding a killer in a Santa outfit around Christmas is a tough task. This plays a pivotal role in the plot as the cops are forced to consider anyone who fits the bill as a potential suspect.”

Deputy Bradimore has to interview ill-tempered guys just trying to make a buck, question people dressed as Santa heading for a post work drink and just, generally, annoy people. This leads to a few nice bits of comedy as well as a fair bit of tension.

Most of the people aren’t very accommodating and the no-nonsense cop refuses to take no for an answer. It’s also something of a coincidence that her former cop dad also took down a bad Santa years before. Maybe Aubrey wants to prove that she isn’t the only Santa vanquishing Bradimore? It’s nice to have an established backstory even if it is a little silly.

A decent production

Silent Night is a pretty competent production. It’s hard not to assume that Christmas themed slashers are going to feel a little cheap. I mean, look at Jack Frost as a perfect example. Even some of the bigger budget ones aren’t particularly great – Black Christmas 2019 I am looking at you. But in this case, Steven Miller’s direction is pretty tight and the film feels fairly cohesive. Events don’t jump around from one place to another too much and the action is all pretty tight.

Joseph White’s cinematography is decent; in fact, this is a much nicer looking slasher than many. This doesn’t feel like a particularly low-budget shoot. Set designs are generally good. Special attention to detail has been paid to objects that can be used to enhance kills. Nothing feels too out of place despite how some of the things are utilised as weapons. The soundtrack is very fitting for this type of movie. It is all pretty well put together.

Lighting is fantastic, in parts. The end scenes, in particular, are worthy of note and feature a blend of red and green lights bleeding into smoke. It looks excellent and ties nicely in with the festive theme. Given that there is a lack of snow in this movie, that’s a good thing. It’s not the most Christmassy of Christmas horror movies but the ending segment is very enjoyable for its aesthetics.

Great acting and a fun script

Jayson Rothwell had a whale of a time here with the screenplay. Some wise-cracking Santas with attitudes make for some of the movie’s funniest scenes. Rothwell has written some absolute zingers for Malcolm McDowell’s Sheriff Cooper, as well. He’s a cantankerous old coot and hilarious with it. A scene between two young lovers is comical for its awkwardness. A speech by a slimy priest also does a nice job of setting up a fantastic, old-fashioned slasher kill.

“Malcolm McDowell chews the scenery here in the best possible way. He appears to be having a lot of fun as the demanding boss, and some of his lines are hilarious.”

Acting is absolutely fine for this type of film. Jaime King, as Deputy Bradimore, is decent playing the hard-nosed, never-say-die cop. She gets to flex her emotional acting chops later on. You may remember her from the remake of My Bloody Valentine and her previous experience with slashers comes in handy.

Malcolm McDowell chews the scenery here in the best possible way. He appears to be having a lot of fun as Bradimore’s demanding boss. Some of his lines are hilarious. McDowell’s attempt to put on an American accent is funnier than it should be. I am a big fan of McDowell and I love his commitment to lower budget films, particularly during this time period. All in all, acting is okay.

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Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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