Silent Night (2012 film)
Silent Night is a 2012 American slasher film directed by Steven C. Miller and starring Jaime King, Malcolm McDowell, Donal Logue, Brendan Fehr, and Ellen Wong. It is a loose remake of Charles E. Sellier Jr.'s 1984 film Silent Night, Deadly Night and the sixth and final installment in the Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise. The film was given a limited theatrical release on November 20, 2012 and was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on December 6, 2012.
| Silent Night | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Steven C. Miller |
| Produced by | Shara Kay Phyllis Laing Richard Saperstein Brian Witten |
| Screenplay by | Jayson Rothwell |
| Based on | Silent Night, Deadly Night by Charles E. Sellier Jr. |
| Starring | Malcolm McDowell Jaime King Donal Logue Ellen Wong Brendan Fehr |
| Music by | Kevin Riepl |
| Cinematography | Joseph White |
| Edited by | Seth Flaum |
Production company | Buffalo Gal Pictures Media House Capital |
| Distributed by | Anchor Bay Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 94 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States Canada |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $114,633[2] |
Plot
A mysterious man dresses in a Santa Claus suit, complete with a mask. Once dressed, "Santa" captures and kills Jordan (Brendan Fehr), a deputy Sheriff, in the small town of Cryer, Wisconsin. Jordan is sleeping with the married Alana Roach (Ali Tartaryn) and is electrocuted with Christmas lights in his home. The following day, Christmas Eve, the Sheriff of Cryer, Sheriff Cooper (Malcolm McDowell), calls Deputy Aubrey Bradimore (Jaime King) in on her day off when Jordan doesn't arrive at work. Aubrey is a new addition to the Sheriff’s office, and is still reeling from the unexpected death of her husband John. She doesn't think she's a good deputy, as she is trying to live up to her father, who is a retired Sheriff. Aubrey was going to spend the holiday with her parents, but instead goes out to check on Jordan, finding his mangled body and Roach, who has been dismembered, later in the day. Sheriff Cooper decides not to tell Mayor Revie (Tom Anniko) until the case is solved.
Meanwhile, the masked Santa killer goes on a murder spree, killing those who have done something he considers 'naughty.' His next victim is a bratty teenage girl who he kills with a cattle prod, then he makes his way to the local motel, murdering two of three people during a softcore porn shoot. One woman manages to escape and tries to hide inside a Christmas Tree farm, but the killer chops off one of her legs and throws her feet-first into a woodchipper. Sheriff Cooper calls in Deputy Stanley Giles (Andrew Cecon) and goes out to find the killer himself, but comes back empty-handed. Aubrey starts to suspect Santa Jim Epstein (Donal Logue), a local drunken Santa portrayer, drug dealer Stein Karsson (Mike O’Brien), and the perverted Reverend Madely (Curtis Moore).
Aubrey attempts to interrogate Karsson, but he flees. Aubrey gives chase, but is nearly killed and narrowly saved by Sheriff Cooper. That evening, during the town's annual Christmas parade, Aubrey searches for the killer but is unable to identify him among a crowd of men dressed in Santa Claus suits, though she arrests Jim when he flees from her. The killer Santa continues on his spree, murdering Mayor Revie, his porn star daughter Tiffani (Courtney-Jane White), and her boyfriend Dennis (Erik J. Berg). The killer then arrives at the church and kills Reverend Madely for stealing donation money. Aubrey goes to Karsson's motel room to arrest him, and is forced to kill him when he draws a gun.
Aubrey notices a gift box that contains a piece of coal, and recalls that both the station and her father had received the same gift. Aubrey arrives at her parents's home, only to find her father dead and her mother hiding in the closet. Meanwhile, the killer attacks the station, killing Cooper, Giles, and Jim. Aubrey, along with the station secretary Brenda (Ellen Wong), are cornered by the killer inside the police station, where the killer tries to burn down the place with a homemade flamethrower. Aubrey is able to overpower the killer Santa and sets him on fire, but in the end he manages to escape.
It is later revealed that the killer Santa is Ronald Jones Jr., owner of a local chimney cleaning and repair service, and he survived the flamethrower attack. During the hunt for the killer, Aubrey learns from another Santa portrayer that Ronald Sr. had crashed his ex-wife's Christmas party many years ago, burning her alive with the homemade flamethrower. Aubrey's father was the deputy that responded to the situation and gunned him down, only to find out that Ronald Jr. was in his father's truck watching the entire time. The tragedy caused Ronald Jr. to go insane and seek revenge, dressing as Santa so he would not get caught during Cryer's Christmas festivities.
Cast
- Malcolm McDowell as Sheriff James Cooper
- Jaime King as Deputy Aubrey Bradimore
- Donal Logue as Santa Jim Epstein
- Ellen Wong as Brenda
- Lisa Marie as Mrs. Hilary Morwood
- Courtney-Jane White as Tiffany Revie
- Cortney Palm as Maria
- John B. Lowe as Mr. Bradimore
- Rick Skene as Ronald Jones Sr./Ronald Jones Jr.
- Brendan Fehr as Deputy Kevin Jordan
- Andrew Cecon as Deputy Stanley Giles
- Aaron Hughes as Frank Forester
- Kelly Wolfman as Goldie Willis
- Laura Cartlidge as Morwood Girl
- Mike O'Brien as Stein Karsson
- Kristen Sawatzky as Jane Jones
- Erik J. Berg as Dennis
- Ali Tataryn as Alana Roach
- Curtis Moore as Reverend Madeley
- Adriana O'Neil as Mrs. Bradimore
- Lane Styles as Mindy Lu
- Tom Anniko as Mayor Revie
Based on a true story
The 2012 adaptation of Silent Night is based on a real event known as the Covina Massacre. On Christmas Eve in 2008, a 45-year-old man named Bruce Jeffrey Pardo killed nine people by gunshot wounds or in arson fire at a holiday party. Pardo wore a Santa suit during the massacre, as does the main antagonist in Silent Night.
Release
Distributed by Anchor Bay, the film was released in theaters for a limited run in select U.S. cities on November 30, 2012, showing in 11 theaters.[3] It grossed $14,567 in the United States.[3] Internationally, the film grossed $100,065, making for a worldwide gross of $114,633.[2] It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 4.[4]
Reception
The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 64%, based on 11 reviews, with a rating average of 5.83/10.[5] Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score based on reviews from mainstream critics, awarded the film an average score of 53 out of 100 based on 4 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[6]
The Los Angeles Times wrote that "The movie's intended audience will likely be satisfied by its parade of gory mayhem, cheap thrills and groan-worthy dark humor. Everyone else: You're on your own" while The Hollywood Reporter called the film a "cinematic lump of coal" and a "formulaic effort".[7][8] Variety felt that the film was "a singularly glum and dumb enterprise" and concluded "apart from some modestly inventive carnage and an undeniably humorous hambone turn by Malcolm McDowell, there's really nothing here to make genre fans dash through the snow".[9]
Silent Night was met with mostly positive reception from several horror film sites, such as Slasher Studios ("It might not be everyone's cup of egg nog but for what it's worth it is definitely worth a look") and Oh, The Horror! ("it's one of the better recent remakes").[10][11] Bloody Disgusting gave a score of three and a half out of five, writing "While Silent Night does not add anything new to the subgenre, it delivers the ho ho horror with its spectacular kills and tongue-in-cheek humor. This is a fun film that is bound to spread some holiday cheer in the hearts' of slasher fans" and Fearnet stated "this straightforward and scrappy little remake is somehow more entertaining than half of what passes for "wide release" horror movies these days. Toss in some fine cinematography, some cool musical touches, and just enough "in jokes" to keep the hardcore horror fans happy, Silent Night certainly isn't great, but it is consistently fun, and that's more than enough—especially for a horror remake".[12][13] Christopher Safranski of Dread Central stated Silent Night “is one case that I think breaks the standard rule” of originals being superior to remakes because “What makes the remake work is its ability to balance horror and comedy very well”.[14]
Soundtrack
| Silent Night (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | November 25, 2012 |
| Length | 62:08 |
| Label | Pale Blue Records |
| Producer | Kevin Riepl |
Silent Night (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album for the movie, released on November 25, 2012 under the record label Pale Blue Records.[15] The music was composed by Kevin Riepl.[16]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Santa Suits Up" | Kevin Riepl | 2:02 |
| 2. | "Basement Boy" | Kevin Riepl | 2:45 |
| 3. | "Aubrey" | Kevin Riepl | 3:28 |
| 4. | "Ungrateful Little" | Kevin Riepl | 1:31 |
| 5. | "The House" | Kevin Riepl | 4:57 |
| 6. | "Sherriff Cooper" | Kevin Riepl | 1:09 |
| 7. | "Run to the Chipper" | Kevin Riepl | 3:10 |
| 8. | "The Chipper" | Kevin Riepl | 2:05 |
| 9. | "They See Dead People" | Kevin Riepl | 3:34 |
| 10. | "The Story" | Kevin Riepl | 1:58 |
| 11. | "Watching You" | Kevin Riepl | 2:03 |
| 12. | "Evil Sermon" | Kevin Riepl | 3:00 |
| 13. | "Mr. Snow" | Kevin Riepl | 2:39 |
| 14. | "Linking Murders" | Kevin Riepl | 2:02 |
| 15. | "Rack Mounted" | Kevin Riepl | 2:49 |
| 16. | "Santa Jim Runs" | Kevin Riepl | 1:30 |
| 17. | "Karssen’s Kitchen" | Kevin Riepl | 3:19 |
| 18. | "The Gift" | Kevin Riepl | 2:24 |
| 19. | "Santa Brawl" | Kevin Riepl | 3:40 |
| 20. | "Axe Santa" | Kevin Riepl | 4:25 |
| 21. | "How It Began" | Kevin Riepl | 2:08 |
| 22. | "Silent Night Suite" | Kevin Riepl | 5:30 |
| Total length: | 62:08 | ||
References
- Silent Night at AllMovie
- "Silent Night". The Numbers. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018.
- "Silent Night". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018.
- "Silent Night". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- "Silent Night". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
- "Silent Night Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
- Gary Goldstein (November 29, 2012). "Movie review: Silent Night drips with Santa's naughty side". Silent Night. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
- Frank Scheck (November 29, 2012). "Silent Night: Film Review". Silent Night. The Hollywood Times. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
- Joe Leydon (December 2, 2012). "Silent Night". Silent Night. Variety. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
- Houston Fisher (December 2, 2012). "Movie review: Slasher Remake Silent Night (2012) Decks the Halls With Lots of Bodies". Silent Night. Slasher Studios. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
- Brett Gallman (November 29, 2012). "Silent Night (2012)". Silent Night. Oh, the Horror!. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
- Lonmonster (December 2, 2012). "Silent Night (2012)". Silent Night. Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
- Scott Weinberg (November 30, 2012). "FEARnet Movie Review: Silent Night". Silent Night. Fearnet. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
- Safranski, Christopher (December 10, 2015). "NEWSMovie Battle: Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) vs. Silent Night (2012)". Dread Central. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
- filmusicreporter (26 November 2012). "'Silent Night' Soundtrack Released". Film Music Reporter. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
- Moore, Debi (26 November 2012). "Celebrate the Holiday Season with Today's Silent Night Soundtrack Release". Dread Central. Dread Central Media, LLC. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
