Here's a classic from the early 80s cycle of Reagan era Slasher flicks...


Silent Night Deadly Night


This should be a popular disc among serious horror fans.





THE NOTORIOUS SEASONAL SLASHER AVAILABLE UNCUT IN THE UK FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME EVER.

One of the most controversial movies of the 1980s – and never granted a certificate by the British Board of Film Classification until now – the seminal cult shocker SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT finally gets its long-awaited UK DVD release in November 2009 just in time to bring some Christmas fear into the hearts of horror fans looking for something more stirring than the usual seasonal fare.

A ‘stalk and slash' shocker with bells on, SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT sparked a wave of controversy on its original US theatrical release thanks to its premise of having a killer dressed as Santa Claus, a concept that led to angry parents, film critics, celebrities and movie industry insiders protesting against and calling for a boycott of this ‘outrageous' movie. Now, UK viewers can at last see what all the fuss was about with the release of the fully uncut and most complete version of the film available.

After witnessing the killing of his father and the rape and murder of his mother at the hands of a psycho in a Santa suit, young Billy Chapman, along with his infant brother Ricky, is sent to be raised at St. Mary's Orphanage, an institution run by a tyrannical and abusive Mother Superior. Billy's earlier tragic experience has already left him deeply scarred mentally, with a pathological fear of Santa Claus and a firm belief that sex is an evil act that must be punished – emotional problems that the nuns do nothing about except to reinforce.

Ten years later, and free of the shackles of the orphanage, 18-year-old Billy finds himself working at a local toy store as Christmas approaches. Things are going fine until the store Santa takes ill and Billy is forced to step in and don the red and white suit. He manages to get through the final day at work before the holidays, but an incident at the store employee's Christmas celebrations that evening brings back terrifying memories in Billy initiating a bloody killing spree in which this now-psychotic Santa sets out to ‘punish the naughty'.

A superlative 80s shocker that spawned four sequels and ticks all the required slasher genre boxes – namely gratuitous gore, nudity, sex, decapitation and an appearance by Hollywood scream queen Linnea Quigley (Return Of The Living Dead; Night Of The Demons; Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers) – SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT is the perfect Yuletide tale of terror.

SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (cert. 18) will be released on DVD (£15.99) by Arrow Video on 23rd November 2009. Special Features include: unrated trailer; audio interview with director Charles E. Sellier Jr.; poster; booklet including ‘Deadly Director: Charles Sellier interviewed by Calum Waddell' and ‘Silent Night, Sex Night: The Slice and Times of Linnea Quigley'.

Attached Images

sleeve_3347.jpg (100.5 KB, 9 views)

Never seen that artwork for the movie before. I know what I'd like out of Santa's sack.

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This is all new artwork commissioned by Arrow Video. Previous releases like the Dawn of the Dead Blu-Ray and the Masters of Giallo titles also had freshly minted sleeves.

Just for fun, here's the original cinema poster, from the days when the film caused a real stink...

Attached Images

silentnight-730866.jpg (60.0 KB, 8 views)

Yeah, it's funny to think back to how much hell people raised over a slasher film having a Christmas theme. The critics savaged it, and parents actually picketed outside theaters.

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...All of which is, of course, marvelous publicity.

Horror is supposed to needle at a cultures taboos anyway. It shares that with comedy I think. It's a way of allowing a safe vent for everyone's worst thoughts.

You can't claim any great intellectual subtext for SNDN, even though it's a great little film, but if you look at Italian pulp cinema, it's packed with Nuns and Nazi, just the ticket in a country where the church has so much influence and fascism once held sway.

Here's the obligatory out now message!

SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT hits online retailers and UK stores tomorrow (23.11.09).

Arrow Video, the company releasing this, are giving the same excellent Blu-Ray treatment to DAY OF THE DEAD that they recently gave to it's prequel DAWN...

Expect a thread with details soon. I'm excited, of the two films I favour DAY OF THE DEAD, probably due to the gore overload and Bub, the child friendly zombie!