The new version of Silent Night, Deadly Night practically bleeds maple syrup, but that’s probably the only interesting thing about it, writes Barry Hertz.Heather Beckstead/Supplied
Silent Night, Deadly Night
Directed by Mike P. Nelson
Written by Mike P. Nelson, based on the 1984 film written by Paul Caimi
Starring Rohan Campbell, Ruby Modine and Mark Acheson
Classification 14A; 97 minutes
Opens in theatres Dec. 12
There is a somewhat proud tradition of Canadian slashers.
Perhaps it is our nation’s affinity for black humour, forged in the dark winter chill, or our repressed rage at having to constantly deal with whatever is going on south of our border. Or maybe it was just that a lot of filmmakers came here during the Tax Shelter Era to crank out cheap but surprisingly durable horror flicks: Black Christmas, My Bloody Valentine, Prom Night. And while the 1984 Christmas-themed slasher Silent Night, Deadly Night wasn’t Canadian, its latest remake is close enough. Shot in Winnipeg, starring a woodchipper full of homegrown talent, and produced by Canadians, this new version of holiday horror – technically the second redo of the ’84 original, which itself spawned five sequels – practically bleeds maple syrup.
Regrettably, the Canadian connection is about the only interesting thing that director Mike P. Nelson’s new movie has going for it.
Okay, there is one intriguing twist that writer-director Nelson tries to spin on the property. Taking the bones of the original grisly flick – in which a young man named Billy becomes a serial killer in a Santa costume after witnessing the Christmas Eve murder of his parents – this iteration of Silent Night, Deadly Night mashes together the worlds of horror and Hallmark, with our psycho hero (Rohan Campbell) staging his latest murder spree in a small town that is just the kind of perfect setting for a seasonal TV movie.
Our psycho hero, played by Rohan Campbell, stages his murder spree in a small town that’s the perfect setting for a seasonal TV movie.Supplied
And because this version of Billy only kills “bad” people – taking his not-altogether-trustworthy cues from the demonic voice in his head, provided by veteran Canadian character actor Mark Acheson – Nelson also throws in a heaping helping of the TV series Dexter into the genre blender, too.
That’s a pair of neat-ish twists, but Nelson doesn’t go nearly far enough in subverting the twinned formulas he is playing with, turning the whole affair into a gory, soggy slog with few surprises and little energy.
With the exception of one semi-inventive sequence in the middle of the film – in which Billy slaughters a room full of neo-Nazis, who are also dressed as Santa – Nelson seems content to just swing one giant axe after another, hoping that he busts as many guts as he does brains.
His intentions are naughty, and the result isn’t so nice. Even for those who prefer a little blood on their snow boots this time of year.