Watch Silent Night, Deadly Night

In 1984, the controversial slasher movie "Silent Night, Deadly Night" hit theaters and caused a stir with its depiction of a killer Santa Claus. Directed by Charles E. Sellier Jr., the film stars Lilyan Chauvin as Mother Superior, the head of a Catholic orphanage who sets in motion a deadly chain of events by punishing young Billy Chapman (played by Jonathan Best) for his "naughty" behavior. After witnessing the murder of his parents by a man dressed in a Santa suit, Billy is plagued by traumatic memories of the incident and a fear of the yuletide season. As an adult, he takes a job at a toy store, but the sight of a Santa Claus sets off a psychotic break that leads to a rampage of violence on Christmas Eve.

The film opens with a prologue depicting the traumatic event that shapes Billy's life. A young Billy, his infant brother Ricky, and their parents are driving home from a visit to Grandpa's house on Christmas Eve when their car breaks down on a desolate road. While waiting for a tow truck, a man dressed in a Santa Claus suit approaches the car and asks if he can help. When Billy's father lets down his guard, the Santa pulls out a gun and shoots him dead. The killer then drags Billy's screaming mother into the woods nearby, where he proceeds to rape and murder her.

This brutal opening sets the tone for the rest of the film, which delves into the psychology of a traumatized child who grows up with a deep-seated fear of Christmas and anything associated with it. As a young boy, Billy is sent to a Catholic orphanage, where he is subjected to discipline, religious indoctrination, and sexual abuse at the hands of Mother Superior. When Billy sees a department store Santa Claus molesting his teenage crush, he snaps and goes on a killing spree, dispatching anyone who he deems to be "naughty" or "punishable".

The film's portrayal of a killer Santa Claus caused outrage among parents and religious groups, who protested the film's violent content and accused it of desecrating the sanctity of Christmas. The controversy only fueled the film's box office success, however, and "Silent Night, Deadly Night" went on to become a cult classic among horror fans. The iconic poster featuring a wide-eyed Santa Claus holding an ax is still instantly recognizable to this day.

Despite its low budget and sometimes questionable acting, "Silent Night, Deadly Night" succeeds in creating an atmosphere of dread and brutality that lingers long after the credits roll. The film's exploitation of holiday cheer and the beloved figure of Santa Claus to create a horror movie villain is effective in tapping into primal fears and taboos. While the film's notoriety may have overshadowed its artistic merits, it remains an important landmark in the horror genre and a testament to the power of controversy to draw audiences to the cinema.

Silent Night, Deadly Night is a 1984 thriller with a runtime of 1 hour and 19 minutes. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 5.8 and a MetaScore of 31.