Customer Ratings & Reviews

Little known fact about Silent Night, Deadly Night: It was released the same weekend as the original Nightmare on Elm Street, and actually outgrossed it in its first week at the theaters. By the second week, its ticket revenue was nearly non-existent, and by the third week, it was out of theaters altogether. SNDN caused a huge uproar upon its release, the combination of another slasher flick paired with the slasher in question being dressed as Santa Claus grating on parents' sensibilities so harshly that protests were held outside theaters that showed it. Mickey Rooney blasted the filmmakers, Siskel and Ebert refused to review it, instead using the time it would have been reviewed to read off, name by name, the cast & crew followed by a "shame, shame, shame" as they ended each person they called out. In the end, all the outrage led to a huge uptick in SNDN's interest when it hit the home video market, where it was released as an unrated version, (similar to the then nefarious Faces of Death,) boasting how it had been banned in several countries, and it was far too powerful for the theaters. People who had been harassed by protestors when they attempted to see it in the theater (yes, many people were asked to sign petitions as they tried to enter the cinema) could now watch it at home comfortably. People who had seen it were now intrigued to see what was new to this unrated version- the promise of more gore- compared to the R rated version they had braved angry parents and concerned citizens in order to see it at the theater. And then, there was those of us, the teens, who were horror fans through and through, but were too young to see it by renting it ourselves, but had parents who would allow us to get our horror on by renting it for us. SNDN gathered a cult following for some time after hitting home video, and even garnered a couple sequels- all direct to VHS after the hubbub around the first one. (Much to my surprise, they even added a sequel titled simple "Silent Night" in 2012, starring Malcolm McDowell.) Eventually, the movie would disappear, as its notoriety would wear off and the movie was seen for what it was. A fairly typical slasher movie with even less than the typical bad acting within that genre. Fans intrigued by its "too gory" hype would discover that, in all actuality, it isn't that gory- and by today's terms, it's almost comical to think it was promoted as such. That said, there's much to still enjoy about SNDN. For horror buffs, it's a piece of horror history. For those interested in how different the times were, it's worth a watch to see how such a movie could have caused such a firestorm. Beyond that however, upon careful consideration, it's actually a pretty good movie that had some interesting ideas. In a time when Leatherface, Jason, Michael, and the newly introduced Freddy were busy filling us full of fear of "larger than life" villains that were often supernaturally strong and driven, SNDN does no such thing. Billy, the evil Santa in SNDN, is very, very human. Sure, he's strong (as his physique is shown a couple times, to kind of prove the point before he hides beneath the red Santa suit) but he's a damaged kid who's finally sent over the brink after seeing his parents murdered by a thief who had dressed as Santa on Christmas Eve. After him and his brother are left at an orphanage run by an abusive nun, can anyone truly blame him for his PTSD? After becoming a teen, still under the care of the orphanage, Billy goes to work at a toy shop, where all seems well, initially. But once Christmas comes around, Billy begins withdrawing (and again, who can blame him?) from his co-workers/ friends. The unthinkable happens when he's forced to wear a Santa suit for the kids visiting the toy store, and at the after-hours Christmas party, Billy's psyche finally snaps. And that's what makes this movie so much better than the sum of its parts. The acting is wooden through most of it (that's being generous) and there's errors to be found by the discerning eye, but the idea itself... That this killer was made by a trauma no child should have seen, an abusive authority figure, and a trigger event was well ahead of the curve among the masses of... well, mass murderers on film at the time. No feats of incredible strength, no surviving a hail of bullets, and no chance at resurrecting for the sequel. (The sequel would feature Billy's brother, who, while too young to recall the events of the Christmas Eve that took his parents away, would bear witness to his brother being killed). SNDN is truly worth a viewing, especially if you can find it in yourself to watch it for the story it's conveying rather than the voices that's telling the story. It's by no means great, but it is a neat piece of horror history to show off to your fellow horror friends. And the best part is that, while SNDN found new life on VHS unrated, it would eventually be replaced by its R-Rated theatrical version over the years before it disappeared entirely. Now on blu ray, they've restored it back to the unrated version. (admittedly, the restored scenes are very noticeable while watching, often rather grainy).

The Transfer looks great for the theatrical, Unfortunately, the unrated suffers a hit.

This film is quite disturbing. It is also very well made.

I love collecting steelbook horror movie collectables

It's a classic schlock Christmas slasher that does the job, but the real prize here is the Scream Factory bonus features. They do an amazing job on their releases, and this is no different. Long featurettes, commentary, director's cut, and lots more are available. And as most people originally saw this on VHS, this is a pretty great transfer.

There are more horror titles set during the Yuletide season than one might expect, and that can be a fun way to detox occasionally from the more cheesy or cheery family friendly ones. While This film won't touch BLACK CHRISTMAS or CHRISTMAS EVIL as the top of the mountain in this regard, it's still a fun, often cheesy (good cheese) sleigh ride to take during the season. Shout/Scream Factory have gone all out with wonderful new scan of the film, which despite it's low budget, looks fantastically filmic, as well as a wealth of new bonus material.

If you love 80s slashers with a nice bit of tinsel, this is the movie for you. The transfer looks as good as a low budget 80s movie is gonna get with enough extras to make the Special Edition worthwhile.

I remember when this film first came out at the theater. My parents were going to take me. It was then banned. When it reached the video store it was next to impossible to get as they only had one copy. When I finally got my opportunity I was blown away. Very pleased with Shout Factory's edition!

I have not seen this film in ages, and the collector's edition truly captures the Christmas magic, so to say. The picture is unbelievably clear and the sound is prefect. Worth watching and owning if you are a fan of the series!

YES, I wish the quality was better but this is the best we currently have so... I watch this movie every Christmas and I'm just happy to have it on blu. If you can get past the A/V quality you will find a horror film that has more going for it than people give it credit for. It's a Holiday "classic"

...80's horror but still one of my favs. Watched this in my adolescence without parental conxent of course and remember thinking, "what's the big deal?" In my opinion this one still hold up and a great flick to watch from time to time, especially during that holiday season.

Cheap thrill but fun to watch. Brings back memories from those good old days of 80's horror films. This collector's edition blu ray is a considerable improvement over the previous blu ray. The picture is sharp and the sound is better than expected.

This movie seems kinda cheesy at first and I have not always been a big fan of xmas horror, but this kinda changed my mind. Yes, the movie is cheesy and there are some original scenes that were added back in that are not remastered, but overall this is a fun cult favorite.

This is the absolute best Christmas movie. It should be added to everyone’s must watch list for holiday movies. Punish!!!!

This version of Scream Factory is the best to buy with lots of extras and a cool cover art. Try to buy early to get the slip sleeve cover. Only sold from first batch release on Scream Factory!

I remember watching this when getting into horror movies in the late 80s. Looked for it in 2017 and no place had it. Was looking around for something else and found this. Looks and sounds great.

I understand that older B movies are kinda limited in terms of how good they can look in high-definition. That being said, this movie looks almost new on blu-ray. Lots of extras are a bonus. Well worth the purchase price.

Great movie and transfer. Highly recommend to anyone who's into horror or Christmas movies!

Classic horror holiday movie. This movie is different because it is about a crazy guy pretending to be Santa Claus. I will not spoil it for anyone though, good movie.

I’ve been waiting for this on blu ray forever,this Movie is about horror around Christmas that’s what makes it so different. If your a 80s Classic horror fan then it’s a must