Silent Night, Bloody Night was briefly released under the alternative titleNight of the Full Dark Moon in November 1972 by Cannon Films, before receiving subsequent releases as Silent Night, Bloody Night and later, Death House. Though attributed to Zora Investments Associates, the film was never registered with the United States Copyright Office and thus fell into the public domain.[3]
While it received little critical notice at the time of its release, it was frequently broadcast on television in the late-1970s during the Christmas season, and has been assessed by modern film critics and writers for its surreal style and atmosphere.[4] It has also been noted as a progenitor of the slasher film genre.[4][5] In 2015, Boston.com ranked it as one of the scariest films of all time, describing it as a "forgotten classic" and "the movie that birthed the modern slasher flick."[6]
Plot
Silent Night, Bloody Night (full film)
On Christmas Eve 1950, Wilfred Butler dies in a burning accident outside his mansion in East Willard, Massachusetts. The residence is bequeathed to his grandson, Jeffrey. Twenty years later, in 1970, lawyer John Carter arrives in East Willard on Christmas Eve with his assistant and mistress Ingrid, having been charged by Jeffrey to sell the house. Carter meets with the town's leading citizens: Mayor Adams; Sheriff Bill Mason; the mute Charlie Towman, who owns the local newspaper; and Tess Howard, who operates the town's telephone switchboard. They all agree to buy the Butler mansion on behalf of the town for the bargain price of $50,000, which Jeffrey requires to be paid in cash the next day. Carter and Ingrid spend the night at the Butler mansion, but are brutally murdered in bed with an axe by an unseen assailant. After the murders, the killer places a crucifix in Ingrid's hand and proceeds to phone the sheriff, introducing himself as the house's owner and asking him to investigate Carter's disappearance. While talking with Tess, who forwards his call, the killer calls himself "Marianne".
At nightfall, Jeffrey arrives at the mansion to meet with Carter, but finds it locked and empty. He drives to the mayor's home, where he meets Diane, the mayor's daughter. The mayor has gone to the county's bank to obtain the required cash for the payment, so she redirects Jeffrey to the sheriff's office. Simultaneously, the sheriff heads to the mansion, but first stops at Wilfred Butler's disturbed gravesite, where he is beaten to death with a shovel. Failing to locate the sheriff, Jeffrey returns to the mayor's home, where Diane tells him she has received phone calls for her father from someone named "Marianne" who beckons her to the mansion.
Puzzled by the strange events, Jeffrey and Diane decide to drive to the mansion, but stop after they find the sheriff's abandoned car. The two stop by the newspaper office, where they meet Charlie who reveals that he cannot speak due to laryngectomy, but manages to explain to them (in written notes) that Tess has also gone to the mansion. Jeffrey and Charlie go after her while Diane researches the Butler house's history in the archives. Diane manages to piece together the Butlers' story: In 1930, Wilfred's wife died of tuberculosis. In 1933, his 15-year-old daughter Marianne was raped and got pregnant; the son she gave birth to is Jeffrey, who was sent away to California. In 1935, Wilfred converted the mansion into a mental hospital and had Marianne committed. The rest of the story has apparently been redacted.
Tess arrives at the mansion and finds the sheriff's car running outside. In the foyer, she is greeted by the unseen killer, who bludgeons her to death with a candlestick. Jeffrey meanwhile arrives at Tess's house and finds it empty, after which he returns to Diane at the newspaper office. Diane tells Jeffrey that, based on her research, his mother did not die during his birth like he had thought. Jeffrey and Diane depart together to the mansion. En route, they pass Charlie's car, which has been set on fire; moments later, Charlie throws himself at Jeffrey's car and Jeffrey runs him over, killing him. Examining the body, Jeffrey realizes someone has cut Charlie's hands off.
At the mansion, Jeffrey finds his grandfather's diary in the foyer, which reveals he was the one who got Marianne pregnant. The diary recounts how Wilfred grew hostile toward the complacent hospital staff, so during a 1935 Christmas Eve party, he freed the hospital's patients, causing a massacre that resulted in Marianne's death as well. He then ended up faking his death in 1950 and has been living anonymously in a nearby mental hospital ever since before escaping earlier that day after reading from a local newspaper about the Butler mansion being put up for sale. Jeffrey tells Diane that his grandfather/father is still alive, and that the sheriff, Tess, Towman and the mayor were all former inmates Wilfred sought revenge on for the death of Marianne. The mayor arrives at the mansion armed with a rifle, and he and Jeffrey open fire, killing each other. The killer, revealed to be the elderly Wilfred Butler, finally appears, and Diane grabs Jeffrey's gun and shoots him dead.
In the final scene set several months later the following year, Diane takes one last look at the Butler mansion before it is destroyed by a bulldozer crew.
Writer Matthew DuPée notes that Silent Night, Bloody Night examines themes of abuse, victimization, madness, and perversion of justice.[8] Biographer Tom Weaver notes that the film features commentary on power structures and the "polite society" of small communities.[9] Film scholar Kim Newman comments on this theme in his book Nightmare Movies: Horror on Screen Since the 1960s (2011): "Silent Night, Bloody Night finds that all the pillars of the local community were once inmates of the asylum, and have been running the town since their violent mass breakout. In the canon of modern gothic themes, the evil asylum occupies roughly the same position held in the nineteenth century by the unholy convent."[10]
Production
Development
Writer Jeffrey Konvitz wrote the story for Silent Night, Bloody Night between 1969 and 1970 with his friend Ira Teller, after an unsuccessful stint working as a talent agent.[8] He had previously become acquainted with director Theodore Gershuny and actress Mary Woronov, with whom he had attended Cornell University.[8] The film originally had the working title Zora,[11] which was the title of an unrelated screenplay owned by Cannon Films.[12]
Konvitz asked Gershuny to direct, with Woronov, at that time Gershuny's soon-to-be wife, starring in the film.[13] Konvitz described Gershuny as "a peculiar fellow... but that's why I hired him. I knew he was a bit bent."[1] Gershuny and Woronov, both friends of Andy Warhol and associates of his Factory, brought on various Warhol superstars to appear in the film's flashback sequences as inmates and party guests.[14] The film marked the production debut of co-producer Lloyd Kaufman.[1]
Filming
Principal photography of Silent Night, Bloody Night began November 30, 1970 in Oyster Bay, New York, and lasted eighteen days.[15][1] The production budget was between $212,000[1] and $295,000,[2] The James William Beekman house (also known as The Cliffs estate) in Oyster Bay served as the Butler home in the film.[16][17] The production was marked by technical issues early on due to inclement weather, resulting in electrical outages and camera operating equipment freezing in the cold temperatures.[14]
Actor James Patterson became extremely ill with cancer during the latter part of the production, and was unable to continue filming, resulting in the editors having to restructure the film's conclusion.[1] Konvitz recalled that "it wasn't written or meant to be shot that way... we rushed some scenes and had to cut some other things in. That's why the end might seem bizarre, disjointed."[1]
In a retrospective interview, Woronov recalled making the film a "terrible" experience: "We were given a weird script, and Ted [Gershuny] tried to spark it up. He tried to make it an artistic statement, but it didn't work. It didn't even make much sense. Most people couldn't understand what was going on—which is not good, particularly for a horror film."[7] Woronov did, however, provide favorable recollections of working with John Carradine, commenting: "It was very cold, and we all had to stay in a big old house in which we were shooting, but he never complained... Carradine was a real trouper."[9]
Post-production
Post-production took place in the summer of 1972, with director Gershuny and editor Tom Kennedy completing dubbing, scoring, and sound effects with re-recording engineer Raun Kirves.[15][7] The film was cut and edited using a Moviola machine.[1]
Release
The film was given a limited theatrical release in the United States under the title Night of the Full Dark Moon through Cannon Films,[15] beginning November 15, 1972.[i] It was subsequently released as Silent Night, Bloody Night in the spring of 1973,[22] and continued to screen under this title through December 1973,[23][24] sometimes paired as a double feature with The Blood on Satan's Claw.[25]
It subsequently screened in Australia in December 1974.[26] The same year, the Sitges Film Festival in Spain screened the film as an official selection.[27]
The film was released once again in 1981 by Cannon under the title Death House,[28] stylized as Deathouse in some advertisements and on the film's title card.[ii]
Copyright status
Although there is a 1972 copyright statement in the opening credits for Zora Investment Associates, the film was not registered for copyright,[3][15] and since its release has fallen into public domain.[30][31]
Regarding the film's copyright and ownership, writer Jeffrey Konvitz commented in a 2019 interview that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer held the original film elements:
At some point, MGM had no idea who owned what regarding the rights to the film, and they told me, "Jeff, you own the film," and they wanted to give me back the film and sign over everything from the lab. And I said, "Let me tell you something: You're going to sign it back to me, and then you're going to discover that you [MGM] actually still own the film, and then you're going to want to take it all back." So I said to them, "No, you keep the film." Then later, about two years ago, we went in to try and get the remake rights, and they wouldn't sell it to us.[3]
Television broadcast
In 1974, television broadcasting rights to the film were sold to CBS for $300,000,[2] who subsequently screened it as a midnight movie.[32] The film was also shown on Elvira's Movie Macabre, part of WWOR-TV's Fright Night beginning in 1978, and became a staple of late-night television in the November and December months.[33] Despite the film's dark subject matter and depictions of violence, the network chose to air it at Christmastime each year. Executive Larry Casey commented on it, saying, "Don't get me wrong. I loved White Christmas and traditional holiday movies. But how many times can you watch those things? We always pushed the envelope on Fright Night, and Silent Night, Bloody Night was a great fit. WOR never got any complaints for showing it that I heard about."[34]
Home media
The film had its VHS release by Paragon Video in the 1980s.[12] In subsequent years, it has been made available on DVD from various entertainment companies that specialize in public domain films, though many of the prints on these editions are of extremely poor quality.[3][35] The majority of the prints used on DVDs were sourced from the VHS transfer released by Paragon Video.
A high-definition restored print of the film (sourced from the original master of the Death House print) was released on DVD by Film Chest on December 10, 2013.[12] The same print was also used for a DVD release by boutique company Code Red in 2013, in a limited edition double feature paired with Invasion of the Blood Farmers (1972).[12] In June 2014, Vinegar Syndrome made this 720p HD version available for free digital download on their website.[36]
Reception
Though it received little critical notice at the times of its release, the film has received some assessment from various film critics, with praise for its atmosphere,[37][38][6]experimental and arthouse qualities,[39] as well as being noted as a proto-slasher film.[4][5] In particular, its use of point-of-view shots from the killer's perspective predate those used in other subsequent slasher films, such as Black Christmas (1974) and Halloween (1978).[40] In an article by Boston.com ranking the scariest films of all time, it placed at number 59, and was heralded as a "forgotten classic" and "the movie that birthed the modern slasher flick."[6]
A review published by the magazine Castle of Frankenstein in 1973 was unfavorable, noting that the film appeared to have been "re-edited and reworked to such an extent in the intervening period that it makes little sense in its final form, although the plot had some potentially clever angles... otherwise, [it is] a hopeless jumble constricted by flashbacks-within-flashbacks, off-on narration by two different characters, [and] clumsy direction."[iii]
In his book Slasher Films: An International Filmography, 1960 Through 2001, Kent Byron Armstrong wrote that the film "has a lethargic pace, but it provides enough intrigue and mystery to help a viewer retain interest."[41] Film scholar John Kenneth Muir criticized the film in his book Horror Films of the 1970s, deeming it "technically incompetent" and deriding the screenplay and plot for its lack of cohesion.[42] Biographer Tom Weaver disagrees with the sentiment that the film lacks narrative clarity, conceding that though it features some "odd plot glitches," it is "not nearly as incomprehensible as its detractors—star Mary Woronov included!–would have us believe," and ranked it among star John Carradine's better horror films.[9]
Film writer Brian Albright described the film as stylistically moody and surreal, but similarly conceded that its plot is confusing.[43] Writing for Bloody Disgusting, Bee Delores praised the film for its suspense, noting: "With its brisk runtime, clocking in at 83 minutes (including credits), Silent Night, Bloody Night tightens the screws in a way that make you frozen to the core."[44] A review published by TV Guide similarly praised it for its "nicely atmospheric moments and some fairly shocking gore."[38]
In a favorable retrospective review for the film's 50th anniversary in Rue Morgue, Mark Lager wrote that the film is "a criminally forgotten hidden gem...Gershon Kingsley’s music is cold and haunting, a melancholy mood."[31] Writer Matthew DuPée notes that the film has received substantial criticism for its convoluted plot and "gritty" cinematography, but asserts that it is "propped up by a fascinating location, strong acting and a visceral story. The Christmas carol "Silent Night, Holy Night" plays as a musical motif throughout, adding a layer of acoustic eeriness to an already atmospheric haunted house tale."[8] DuPée later added, "director Ted Gershuny’s highly stylistic approach, an amazing location, a competent cast, and a dreary and dark script that was ahead of its time."[31]
↑ Contemporaneous newspaper sources show the film opening on November 15, 1973 in Terre Haute, Indiana,[18] and on November 17, 1972[19] in Scranton, Pennsylvania;[20] and Binghamton, New York[21] (among others) under the Night of the Full Dark Moon.
↑ Trade advertisements printed by Cannon in 1981 bear the Deathouse title,[29] as does the restored print of the film released on DVD by Film Chest in 2013.
A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic term for any horror film involving murder, film analysts cite an established set of characteristics which set slasher films apart from other horror subgenres, such as monster movies, splatter films, supernatural and psychological horror films.
Black Christmas is a 1974 Canadian slasher film produced and directed by Bob Clark, and written by Roy Moore. It stars Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, and John Saxon. The story follows a group of sorority sisters who receive threatening phone calls and are eventually stalked and murdered by a killer during the Christmas season.
The final girl or survivor girl is a trope in horror films. It refers to the last girl(s) or woman alive to confront the killer, ostensibly the one left to tell the story. The final girl has been observed in many films, notable examples being Psycho, Voices of Desire, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Halloween, Alien, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, and Terrifier 2. The term "final girl" was coined by Carol J. Clover in her article "Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film" (1987). Clover suggested that in these films, the viewer began by sharing the perspective of the killer, but experienced a shift in identification to the final girl partway through the film.
Silent Night, Deadly Night is a 1984 American slasher film directed by Charles E. Sellier, Jr., and starring Robert Brian Wilson, and Linnea Quigley. The story concerns a young man named Billy Chapman, who suffers from post-traumatic stress over witnessing his parents' murder on Christmas Eve by a man disguised as Santa Claus and his subsequent upbringing in an abusive Catholic orphanage. In adulthood, the Christmas holiday leads him into a psychological breakdown, and he emerges as a spree killer donning a Santa suit.
The Sentinel is a 1977 American supernatural horror film directed by Michael Winner, and starring Chris Sarandon, Cristina Raines, Ava Gardner, Burgess Meredith, Sylvia Miles, and Eli Wallach. The plot focuses on a young model who moves into a historic Brooklyn brownstone that has been sectioned into apartments, only to find that the building is owned by the Catholic diocese and is a gateway to Hell. It is based on the 1974 novel of the same name by Jeffrey Konvitz, who also co-wrote the screenplay with director Winner. It also features Christopher Walken, Jeff Goldblum, John Carradine, Jerry Orbach, Tom Berenger, Nana Visitor, and Beverly D'Angelo in supporting roles.
Mary Woronov is an American actress, writer, and figurative painter. She is primarily known as a "cult star" because of her work with Andy Warhol and her roles in Roger Corman's cult films. Woronov has appeared in over 80 movies and on stage at Lincoln Center and off-Broadway productions as well as numerous times in mainstream American TV series, such as Charlie's Angels and Knight Rider. She frequently co-starred with friend Paul Bartel; the pair appeared in 17 films together, often playing a married couple.
Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation is a 1990 American supernatural horror film directed by Brian Yuzna, written by Yuzna, Woody Keith, and Arthur Gorson, and starring Maud Adams, Tommy Hinkley, Allyce Beasley, Clint Howard and Neith Hunter. It focuses on a Los Angeles newspaper reporter who, while investigating the unexplained death of a woman, becomes entangled with a coven of Lilith-worshipping witches who are preparing her for a ritual on Christmas Eve. The fourth installment in the Silent Night, Deadly Night film series, it bears no resemblance to the previous films, as it drops the storyline of the Billy Chapman and Ricky Caldwell characters entirely.
Jeffrey Konvitz is an American attorney, writer, and film producer. He was raised in Woodmere, New York and graduated from Hewlett High School in 1962. He continued his education at Cornell University and the Columbia University School of Law (1969). Konvitz is probably best known for writing the novel The Sentinel, published in 1974. It was followed by a film adaptation in 1977, which he produced and adapted from the novel.
James Patterson was an American actor who won a Tony Award for his role in the 1968 Harold Pinter play The Birthday Party.
Tally Brown was an American singer and actress who was part of the New York underground performance scene, particularly Andy Warhol's "Factory" and who appeared in or was the subject of films by Andy Warhol and Rosa von Praunheim. She was born and died in New York City.
Delusion is a 1981 American psychological slasher film directed by Alan Beattie, and starring Patricia Pearcy, Joseph Cotten, David Hayward, and John Dukakis.
Silent Night is a 2012 slasher film directed by Steven C. Miller and starring Malcolm McDowell, Jaime King, Donal Logue, Ellen Wong, and Brendan Fehr. It is a remake of Charles E. Sellier Jr.'s 1984 film Silent Night, Deadly Night and the sixth installment in the Silent Night, Deadly Night film series. The film was given a limited theatrical release on November 30, 2012, and was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on December 4, 2012.
Silent Night, Bloody Night: The Homecoming is a 2013 British slasher film and remake of the 1972 American film Silent Night, Bloody Night.
Silent Night, Deadly Night is an American Christmas horror film series, consisting of six films. The first film in the series, Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), originally titled Slay Ride, tells the story of Billy, a young man who experiences a psychotic break and goes on a murder spree dressed as Santa Claus. The film received theatrical distribution from TriStar Pictures, but was pulled from theaters in November 1984 after a series of protests against the film.
Billy Chapman is a fictional character in the Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise. Created by writers Paul Caimi and Michael Hickey, the character serves as the protagonist and antivillain of the first film, Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), and is featured in flashbacks in the sequel, Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987).
Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary is a 1975 Mexican supernatural slasher film directed by Juan López Moctezuma, written by Malcolm Marmorstein, and starring Cristina Ferrare, David Young, and John Carradine. Its plot follows an American artist who discovers she is in fact a vampire, and begins consuming the locals in a Mexican village.
Silent Night, Bloody Night 2: Revival is a 2014 holiday horror film, a sequel to the 1972 film Silent Night, Bloody Night. The film is a direct sequel and continues the story of the original 40 years later.
The Mean One is a 2022 American Christmas horror film directed by Steven LaMorte from a screenplay written by Flip and Finn Kobler. It is a horror parody of Dr. Seuss' 1957 children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, and stars Krystle Martin, Chase Mullins, John Bigham, Erik Baker, Flip Kobler, and Amy Schumacher, with David Howard Thornton as the eponymous character. It follows a young woman as she attempts to defend her childhood town from a green-skinned creature who goes on a murderous rampage during the holiday season.
Christmas horror is a fiction genre and film genre that incorporates horror elements into the winter seasonal celebration setting.
Albright, Brian (2012). Regional Horror Films, 1958-1990: A State-by-State Guide with Interviews. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN978-1-476-60042-0.
Arena, James (2011). Fright Night on Channel 9: Saturday Night Horror Films on New York's WOR-TV. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN978-0-786-46678-8.
Armstrong, Kent Byron (2003). Slasher Films: An International Filmography, 1960 Through 2001. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN978-0-786-41462-8.
Colavito, Jason (2007). Knowing Fear: Science, Knowledge and the Development of the Horror Genre. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN978-0-786-43273-8.
DuPée, Matthew C. (2022). A Scary Little Christmas: A History of Yuletide Horror Films, 1972-2020. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN978-1-476-64540-7.
Ocker, J. W. (2012). The New York Grimpendium: A Guide to Macabre and Ghastly Sites in New York State. Woodstock, Vermont: The Countryman Press. ISBN978-0-881-50990-8.
Singer, Michael (1989). Film Directors. Vol.7. Beverly Hills, California: Lone Eagle Pub. ISBN978-0-943-72827-8.
Weaver, Tom (2024). John Carradine: The Films. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN978-1-476-61164-8.
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