12 best holiday horror movies
8. Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
Though this is not a sequel to Silent Night, Bloody Night, this 1984 slasher film is arguably its predecessor’s spiritual sequel. It takes the theatrical backstory and murderous rage of its killer to another level. Indeed, it was so intense that the marketing for Silent Night, Deadly Night generated controversy back in the day.
Like many of the other villains on this list, this one got his start thanks to Christmas-adjacent tragedy. Young Billy Chapman is first traumatized by his nursing home-bound grandfather, who tells him during a family visit that he should be afraid of Santa Claus. Sure, Santa gives presents to the good kids, but screw up and be naughty even once, and you’re sure to receive serious punishment.
Things get arguably worse when the family drives back home. They pull over to help a stranded motorist in a Santa Claus costume, only to discover that it’s a criminal. Billy’s parents are brutally dispatched in front of him and his brother Ricky. The two boys survive, only to be placed in an orphanage run by the cruel Mother Superior. Only Sister Margaret shows kindness and pity to the shattered young boys.
Years later, an adult Billy gets a job at a toy store. He tries to lead a normal life but is constantly haunted by images of his parents’ deaths. Even the fun of a Christmas Eve party and Billy’s donning of a Santa Claus outfit isn’t enough to help. After he sees two coworkers in a sexual state (warning: there is attempted rape depicted in this scene), Billy loses it and starts dispatching people.
“You’re safe now. Santa Claus is gone”
After committing a string of grisly murders, he finally makes his way back to the orphanage and the wheelchair-bound Mother Superior. He’s shot before he can ax her and, while dying on the ground, tells the gathered orphans that “You’re safe now. Santa Claus is gone”.
Silent Night, Deadly Night became controversial more for its marketing than its content. Posters and TV ads prominently featured a deadly Santa figure, drawing the ire of PTA members across the country. Matters were made worse by commercials promoting the film that aired during Three’s Company and the ultra-family-friendly Little House on the Prairie. The film was withdrawn and then re-released by another production company. It’s since become a cult classic.