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Released by: Arrow Video
Released on: 11/23/2009
Director: Charles E. Sellier Jr.
Cast: Linnea Quigley, Robert Brian Wilson, Toni Nero, Gilmer McCormick, Lilyan Chauvin, H.E.D. Redford
Year: 1984
The Movie:
While it's been available uncut on DVD in North America through Anchor Bay for a while now, Silent Night, Deadly Night, the 1984 Christmas slasher classic from director Charles E. Sellier Jr. has only now been given an uncut certificate from the BBFC and appears for the first time in its complete form in the UK on this new DVD from Arrow Video.
For those who haven't seen the picture, it begins when a young man named Billy Chapman witnesses the brutal murders of his mother and father by a maniac dressed in a Santa Claus costume. Billy and his baby brother Ricky, now orphaned, are sent off to be raised in a convent called St. Mary's where the nuns rule the roost with an iron fist, lead by a particularly nasty Mother Superior (Lilyan Chauvin). As Billy grows older, it becomes pretty obvious that his emotional scars run deep. He's understandably got a deep rooted fear of Santa Claus that stems back to his childhood but thanks to the strict Catholic upbringing he experienced with the nuns who raised him, he's also got a freakishly puritanical view of sex, an act that he sees as horrible and for which those who partake in it should be brutally punished.
When Billy (Robert Brian Wilson) turns eighteen and leaves the orphanage for good, he gets a job at a nearby toy store. All seems to be going fairly well until Christmas comes around and, when the regular store Santa calls in sick, Billy is asked to fill in. Amazingly enough, Billy makes it through the work day and even heads out to the employee Christmas party, where an unexpected surprise sets Billy off. He puts on his Santa suit and decides to punish everyone he deems as naughty…
Silent Night, Deadly Night is a pretty decent film but it's nothing so brutal that it really should have caused as much controversy as it did. Much of the hubbub probably came from the fact that the killings are done by a crazy guy in a Santa Claus suit and there's something to be said for that as seeing what is essentially a beloved kids icon going nuts the way Billy does here is a bit unsettling. Really though, as decent as this movie is, there are much nastier slashers out there. To the film's credit, however, it's a pretty fun ride. There are some great kill scenes here and some welcome nudity and a cool appearance from the eighties definitive scream queen, Linnea Quigley which all add to the fun.
The picture has a pretty decent back story to it and it spends enough time establishing Billy's various psychosis that we completely expect him to snap, maybe even before he eventually does. What he does comes as no surprise at all, but how he does it can often times be pretty creative and Robert Brian Wilson, who would go on to a fairly mediocre television career after this film's success, plays the role with enough intensity and believability that he makes for a pretty compelling character. Sellier keeps the movie clicking along at a good pace, building things up nicely until the inevitable happens and while the conclusion is a little predictable, it's still a gory good time getting there.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The test disc sent for review may or may not represent final product - if a finished version is sent we'll update the review accordingly but if it isn't, don't get cranky with us!
Arrow's 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen progressive scan transfer is crisp, clean and colorful with only minimal print damage showing up. Black levels are generally pretty good and the disc is well authored, showing no major compression artifacts (you might spot some minor ones in the really dark scenes if you look hard enough) or heavy edge enhancement. Skin tones are lifelike and natural and color reproduction is also quite good.
The sole audio track is an English language Dolby Digital Stereo mix that sounds perfectly fine. Levels are well balanced and there are no problems to report with any distracting hiss or distortion. There isn't much in the way of channel separation but what's here is easy enough to understand and follow and of perfectly acceptable quality.
There aren't a ton of extras on the disc, but there is an audio interview with the film's director, Charles E. Sellier Jr. which was conducted over the telephone and which simply plays out over clips from the film. Sellier talks about where his inspiration for the film came from, how it's connected to Grizzly Adams (!), his TV work, and what it was like working with a team that he put together. It's a decent interview lasting over half an hour in length that discusses props, effects work, and more and which gives a good run down of this history of this picture. Aside from that, the unrated theatrical trailer is included alongside menus and chapter selection.
The Final Word:
One of the most enjoyable holiday themed slasher films of all time gets a nice uncut release for the British market that is a bit light on extras but which offers up a nice transfer.