Review of Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987) by Carl M — 02 Feb 2013

After SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT had been cut short early during its initial release, a sequel seemed like the perfect opportunity to re-market and re-release footage from the original film to reduce costs. Nothing could have prepared audiences for the horrifying results: A virtual clip show containing over forty full minutes of the first film framed around some of the worst acting and inconceivable plotting known to man. Ricky, Billy's younger brother, relays the events of his brother's screwed up childhood and ensuing rampage to a police psychologist, but oddly enough, he does so from his brother's perspective since he wasn't present for the majority of the events. After, he describes his own disjointed and incomprehensible murder spree. There is no way to adequately describe how terrible Eric Freeman's performance is in the film, it literally has to be seen to believe.

SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT 2 is only remarkable for being one of the worst films ever made. The typical Slasher series doesn't resort to reusing stock footage for at least six or seven sequels, but the flashbacks here almost outlast the running time of the new footage! It is only a little more acceptable in this case due to the fact that many viewers missed out on seeing the original in theaters, but that does not excuse the rest of the pathetic production. It always seems like there is some joke going on behind the scenes that director Lee Harry didn't share with the cast, as if the entire film was some sadistic episode of Candid Camera. Nothing else could explain how scenes like "Garbage Day" could have made it in.

It goes without saying that the only thing worth watching for is the atrocious acting and dialog, but this is one of those rare occasions where the film is so incredibly bad that it has become a cult favorite amongst Horror fans.

-Carl Manes.

I Like Horror Movies.