Silent Night, Bloody Night, A Chapter in A Homosexual Odyssey Parts of New York have tried to be very Greek. A groupie of Andy Warhol, a 60s pop artist based in New York and a patron of the rock star, Lou Reed, was a transvestite who called himself Ondine. (Ondine comes from the name of the sprite of fresh water streams in German mythology).
In "Silent Night, Bloody Night" with Mary Waranov (another Warhol groupie), Ondine gouges the eyes out of a doctor in 1935 for "abusing" psychiatric patients, presumably homosexuals, since they became persecuted in around 1935. It is very "Odyssey"-like. In the "Oddyssey", Odysseus gouges the eye out of cyclops with a wood spike.
It is worth noting that there is nothing pro-transvestite about Giraudoux's "Ondine" play. Perhaps "Silent Night Bloody Night" is anti-French as well. That would explain the similarity of this movie with Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca".
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.
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