Horror at a bargaib While not a high budget production it still manages to deliver some chills to the viewer. Just get out the popcorn and a soda and set down on a stormy night and enoy an old fashioned thriller.
Forboding Xmas Shocker "Silent Night, Bloody Night" is a low-budget, poorly edited but compulsively watchable 70s horror flick concerning the escape of a maniac from a mental institution, with an ax (figuratively and literally) to grind with the citizens of a small community that has more dirty little secrets than Peyton Place. An abandoned mansion sits, menacingly in the dark of night, luring some of the town's most prominent members via whispering, creepy phone calls. But who is it? And why? The sheriff's daughter, Diane (Mary Woronov) meets the grandson of the home's original owner, Jeffrey Butler (James Patterson), and the two set out to investigate what is going on. It turns out that both of them are closer to the mystery than they would care to be - with many frightening turns and revelations that I wouldn't think of giving away. One thing about the film that is irritating (besides the choppy editing), is that the top-billed performer, Patrick O'Neal, has a brief bit early on as a real estate agent who, along with his attractive girlfriend (Astrid Hereen) is brutally butchered in the Victorian style bedroom of the ancestral home. Why wouldn't Patterson and Woronov be first in the credits, since their roles are far more prominent? John Carradine gives a very effective performance as the town mute who also has a past entangled with Jeffrey's grandfather, Wilfred Butler.
The shoestring budget can be frustrating at times, particularly during the flashback sequences, and the late night darkness makes viewing more difficult, but it also adds to the atmospheric quality of the production.
And if you know what's good for you, watch when you're not alone - or every noise you hear will make you think that you are the murderer's next target!
Very cheerful Christmas movie I saw this back in 82 when WOR out of New York use to have their 'Fright Night' movies on Saturday nights at 12:00 midnight. I've always loved this movie and still think it's scary to this day. The phone calls and sepia toned flasback scene are especially creepy. This will probably sound totally stupid to most people but I like the way this looks on the DVD release. Yes the picture quality is murky and sometimes its hard to see whats going on in a few of the scenes but that's the way these movies looked back when I use to catch them on those late night fright shows and I kinda like remebering them that way.
One of the best horror movies you've never heard of I purchased Silent Night Bloody Night as part of a Horror Classics set at Best Buy, and I've got to admit, I was pleasantly surprised. Not that it was a perfect movie, but one of the better "b" movies that I've seen. Maybe not quite as good as movies like Black Christmas, Terror Train, etc., but not bad.
First, the bad things. The movie honestly is pretty slow moving, mediocre acting (but no worse than most other "b" movies), and lousy picture & sound quality. Also, the ending to the movie wasn't overly dramatic (but it was acceptable), but I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen the movie.
But, despite these few criticisms, the movie was well directed, and the creator of the movie definitely knows what "horror" is. Creepy score, suspenseful in that the killer's identity is hadden until the end of the movie and you don't get to see too much of the killer too soon in the movie, and a couple of graphic scenes in the film that got my attention. Just enough gore to be effective, but not over the top.
If you don't like slow moving, low budget movies, then you probably won't like Silent Night Bloody Night, but for most of you, I think it's definitely worth watching at least once.
Silent Night , Sort of Bloody night This was an interesting film that was par for the time it was made. The filming was sort of interesting especially when showing the view of the serial killer(The First person view sort of speak). The story was pretty good yet a tad over the top but as you know most horror films are a bit over the top. There is one really bloody scene at the beggining of the film that was graphic but after that don't espect too much blood. I thought this scene was done well and pretty graphic even for today's times. The music in this film is a bit hokey on certain parts but not too bad. The acting was not horrible but it was'nt great either. The part of the film that really stands out to me is the flashback scene. This really made the film spooky. The strange filming it used and the crazy story it explaned helped me like the movie alot more than I otherwise would have. The dvd version I saw came in a four horror film pack called horror classic's. I thought the sound could have been improved and certain scenes could have been transfered more clearly to the dvd but I guess I should just be glad it was even made into dvd format. Overall I think the film is worth a watch or two late at night.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
