Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987) User Reviews

Garbage day!

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 25 December 2019]

Remember Silent Night, Deadly Night? Well, that movie was a big deal before it was pulled from theaters and then became an even bigger deal on home video. A sequel was demanded and it was delivered, but it was made on a shoestring, with director Lee Harry trying to make something other than a greatest hits reel of the first film. Seriously, though, this movie is nearly the entire first film with a couple of new scenes.

Ricky Caldwell, the 18-year-old brother of Billy from the first movie, is in a mental hospital after a series of murders. He's being interviewed by psychiatrist Dr. Henry Bloom, which allows us to watch pretty much the entire first film before Ricky goes off on his own rampage.

Ricky did have a chance once, because he fell in love with Jennifer Statson (Elizabeth Kaitan, Savage Dawn, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood and several of the Vice Academy films). However, her ex-lover Chip sends Ricky over the edge, which ends with Ricky hooking his head up to some jumper cables and then him killing his girlfriend just because. Then he goes even crazier, causing cars to nearly hit him (an incredible stunt) and then yells, "Garbage Day!" and wipes out everyone.

Ricky is captured by the police, but now we flash forward (or back) to the beginning of this film, where he kills the doctor and goes after Mother Superior, whose face now looks like Catholic school lunch pizza. Billy gets stopped, but he isn't dead. And why should he be? After all, it's Christmas.

Disjointed sequel with some funny moments

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 31 August 2020]

SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT PART 2 feels more like a spin-off from the first film than a sequel, seeing as there are copious flashbacks and random shoehorned-in plotting involving the killer from the first film's younger brother - who also turns out to be a psycho, unsurprisingly enough. It's a dour and disjointed production with laughable dialogue throughout, feeling like a poor man's HALLOWEEN, and silly kill sequences which are hardly creative. The only amusement of note comes from Eric Freeman's performance as the film's psycho, as occasionally he goes way over the top, as in the film's highlight, the much-remembered "garbage day!" sequence. If only the rest could be as much fun.

Silent Night, Deadly Night 2: More of the same

[Platypuschow · 5/10 · 2 June 2018]

Silent Night, Deadly Night is hailed as a bit of a cult classic in the slasher genre. It told the story of a young man who snapped and went on a killing spree while wearing a santa costume.

Part 2 tells the story of his brother who is basically doing the same thing but is a tad brighter.

Sadly the first third of the film is heavily flashbacks so it feels like you're watching the first film all over again. When the new material kicks in it's essentially more of the same.

The original film despite it's fame remains to me as a distinctly average feature and this sequel is about on par.

A couple of fairly original deaths, a competent lead playing the manic Ricky Caldwell and the usual tropes and cliches of the sub-genre.

It's astounding that this managed 5 movies total, hopefully they haven't peaked already with this one as I'm part 3 bound shortly.

The Good:

Eric Freeman

Follows on from the first film well enough

The Bad:

FAR too much footage from the first film

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

A nun would have no problem moving into house no.666

Nuns are trained in the art of wheelchair ninjutsu

The church provides a spare wheelchair in case of acts of god

I couldn't decide whether to give this movie a 1 or a 10.

[amykatherine · 1/10 · 6 July 2003]

This movie is so awful it's fantastic. It has everything -- a lead actor who moves his eyebrows up and down to convey strong emotion, unnecessary (ludicrously unnecessary) nudity, idiotic death scenes (the best one is when Ricky shoots a car with a handgun and it flips over and explodes). Yeah, that makes sense. Oh, and the script is outstanding. Watch for a provoked Ricky saying, "Punish!!!" and "Garbage Day!"

If you get a chance to see this one, don't miss it. It's one of my favorite movies ever.

Beautifully Bad

[Alexander_Keith · 29 December 2004]

Upon originally rental of Silent Night Deadly Night 2 a friend of mine and I were warned by the video clerk (which caught both us off guard since it's something that had never happened to either of us before and hasn't happened since) not to rent it; that people said it was really really bad. Needless to say we didn't heed her warning and rented SNDN 2. When we got the tape home we debated about even watching it. Maybe the video clerk was right and we should save ourselves the agony / it wasn't too late. Finally giving in (even mumbling through the FBI warning)we prepared for 88 minutes of torture.

To her credit the video clerk was right ~ SNDN 2 was bad but it's beautifully bad and it's tongue is so deep in it's cheek that it's pure hilarity. Half of the movie a recap of the original SNDN (I had never seen SNDN @ this time so it didn't bother me and still doesn't) The new footage is 100% camp gold. Boom mics and movie crews (which have been clean up on DVD) drop openly into shots. Eric Freeman's eyebrows and nostrils chew up every frame they're in and his over the top delivery makes brilliant catch phrases out of something as simple as 'RED CAR' and 'GARABAGE DAY' (I still imitate him when putting out my trash.) W/ this one viewing this movie became a personal favourite and take it in just about every Xmas since (and occasionally throughout the year / I did originally see it in July)

One of the Worst Films I Have Had the Misfortune of Seeing

[gavin6942 · 2/10 · 9 December 2012]

Ricky (Eric Freeman), the brother of the killer in the first film, talks to a psychiatrist (James Newman) about how he became a brutal killer after his brother died, leading back to Mother Superior (Jean Miller).

I can say with confidence that this movie ranks among the worst in the horror genre. I have seen worse, but it is not often. In 2012, I watched roughly 500 films... and "Silent Night, Deadly Night 2" ranks in the top three for being terrible. I would not wish it upon anyone.

The biggest problem is that it spends the entire first half of the film showing clips from the first film. So, you have no reason to watch the first movie if you watch this one. And if you did watch the first one, this film will bore you to tears... maybe even to death. The second half improves, but that does not take very much.

The second biggest problem is Eric Freeman. We could call his performance "unintentionally funny", but that would be too complimentary. He cannot act, he chews the scenery, there is nothing sympathetic or interesting about him. How he was hired remains a mystery, and he can wear it as a badge of honor that he may be the worst "actor" ever to get a paycheck.

One of the worst sequels of all time

[dyl_gon · 1/10 · 4 January 2009]

Silent Night Deadly Night 2 is the film version of those terrible recap specials that come every couple seasons or so on a popular television show. Comprised of recycled clips from previous episodes, these specials usually are close to un-viewable. They take the best clips from the series that most people have already seen and place them one after another out of context, thus stripping them of any of the original comedic value or suspense. Likewise, Silent Night Deadly Night 2 is mostly comprised of footage from its predecessor. In fact, over forty-five minutes of the footage has been cribbed from the original. This has never really been done in any movie before, and there's a good reason for this, even beyond that these clips have to be viewed in their original context to retain the same power. Most people watching the sequel have already seen the first entry. No one wants to sit through the same stuff over again. Sequels are supposed to continue the story, not rehash it. This is why while the original Silent Night Deadly Night is a personal favorite of mine, this film is possibly one of the worst sequels of all time.

Silent Night Deadly Night 2 focuses on Ricky, the younger brother of Billy who was the original "Santa Claus" killer from the original. Ricky has followed in the path of his brother and become a serial killer as well. Now detained, he recounts his story to a psychiatrist. Cue footage from the first film, used in the form of flashbacks. Not only is this boring, but it makes absolutely no sense at all. Ricky's flashbacks date back to when he was less than a year old in some cases, where it would be almost impossible to have any memory. In other instances it is certainly impossible for him to remember several of the flashbacks as many don't even involve him. The fact that Ricky has memories of things that he was never a part of and would never have a way of finding out, is just one of the many enormous plot-holes.

After about forty five minutes, Ricky begins recounting his personal story of growing up. Thankfully the recycled footage ceases and the audience is presented with something new. Unfortunately, it is insanely stupid, venturing into so-bad-it's-good area half the time and just bad area the other half. Despite not being old enough to have been emotionally scarred by the same events that sent his older brother over the edge, Ricky has also become a psychopath. The difference here is that while his brother was set off by the sight of Santa Claus, Ricky gets murderous tendencies whenever he sees the color red. When he sees a red truck he subsequently murders the owner with it. When he sees a red umbrella, he uses it to impale a gangster in what is possibly the lamest death sequence ever. When he sees a red blanket, he nearly has a heart attack. The problem with this is that it's virtually impossible to avoid the color red on a daily basis, meaning young Ricky would have heart attacks every time he got a test back graded with red marker. Not to mention that this makes for a fairly pathetic serial killer. All you have to do is put on a red t-shirt and he will probably wet himself (although by the end he has inexplicably gotten over this fear and dons a Santa suit).

In one mind-boggling sequence, Ricky takes his girlfriend to the movie theatre to watch the original Silent Night Deadly Night. Keep in mind this is a sequel to Silent Night Deadly Night that continues the exact story from where it left off. Even Ricky has a "huh" moment as the film starts and is revealed to be the first entry in the series. How can Ricky, who was in the first film and has crystal clear memories of events that occurred within it, go and watch the first film in a movie theatre? Does this mean that Ricky is delusional and the events from the original never happened? Or does this mean that Ricky has crossed over out of the movie-universe and into the real world. No, all it means is that the writers were probably snorting cocaine while they typed out this script.

It doesn't go much lower than the movie theatre sequence, but there are still plenty more examples of stupidity sprinkled throughout the rest of the film. Eric Freeman's ridiculously over-the-top acting as Ricky, accompanied by eyebrows that seem to bounce around his face like they've been injected with acid, turn his "Garbage Day" rampage into a laugh riot as he blows up cars with his pistol and shoots at people taking out the trash. The scene has since become a viral video hit, garnering hundreds of thousands of views on sites like Youtube. By the end of the film the director seems to be trying to turn Ricky into some sort of classic horror movie villain, as he is practically unfazed as he is remedially shot in the chest. While this works for inhuman villains such as Jason Voorhees, it makes absolutely no sense for Ricky to be brushing off shots straight through his chest like they are bug bites. Then the ending comes around and it truly is just plain retarded.

Silent Night Deadly Night 2 could have been enjoyable in a so-bad-it's-good way. There are certainly some instances that made me laugh out loud. However, over half of the running time consists of boring, recycled footage from the original Silent Night Deadly Night, which makes it not worth the time to get to the "good" stuff. If Silent Night Deadly Night was a nice, little Christmas gift, Silent Night Deadly Night 2 is just huge lump of coal

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part1..OOps, I mean part 2

[Scarecrow-88 · 5/10 · 9 March 2007]

Ricky(Eric Freeman), the brother of Billy(the killer from the first film)is the psycho donning the Santa outfit..well, for a moment or two..this time, explaining to a psychiatrist (James Newman, insisting rudely that the security guard get out of the cell, to leave him alone with a convicted killer!) what occurred to his brother years back.

The film can't escape the fact that is practically an hour of the first film, and then we get thirty or so minutes of Ricky killing people. The most inventive kill comes when he attacks an animated vicious thug bookie with an umbrella that opens after impaling him through the stomach! He provides us with little snippets of his past while chatting with Newman. We get a little understanding of a possible love-life with Elizabeth Kaitan's Jennifer. There's a confrontation with Jennifer's former boyfriend who is a smartass pig and his sexual slurs and untoward remarks of Kaitan set off Ricky's trigger leading to the use of jumper cables as a weapon!

The most memorable scene, involving "garbage day", had built this film towards a bad film reputation that became a YouTube sensation over 6 million to date have viewed. This is where Ricky goes on a shooting rampage down a suburban street killing as many innocent people as his gun allows him (taken from a dimbulb Barney Fife type he forces to shoot himself in the forehead while the gun is in his own hand!).

But his wielding an ax at a nun in a wheelchair (after taking off the head of a snowman and demolishing a Santa toy on the sidewalk) might be his most infamous attack. That she has the house number 666 and lasts as long as she does further recognize just how bonkers the film is. Freeman's face alone assures this film's status as a midnight cult item will remain intact.

Clearly the use of so much material from the first film, regardless of Lee Harry's handcuffed dilemma in wanting to make his own but not provided sufficient funding to do so, cannot be brushed aside. If the footage was from an abandoned project, that's one thing, but this is right from a whole film that was released into theaters (and did well for the limited time it was shown).

It's infamy cannot be denied, though, and Freeman's outrageous, manic expressions (as if a roid freak ready to explode at any moment, even going cross-eyed when choking a victim and snarling constantly) are indeed an irresistible riot. This will never--I repeat, never--be a critical darling. This series, quite frankly, isn't catering to critics. But to slasher fans accustomed and hungry for unconventional and crazed psycho fare, this sequel has its appeal. Even the new footage has plenty of questionable (putting it mildly) decisions like the use of another actor killing a boyfriend who nearly rapes his girlfriend by driving over him multiple times with a jeep. The psychiatrist interviewing Freeman doesn't have protections in place to make sure a very dangerous criminal was kept from harming him. There's never a reasonable explanation for how Freeman just waltzes out of the sanitarium either, besides commotion on an audio tape the psychiatrist was using to record the back story of the killer. Then the deformed face (stroke they tell us) of the nun supposedly representing Lilyan Chauvin, and how she looks absolutely nothing like her removes the satisfaction of seeing her hunted by Freeman is muted because the two actresses couldn't look or sound any different.

This isn't a good film by any stretch of the imagination, but I consider myself a genuine reviewer and to deny its entertainment value (its bad taste and lack of restraint in both the direction and performance) would be an error on my part. Not a 5/10 in quality but as a movie that tickles the funny bone and is just nuts, this qualifies.

Why the long recap of Part 1?

[bigervin · 3/10 · 7 January 2020]

This is only a 90-minute movie, and the first 40 minutes are used to fully recap the first film. This leaves less than an hour of new content. So odd.

Silent Night, Deadly Night part one and a half

[Coventry · 2/10 · 31 December 2004]

I didn't know this film actually was a re-cut of the original when I begun watching it (remind me to check this site ALWAYS before renting a film!) so my first thought was: shenanigans! The entire first half of this "sequel" contains sequences – not even essentials ones – of the 1984 shocker, talked together as some sort of wraparound story by Ricky Caldwell whose brother was responsible for the infamous Christmas killing spree. The film then all of a sudden turns into a real sequel, with a summary of Ricky's repertoire as a demented killer and finally results in a grotesque 80's cheesefest where he chases a nun in a wheelchair. I don't really know how to judge the wholesome but it sure is fun. The acting skills of Eric Freeman (who plays Ricky) are bad beyond comparison and there's absolutely no depth or tension to detect in the screenplay. But on the other hand, I can't be too harsh because the murder sequences are great! Someone gets stabbed to death with an umbrella and Ricky even makes the eyes of his girlfriend's previous lover blow (by the way, why are all the jocks in 80's horror movies called Chip???). Silent Night, Deadly Night is a very stupid film….half déjà vu and half ludicrous. But you might as well describe it as a truly sweet horror treat for 80's fanatics. The sequences where nutball Ricky wanders through the streets killing people randomly and laughing ridiculously simply have to be seen to be believed. Enjoy!

Too Much Old Footage

[view_and_review · 5/10 · 8 November 2019]

SNDN2 picks up with a lot older Ricky (that would be Billy's brother). And if you didn't know who Ricky was to start the movie that's OK because they gave plenty of recap. Too much in fact. Nearly the first half of the movie was spent recapping what happened in SNDN. If I wanted to see that much of the first movie I would've rewatched it. Yet, there I was watching SNDN part 1 highlights.

They made sure to show all of the important stuff from episode one, like every single kill and every single boob shot. Showing that much footage of the first movie is either lazy, unimaginative, a cost savings measure, or all three. When they finally got around to Ricky's story I was so frustrated that I barely wanted to watch anymore.

As I said, the movie was lame for rehashing so much of the first movie, but they did somewhat redeem themselves. Ricky was allowed to take care of Mother Superior--something Billy didn't accomplish. Although I was a bit disappointed that the actress used for Mother Superior wasn't the same actress as in part one. That would have been truly satisfying.

Garbage Day

[skidiskadisss · 10/10 · 19 July 2004]

This is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. Eric Freeman is such a bad actor it is laughable. the way he moves his eyebrows when he talks is priceless. there is a scene in which Ricky is walking down the street that is worth the rental fee or buying it. i don't want to spoil it you have to see it for yourself. there are so many lines in this movies that you will remember forever. Ricky is a character you will never forget and is played brilliantly bad by Eric freeman. i don't want to spoil all the funny scenes in this movie.

the bottom line is Silent Night Deadly Night 2 is hilarious and if you are in the mood for a funny cheesy 80's horror film this is perfect for you. 10/10

A joy if you like bad horror

[DonJohn80 · 6/10 · 31 January 2005]

The first thing anyone will admit when mentioning this movie is that it is terrible. It is even admitted in the Anchor Bay DVD release that it was mostly edited from the original to extend the video shelf-life of the first film, which was also less than Citizen Kane. The new material is acted with less talent than a grade school play, and those same grade school children could have written the script were it not for the not so child-like subject. The movie is merely an attempt to capitalize on gore, nudity, and controversy. As such, if you haven't seen the original in a while, this is a decent horror film. The slasher genre makes no claims to being Oscar worthy, so don't expect it to be and you'll be fine.If you go into this movie wanting to watch a badly made gore-fest you won't be disappointed. I find the delivery of the line "Garbage Day" makes this film one of my horror favorites despite the fact I rate it 4/10.

So Bad It's Good

[starwarsalex1 · 1/10 · 14 July 2018]

I'm giving it a 1 - but let me be clear, I really enjoyed this film. For me a 1 is a badge of honor for this film. Like Troll 2, or The Room - this film is a lot of fun to watch with a group and while drinking. It's a real joy.

Campy fun!

[thefountainmenace · 7 November 2000]

Though the rehash in the beginning is tedious (most wouldn't be watching this trash if they hadn't seen the first one) there are some of the funniest, most gratuitous scenes ever in this film. When Ricky is wandering on his rampage and menacingly spouting lines like "Garbage Day!" and "Punish!" it is absolutely hilarious : perhaps unintentionally, but hilarious nonetheless. This movie is well worth watching for that ten minute segment alone. The scene in the movie theater is a nice touch, and required the only thought given to the whole movie. Get this one at the local dollar video - don't pay more than 1.50 for it and you'll be happy. Also, if you HAVEN'T seen the first, dont - just watch this one and you're set.

Half baked sequel made stranger by Eric Freeman's bizarre performance

[Colbridge · 3/10 · 23 November 2022]

My review for Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) was a favourable one because I was surprised by how well made it was despite the furore surrounding it on it's release, however the same cannot be said for Part 2 that was made 3 years later.

We're used to seeing sequels where filmmakers spend a few minutes at the start recapping events that have gone before however this one takes that to a whole new level by dedicating a whopping 40 minutes to do just that. There is extensive use of footage from the first movie intended as flashbacks as we meet Ricky, the brother of the original Santa killer Billy, recalling every painstaking moment to his psychiatrist.

Producer Lawrence Applebaum had tried to re-edit the original to create a sequel. Tri-Star had pulled the original from theatres due to a public backlash so he may have thought not a lot of people actually saw the first one so decided to blatantly reuse all the footage for a follow up. Writer and director Lee Harry was brought on board to film new footage to fill the second half and fashion a half baked sequel as a cheap cash in.

If this situation wasn't bad enough we have actor Eric Freeman's strange performance as Ricky whose stoic delivery is often laughable and makes watching this a more bizarre experience than it already is. At least in the second half he gets to go on a killing spree himself by hunting down the Mother Superior from the orphanage in revenge for traumatising him and his brother Billy as children.

It's a threadbare effort that is not very Christmassy but worth checking out for curiosity and the creative kill with an umbrella, something I hadn't seen before. Freeman's larger than life performance is so bad at times he becomes mesmerising to watch.

Unbelievably this went on to spawn 3 direct to video sequels.

"Naughty!"

[gridoon · 4/10 · 27 September 2002]

This picture is nothing more than a dose of mindless fun, with some creative killings (have you ever seen an umbrella impaling before?) and some funny moments of self-reflection (the scene in the movie theater is a standout). Because of the extensive flashbacks in the beginning of the movie, in which footage from the first film is used, those who have seen the original recently will probably hate this; for the rest of us the flashbacks are almost a bonus: essentially you get to see two movies for the price of one. (**)

Quite simply one of the worst sequels ever made

[preppy-3 · 1/10 · 27 December 2006]

Ricky (Eric Freeman) is the brother of the killer Santa from the first film. Don't worry if you missed it--the entire FIRST HALF of the film are scenes from the earlier movie! Then it gets back to Ricky being adopted and seemingly OK--but the events he witnessed as a child are still with him and--at the age of 18--he snaps and goes on a killing rampage. And, like his brother, he hunts down the Mother Superior who tormented him.

Even as horror sequels go this is pretty terrible. For starters literally the whole first half are scenes from the earlier movie. Purportedly they are things Ricky remember--yet they're all things that happened to his brother which Ricky has no way of knowing! Things don't improve with the second half. The killings are pretty silly (one guy is impaled by an umbrella!) and the script is really pathetic. You gotta love the scene where Ricky kills off a guy and his girlfriend's reaction is a shrug of the shoulders and saying, "Thanks"! Yes he DID try to rape her beforehand but still... And when Ricky and his fiancée go to the movies they end up seeing the first movie which means we get to see it TWICE! It all leads up to an eye-rolling finale.

The acting is lousy. Freeman is so terrible it's almost embarrassing to watch. His "acting" during the "big" rampage at the end is just beyond belief. I just sat there wondering what the hell the guy thought he was doing. I do like the "Garbage Day" bit though.

Bottom of the barrel stuff here. Might be good for a few laughs from fans of the first movie but nobody else. A 1.

A ridiculous sequel to "Silent Night,Deadly Night".

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 5/10 · 1 May 2006]

Little Ricky(Eric Freeman),the brother of our killer Billy from "Silent Night,Deadly Night",is grown up now and has inherited his brother's dislike for naughtiness.In the office of his 13th psychiatrist,he tells his family's background,including events following the first movie,where Ricky kills random people."Silent Night,Deadly Night Part 2" offers nothing new in comparison to the original.In fact the first 35 minutes or so are just flashbacks from the first film.The acting of Eric Freeman is incredibly lousy,however the killing spree in a yuppie neighborhood is slightly amusing to say the least."Silent Night,Deadly Night Part 2" is mildly entertaining in its intentional awfulness-that's why I'd give it 5 out of 10.Stick with the original.

Are you ready for garbage day?!

[Sic Coyote · 5/10 · 15 June 2010]

There are great films, there are run-of-the-mill films, there are bad films and then there films just so unique that they have to be seen, this is one of those movies.

The movie starts off with Ricky, the brother of the killer from the first film (who didn't actually witness most of the stuff in the movie) telling the story of the first movie to a psychologist in a mental institution through a series of flashbacks of footage from the first film. This actually works as a kind of trimmed down 'best bits' of the first film and lasts for about 35 minutes. Intercut with new footage of the brother with his wild eyebrows and very expressive voice.

We then move on past the first film, but still in the past showing the history of Ricky as a young man. This leads to plenty of killing, all gloriously over-acted especially when he gets into the suburbs.

During this segment they even manage to cram more footage from the first movie in by having them go see the film at the cinema in a scene that is as funny as it is stupid.

If you've recently seen the first film then the first half hour could be a bit of a bore but this is certainly one of those films that's so bad that it's really good fun.

And when you find out that what they were originally asked to do was to just edit the first film differently and call it a sequel. You have to commend what they achieved.

Eric Freeman's performance as Ricky really makes this film a total hoot! (though you can't ignore it's general badness, which is why I gave it five)

Dreadful sequel to an average movie.

[BA_Harrison · 2/10 · 5 July 2006]

Rushed into production after the success of the first movie, 'Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2' is an awful movie. With dreadful dialogue and cringe-worthy performances, I can only presume that the makers decided to take the 'this is so bad, it's good' approach. If this is the case, then they failed—the film is just tedious garbage.

The first half of the film rehashes footage from the so-so original, adding a terrible voice-over from the abysmal Eric Freeman, who plays Ricky, the equally demented brother of Billy, the Santa-suit wearing maniac from 'Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 1'. The second half follows Ricky after he escapes from his loony-bin, and goes on a murderous rampage.

The film seems to have quite a cult following from fans of bad movies, but I'm afraid I can't make that leap—it just bored the hell out of me.

Take part one and put it through a blender.....

[NateF88 · 3/10 · 28 November 2007]

..... and you've got part 2. If you've seen part one, you've seen this sequel. Yes, the flashbacks do get annoying, and Ricky is a god awful narrator and character to follow. Flashbacks and references aside, it's oddly almost completely different. The murders here are dumbed down a bit, aiming for the more simplistic and spontaneous rather than the thoughtful and creative like in part 1.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, as there are a few disturbing moments added into here that weren't in the original, but everything else about the movie is incredibly incompetent. The acting, sets, cinematography, and even the special effects are mostly amateurish, and even laughable.

You'll figure out the scenes that make this film a classic among "bad" movie lovers, but other than that, I see no reason to watch this film (or even the rest of the series) after the conclusion of part 1.

The best day to watch this: not Christmas Day, but garbage day.

[Hey_Sweden · 8/10 · 9 December 2011]

Sequel to the notorious killer-in-a-Santa-Claus-outfit horror movie is so ridiculous as to be utterly hilarious. Ricky, the surviving brother of the first movies' traumatized psycho, picks up where his dearly departed sibling left off. As the movie opens, he's obliged to spill his guts to a psychiatrist (James L. Newman), who is apparently his "last chance" what with all of the corpses Ricky's left in his own wake.

This basically allows the filmmakers to utilize a lot of footage from "Silent Night, Deadly Night"; most of the first half of the movie is made up of this footage. The whole purpose of Part 2 was to help the first movie gain a little more "shelf life", as it's been worded, anyway. One thing worth mentioning is that the movie that Ricky (Eric Freeman) and Jennifer (Elizabeth Kaitan) watch in the theatre *also* contains footage from SNDN 1. Now *that's* milking a movie for all that it's worth.

SNDN 2 does go in a decidedly different direction than its predecessor, which did have humour but that was mostly of the dark variety. SNDN 2 is theatre of the absurd from beginning to end. To start with, this movie cannot be discussed without bringing up the priceless performance by Freeman, who clearly understands that 70% of acting or better is all about optimal eyebrow movement. This guy is a riot. Just watch as he snipes at the psychiatrist (coming up with such witticisms as "Red car? Good point!" along the way) and laughs his way through his eventual murder spree.

There's of course the one scene we all remember from this movie that's been quoted time after time, but Ricky's dispatching of his other victims are all highlight moments as well - said victims include a lecherous creep, a loan shark, a heckler, his girls' annoying ex-boyfriend, etc. The death by umbrella is truly something special.

Newman does a decent job as the psychiatrist, and ultra sexy Kaitan is easy to watch; her final scene is definitely Looney Tunes type stuff as she gulps "Uh oh!" on camera. Unfortunately, the character of Mother Superior, so effectively played by Lilyan Chauvin the first time around, is reduced to something of an afterthought here, and the actress this time, Jean Miller, just can't compare to Ms. Chauvin. However, considering what happens to her here, fans will be happy to see her brought back.

Gore effects are either tacky or non-existent, which will certainly disappoint some viewers, and the director / editor Lee Harry (just one of the *four* story writers for this thing!) is a little too slick with his trimming of the nastiness from the archive footage.

Horror fans willing to accept a lot of silliness in what they watch, and who know to expect it going in, are sure to find this a deliciously daft movie.

Eight out of 10.

It's A Wretched Life

[haxan-1 · 7/10 · 2 September 2005]

I watch this one every Christmas. It features a pretty atypical psychopath for the 80's canon in Eric Freeman. He's an intense-looking and mask-free short fuse who at first glance could be either a ski instructor or a paroled sex offender. His animated eyebrows are hypnotic. This feels at once like a slapstick parody and a demented sitcom (" Hey Mom! I'm Dating A Strangler!"). It even has the built-in 'Naughty!' and 'Garbarge Day!'catch phrases. The newer footage with the killer's eye-bulging fits of rage toward any sort of social disruption are more cartoonish and less focused on the childhood Santa trauma than the scenes used from the previous entry. It's actually a shame that more new footage featuring the emotionally-crippled Child-Hulk couldn't be used in their place because their zaniness is so weirdly compelling. The shooting spree through suburbia is broad daylight is priceless. There isn't a single scene in the movie where he doesn't seem alien and out of place. He's so completely ill-equipped to deal with life that his reactions to both the public and the police make him almost zen-like in his fearlessness.

a ridiculous movie

[tom_mangan21 · 2/10 · 28 February 2009]

a very ridiculous movie. but lucky for the movie i love laughing at movies whether when it's meant to or not. The "rampage" scene, which made made him go into the doctor's, set me over the edge. I was having just regular fun with the movie saying o my god and chuckling at times but during the rampage, i almost fell outa my chair laughing. The guy tried so hard to make the audience believe he was crazy and my god did he fail haha if you never wanna watch that whole i wouldn't blame you. but in case you ever do stumble on it, just at least fast forward to that scene i promise you won't be disappointed. well i don't wanna give out any spoilers of the movie so i recommend it only if you're looking to have fun with it. Garbage Day!!