‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’ Review: Slay Bells Ring Anew for an Under-the-Radar Franchise’s Return
Variety | 12.12.2025 05:00
The ranks of Christmas-themed horror movies swell further every year, digested with relish by genre fans and cheerfully ignored by everyone else. But in 1984, a menace to Yuletide morality yea more dire than Starbucks holiday cups stirred vociferous objections. Charles E. Sellier Jr.’s low-budget “Silent Night, Deadly Night” opened the same day as “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” initially outgrossing that now-classic. TV ads were decried for frightening innocent children; Siskel & Ebert demonstrated rare unity in condemning the whole enterprise; there were public protests. The backlash was such that soon it was withdrawn from theatrical release — though that didn’t curb eventual popularity on home formats.
