On November 4th, 2023, a viral post on Twitter (a site with no other name) decried the implication of violence against a child at Christmas as seen in the Terrifier 3 teaser. Though it was referred to as a “controversy”, most of the outrage in the situation seemed to stem from one particular user. In fact, the internet was overwhelmingly on the side of Art the Clown, presumably because they understand that the fictional Terrifier‘s job is to terrify. Still, the so-called “controversy” brought to mind a similar incident back in 1984. But while the Terrifier 3 debate was largely the result of massive complaints from one person, the events of 1984 were far more widespread. Like the villagers of Frankenstein, a furious mob attacked a monster they didn’t quite understand. That monster being Silent Night, Deadly Night.
Silent Night, Deadly Night was one of the many slasher movies inspired by the success of Halloween. It wasn’t the first horror film to take place entirely around Christmas (1972’s Silent Night, Bloody Night and 1974’s Black Christmas beat it to the punch), nor was it the first film to depict Santa as a killer (a segment from 1970’s Tales from the Crypt, itself adapted from a 1954 issue of Vault of Horror). Heck, it wasn’t even the first post-Halloween thriller to depict a sick St. Nick (1980’s Christmas Evil). In many ways, Silent Night, Deadly Night is an expected, seemingly unremarkable evolution of a then-current trend. As great as it is, there is really nothing that suggests it would make any sort of a splash. Oh, but what a splash it made!
I don’t intend to discuss the film itself at length, but here’s a brief summary for the uninitiated. Directed by Charles E. Sellier, Jr. (creator of The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams) and written by Michael Hickey, Silent Night, Deadly Night is a strong entry in the 1980s slasher craze. I might even go so far as to call it one of the best. It actually spends a good portion of its running time setting up the villain’s damaged psyche, allowing us to understand why he turned out the way he did. Sure, there’s plenty of gruesome violence, but Silent Night is mostly a macabre psychological drama about the disturbed Billy. Robert Brian Wilson plays the adult Billy (we see this Kreep Kringle as a boy during the first half) with more nuance than we’re used to from a slasher. All of that information is important in understanding what Silent Night, Deadly Night is… so I want you to ignore it. The controversy wasn’t raised by people who saw the movie; it was raised by people who saw a few commercials.
In a move that is frankly hilarious, Tri-Star (the studio that distributed Silent Night) aired ads from this holiday horror during episodes of Three’s Company and Little House on the Prairie. The commercials in question depicted Santa Claus coming down the chimney with an axe in his hand. The movie makes it clear that “Santa” is Billy. He’s only Santa in the way that the Phantom of the Opera is a “ghost.” However, in the marketing campaign, he appears to be the real deal in every way, except he prefers chopping to holiday shopping. This was not well received by parents.
Kathleen Eberhardt of Milwaukee, Wisconsin was one such parent. She formed Citizens Against Movie Madness (CAMM), an advocacy group that organized protests against Silent Night, Deadly Night. These were so well publicized that other protests were held across the country. The PTA rallied against the Christmas creep-fest. Protesters picketed outside of theaters with signs featuring slogans like “Santa ain’t no hitman” and “Deck the halls with holly not bodies.” At the Silent Night, Deadly Night premiere, the film’s enemies brought their signs and sang Christmas carols in protest.
One Asbury Park Press headline claimed that “Some Say Movie May Cause Irreparable Harm.” In that same Asbury Park Press article, a psychologist warned that children could “regress” in their toilet training. A furious mall Santa was quoted as saying, “That’s like having the Easter Bunny go out and strangle everybody. I think it’s totally unconscionable, and theater managers who show it are irresponsible and have no feelings for the holidays.” The moral uproar against Silent Night, Deadly Night was strong as it was, but it got even stronger as the movement found two eminent supporters: Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert.
In general, Siskel and Ebert were a force for good. Ebert, in particular, penned some of the most insightful (and often hilarious) film analyses of all time. However, when it came to slasher films, the two often took an extreme approach. Their “At the Movies” segment on Silent Night, Deadly Night was less a review and more a public shaming. The two didn’t just pan the film, they called out members of the production crew by name. Siskel called the film “sick, sleazy and mean-spirited.” He even went as far as to say, “Your profits truly are blood money.” Powerful as that statement is, it’s absolutely incorrect. There was no blood involved, just corn syrup and red food dye. No one was actually killed, so it truly wasn’t blood money in any way.
Still, Siskel and Ebert’s public castigation fanned the flames. The outrage grew, and Tri-Star eventually withdrew the movie. In response to the outrage, producer Ira Barmak told People magazine in a November 1984 interview: “People have taken offense at Santa being used in a scary context… Santa Claus is not a religious figure, he’s a mythic character. I didn’t deliberately ride roughshod over that sensitivity and I didn’t anticipate the objection to it.” Independent distributor Aquarius Films re-released Silent Night the following year with an ad campaign that embraced the controversy. Despite all the setbacks, the film did make a killing on VHS when it was released by LIVE Entertainment.
Silent Night, Deadly Night was the victim of performative morality. Several films made before and after tackled the idea of a killer Santa, but only Silent Night suffered from it. When films like Santa’s Slay, A Christmas Horror Story, and Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 can be released with no backlash, it’s clear that Silent Night, Deadly Night was simply the target of the week. Mickey Rooney was an outspoken opponent of the original… and later starred in Silent Night, Deadly Night 5. That says it all.
With the controversy done and covered, I highly recommend you fiends check out Silent Night, Deadly Night for yourselves. And if you’ve already seen it… see it again! Scary Christmas is still Christmas, so it’s the perfect time to seek out this Yuletide yelp-yarn. We’ll deck the halls with holly, and let Billy deck the halls with bodies. Ho-Ho-Horror!
