"Which Was Worse?" #10: ALL of the "Silent Night, Deadly Night" Movies

 WWW#10: ALL of the Silent Night, Deadly Night Movies!

Hello and welcome to Cinema Wellman. I am your host, David, and first of all, Happy Holidays to everyone! We hope you’re enjoying your time with family and friends. 

Today we will continue a Cinema Wellman tradition of a Holiday “WWW?” by determining which, of the FIVE (!) movies in the Silent Night, Deadly Night series is the worst. 

They made five of these?!

In any event, we begin where we always do, which is by plugging the movie into the Official “Cinema Wellman Which Was Worse? Rubric” where we evaluate it by giving it a score from 1 to -3 in the following categories:

Story/Plotline/Script

Acting

Special Effects

Self-Awareness

And Effort

After that, we’ll run through the lightning round where each negative comment will cost a movie points, and a movie can occasionally even EARN a point or two.

You never know.

We watched this series in chronological order since we thought that made the most sense.

That strategy made more sense than any of the movies we watched.

So, Happy Holidays, and let’s get to it!

Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

R/79 min/IMDb: 5.8/directed by Charles E. Sellier Jr.

The rubric gives us a 1 in story/plotline/script, a 0 in acting, a 1 in special effects, a 0 in self-awareness, and a 1 in effort giving it a total of 3 points going into the lightning round!

*And Introducing Robert Brian Wilson as Billy. You got this, Billy! Leap of faith (+1)

*”Christmas Eve is the scariest damn night of the year.” It is? 

* Opened the same weekend as A Nightmare on Elm Street, no wonder I never saw it.

*I read that six minutes were cut to avoid an X rating. I read that a lot, and I question it a lot. 

*I also read that there were tons of protests due to the fact that Santa is the killer, and the controversy surrounding the film ruined the director’s career even though this was not the first film to feature a killer Santa Claus.

*Why did we need to see mom’s bare breasts before Santa kills her? “1984” is NOT a valid response to that question.

*Billy witnessed Santa killing his parents AND he has a mullet!

*Sister Margaret ties Billy to his bed. Sacred Heart, on their worst day, wouldn’t do this. “I’ll get you, Dahlin!” (-3 for the trauma)

*A TERRIBLE music montage to the song “On the Warm Side of the Door,” if that’s a real song. “It’s always Christmas on the warm side of the door.” I get it, but Billy has Santa triggers and this new job at the toy store may not work out.

*”Christmas Eve. Only one more day and this Christmas crap is history.” So says the owner of the toy store? Really?

*They make Billy play the store Santa Claus?!? Have they read this kid’s file?

*” I don’t bring toys to naughty children, I punish them.” Good hire.

*The nun calls the toy store; finds out Billy is playing Santa for kids and HANGS UP?!?! (-5)

*Santa Billy strangles creepy rapist guy with Christmas lights, but then he kills the girl anyway? (-3)

*Christmas Eve babysitter getting NAKED on the couch. Naked Christmas Eve Babysitter? ”Two-ball in the corner pocket.” Bitch, please. (-5)

*Santa impales the babysitter on a mounted reindeer head. (+1)

*Santa was shot and killed by police while attempting to ax murder a nun in a wheelchair. Was that on your BINGO card? (+2)

*” You’re safe now. Santa Claus is gone." Except for the obvious sequel tease with an evil child.

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987)

R/88 min/IMDb: 3.9/directed by Lee Harry 

The rubric gives us a -3 in story/plotline/script, a -3 in acting (because we couldn’t go lower), a 0 in special effects, a -3 in self-awareness, and a -3 in effort (SO LAZY) giving it a total of -12 points going into the lightning round.

*They actually waited three years to do the first sequel. (+1)

*They asked the director of the first SNDN to direct this, and he DECLINED! Not a good sign!

*Shot in 10 days, and you know what I’m going to say….IT SHOWS!

*The actor playing 15 year old Ricky was 24 years old at the time. 

*One of the opening scenes is nothing more than a flashback from the first movie. We are, of course, once again shown mom’s bare breasts before she is killed. (-2)

*One brief scene with Ricky and his psychiatrist is followed by another flashback from the first movie. This flashback contains the other strange nude scene from the first movie. Of course. (-2)

*Catholic school’s dress code for boys is apparently jeans and flannel shirts. Our Lady of Grunge.

*The movie’s poster reads “The nightmare is about to begin…AGAIN!” Is that because this is really just the first movie all over again?

*A second poster reads, “Prayers won’t save you in the silent part of this night…” which really doesn’t make any sense at all. 

*Okay, so another short scene with Ricky and the doc and ANOTHER flashback! Is this what this entire movie is going to be? (-2)

*They did it again. So how do I score this? It’s worse since they’re essentially making me watch the first one again without my consent, right? (-2)

*The commercials on Amazon Prime during this movie are more interesting than this movie.

*They certainly included every bit of nudity from the first one in this. 

*The Holiday Party at this neighborhood toy store would have had a human resources department busy for years.

*Screaming woman intercut with shots of Nutcrackers with mouths open. Not bad. (+1)

*More flashback, more nudity. I really am just watching the first movie again. This is inexcusable. This movie hates everyone who’s watching it. (-5)

*So I’m watching this on my computer and totally bored, and Amazon Prime has this feature they refer to as “X-ray” and if you click it, they tell you fun facts about the film. No fun here, but you can also click on “Cast” which they list at 80! Eighty people were in this movie?!?! Fewer than 80 people SAW this movie!

*Why behead a snowman with an axe? 

*A girl’s boyfriend gets super aggressive on an outdoor date, the guy goes to his Jeep for another beer, and is then repeatedly run over by that Jeep driven by Ricky. All the girl has to say after witnessing this horrific, bloody murder is, “Thanks.” 

*The overacting done by Eric Freeman as Ricky in this is some of the worst I have ever seen. (-3)

*Ricky impales a guy with an umbrella and it opens on the other side. And then it starts to rain. Queue Alanis Morrisette? (+1)

*So now they go to a movie in this movie and it’s a scene from the first movie? Is that possible? Did I see that correctly?

*I honestly can’t imagine any of the other films in this series being this bad.

*Did Ricky just inadvertently look into the camera? (-2)

*The DOUBLE BONUS of a car going over a construction ramp in the middle of nowhere, flipping over, and then EXPLODING! (-2)

*This Mother Superior just won’t give up. She’s so hateful I’m rooting for Ricky Santa to give her the axe. And, he does. “Naughty THIS!” Really?

*Does Ricky Santa really yell, “BOO!” at the cops before they shoot him to death? Yes. Yes he does. (-3)

*The gaffer on this film was named “Ro Mance.” If that’s real, I’ll watch this again on a loop for a month.

Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! (1989)

R/90 min/IMDb: 3.5/directed by Monte Hellman 

The rubric gives us a -1 in story/plotline/script, a -1 in acting, a 0 in special effects, a 0 in self-awareness, and a -1 in effort giving it a total of -3 points going into the lightning round which isn’t bad. I’m sure the movie is. 

*Ricky is back from the dead, but at least they got a new actor to play him. (+3)

*And third in the series and 3rd director, never a good sign. (-3)

*”And Robert Culp as Lt. Connelly?!” Finally someone I recognize in this series! (+1)

*The opening seven minutes is an obvious dream sequence. Not sure if we were supposed to believe it was real or not. 

*The main character is a young blind woman who somehow is connected to Coma Ricky, so now SHE gets to see flashbacks from the first movie as well! (-2)

*Coma Ricky is sporting a clear dome on the top of his head through which we can see his exposed brain.

*I read that neither the director nor the producer of this film saw either of the first two films, which makes a lot of sense.

*”Who said you had to be the World Champion Blind Orphan?” Is that a thing? 

*Nasty Hospital Receptionist is opening the mail at the front desk with a SCALPEL! (-2)

*Coma Ricky, now Hospital Escapee Coma Ricky is wandering around with his hospital gown and clear brainbox and nobody seems to care. He’s hitchhiking and actually gets picked up! (-3)

*MORE flashbacks from the first movie? (-2)

*This is supposed to be more of a comedy than a horror movie from what I read. From what I saw, it is neither.

*Coma Ricky puts a ski cap over his dome and goes to an old woman’s house for Christmas Eve dinner.

*”Red reactivates his childhood trauma.” Well then, I guess I understand his Christmas Problem.

*A beheading of a gas station attendant warrants two police cars. I saw a guy pulled over in Westford last week and he had four police cars for him. I wonder how many people he beheaded.

*”And speaking of snakes, excuse me while I relieve the reptile.” Who wrote this garbage?

*Impressive that the fluid in Coma Ricky’s Brain Helmet doesn’t leak out. It’s really the only thing I’m paying attention to at this point. 

*”Hey, Bubblehead, is it live or is it Memorex?” Talk about a dated reference and product placement.

*So Coma Ricky dies by falling on a knife? But delivers the final line of the film, “And a Happy New Year,” dressed in a tuxedo? Explain that to me. (-3)

Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990)

R/87 min/IMDb: 4.3/directed by Brian Yuzna 

The rubric gives us a -2 in story/plotline/script, a -1 in acting, a 0 in special effects, a -1 in self-awareness, and a -1 in effort giving it a total of -5 points going into the lightning round.

*The opening scene has Clint Howard as a homeless man and a flaming woman falling from the top of a building. Good start? (+1)

*Maud Adams, Clint Howard, Allyce Beasley, are all people I recognize, so is this franchise really a franchise at all? The four movies, four different directors makes me think no.

*Hotel room couple having acrobatic sex while watching a gruesome news report on television.

*I honestly cannot recall a “series” of films with this little in common. (-5)

*Hobo Clint Howard pulls a squirmy bug like creature out of a rooftop air vent, and I’m starting to wonder what I’m doing here.

*Did single women in the 80s and 90s really get totally undressed with their shades fully up and curtains fully open? I was around then, and didn’t run into too much of that. 

*Gigantic cockroaches are now part of this? Where did Santa go?

*Is a witch’s coven part of this? Did my parents lie to me about Christmas?

*Nasty vomit of a live bug scene I did not ask for. (-2)

*I have to be totally honest and admit that I checked to see if I was watching the right movie twice! (-2)

*Oh, there’s a flashback! We’re in the right series.

*There’s a nauseating “birth sequence” that had me longing for Santa swinging an axe. (-2)

Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (1991)

R/86 min/IMDb: 4.6/directed by Martin Kitrosser

The rubric gives us a 0 in story/plotline/script, a 0 in acting, a 1 in special effects, a 0 in self-awareness, and a 1 in effort giving it a total of 2 points going into the lightning round, a rare positive exit from the Cinema Wellman Rubric of Shame.

*Decent opening with a dad being killed by a mysterious toy delivered to a house on Christmas Eve. At least this one has to do with Christmas. (+1)

*”And Mickey Rooney as Joe Petto.” Great. I hate Mickey Rooney. (-2)

*And “Joe Petto?” I hate Pinocchio as well. (-2)

*Nice practical effect of a “Larry the Larvae” toy going into a guy's mouth and out of his eye. (+1)

*I was going to ask how Clint Howard can be back when he died in the last one with giant bugs crawling out of him, but I really don’t care. (-2)

*For some ungodly reason, the director decided to intercut two sex scenes, and the results are creepy and gross because of the participants. (-4) Thank goodness Evil Santa Toy Maker Mickey Rooney unleashes demonic toys on them. 

*Cyborg Santa? Didn’t see that coming, doesn’t make much sense, but better than a vast majority of this series.

*The Pinocchio thing gets weird when Pino admits Joe Petto couldn’t build him a penis and then he gets rapey. Extremely disturbing. (-10)

*”Don’t be afraid, it’s only a toy, mommy.” And scene…and franchise…and a teaser for yet another sequel.

*There’s one slated to come out as we speak titled Silent Night, Deadly Night. Not sure how it’s connected since I’m really not sure how any of these were connected.

Let’s do some quick math (actually no need for math), and we have figured out the answer to the question “Which Was Worse?” when it comes to the Silent Night, Deadly Night series, and it is, pretty overwhelmingly Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2.

Worst to best, it’s Part 2, Part 3: Better Watch Out, Part 4: Initiation, Part 5: The Toy Maker, and then the original which really wasn’t much to write home about either.

I DID also happen to watch two different films titled Silent Night a couple of days ago, and the one with Kiera Knightley from 2021 was actually pretty good!

Watch that before looking at ANY of these!

Well, that’s a wrap from here at Cinema Wellman and “Which Was Worse?” #10!

We hope you join us again next time for a quick Thank You episode and a Cinematic Wish List heading into 2026.

Until then, take care.