Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!

Last updated
Silent Night, Deadly Night 3:
Better Watch Out!
Silent Night Deadly Night 3.jpg
Promotional poster
Directed by Monte Hellman
Screenplay byCarlos Laszlo
Story byCarlos Laszlo
Monte Hellman
Arthur Gorson
Uncredited:
Steven Gaydos
Produced byArthur Gorson
Starring Richard Beymer
Bill Moseley
Samantha Scully
Eric Da Re
Laura Harring
Elizabeth Hoffman
Robert Culp
CinematographyJosep M. Civit
Edited byMonte Hellman
Ed Rothkowitz
Music by Steven Soles
Production
companies
Quiet Films, Inc.
Distributed by International Video Entertainment
Release date
  • November 17, 1989 (1989-11-17)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! (stylized onscreen as Silent Night, Deadly Night III: Better Watch Out!) is a 1989 American slasher film written and directed by Monte Hellman. A direct-to-video release, the film is the second sequel to the 1984 film Silent Night, Deadly Night and centers around the Christmas-obsessed killer Ricky Caldwell awakening from a coma and stalking a blind teenager with psychic powers, while she travels to her grandmother's house for the Christmas holiday with her brother and his girlfriend. It was the last to follow the storyline set by the previous two films, the next two sequels being standalone entries.

Contents

Plot

After being shot down by police, the infamous Santa Claus Killer Richard "Ricky" Caldwell is left comatose for six years, with a transparent dome affixed to his head by the doctors in order to repair his damaged skull. Wanting to contact Ricky, the eccentric Dr. Newbury begins using a blind clairvoyant girl named Laura Anderson to try to reach out to him. One Christmas Eve, after a particularly traumatic session with Newbury, Laura begins to regret her participation in his experiment, but Newbury tries to convince her to keep trying, saying that they can talk more after Laura returns home from visiting her grandmother over the holiday. After Laura is picked up from the hospital by her older brother Chris, a drunk hospital employee dressed as Santa Claus wanders into Ricky's room and begins taunting him, rousing Ricky back to consciousness. Killing the Santa impersonator, Ricky escapes from the hospital, taking a letter opener with him after killing a receptionist as well.

Picked up from a session with her psychiatrist, Laura is introduced by her brother to his new girlfriend, a flight attendant named Jerri, whom Laura dislikes. As the trio heads off to Granny's, they overlook Ricky (who can hear Laura thanks to their mental link) following them. Acquiring a truck and some fuel after murdering a motorist and a gas station attendant, Ricky makes it to Granny's first. Believing Ricky is simply an unfortunate vagrant, Granny tries befriending him but is killed when Ricky is provoked at the sight of a Christmas gift she offers him. Lieutenant Connely and Newbury find the two staff members butchered by Ricky at the hospital. They begin trying to track Ricky down, realizing he is drawn towards Laura after surveillance camera footage shows him uttering her name.

Reaching Granny's house, Laura feels something is wrong. Chris ignores her suspicions, who believes Granny may have just gone off for a walk. When Granny fails to show up and the car is found sabotaged, the group become very worried, with Chris and Jerri deciding to go out and look for Granny. Laura senses Ricky staring at her through the window and screams, bringing Chris and Jerri back to the house. After discovering the phone is dead and her picture is missing, Laura realizes it must be Ricky who is after her moments before Ricky punches through the door and begins throttling Jerri. She is saved when Chris stabs Ricky in the arm. Elsewhere, when Connely leaves the car to urinate, Newbury drives off, intending to try to reason with or trap Ricky, not wanting his experiment to go to waste by having Connely kill him.

Armed with an old shotgun, Chris, Laura, and Jerri go out searching for aid, but are ambushed by Ricky, who stabs Chris in the chest. While Laura and Jerri run back to the house, Newbury finds Ricky. At first, Ricky is uninterested in Newbury but is drawn close when Newbury plays a tape of one of his and Laura's sessions. As Ricky reaches out to him, Newbury, believing the tape had some kind of calming effect, grabs Ricky's hand, only to be stabbed in the stomach. Laura and Jerri barricade the door at the house, but Ricky still manages to break in. While looking for a gun, Ricky kills Jerri, and her body is found seconds later by Laura. Ricky approaches, allowing Laura to touch his face. Enraged when Laura flees in terror after feeling his artificial skullcap, Ricky chases after her. In the basement, Laura is encouraged by a vision of Granny, whose body she finds hanging from the ceiling before knocking the light out. Laura is easily knocked aside trying to attack Ricky. As Ricky begins choking her, Laura is saved when Chris appears and shoots Ricky with a shotgun. Unfortunately, the shotgun fires blanks, and the unharmed Ricky snatches it from Chris and uses it to choke him into unconsciousness. Ricky then moves in to finish off Laura, but she grabs a piece of a broken stick and holds it in front of her at the last second, and Ricky impales himself.

Reaching the house with backup, Connely finds the dying Newbury before discovering Laura cradling her brother's body in the house. Driven away by Connely as the body of a survivor is rushed to the hospital by paramedics, Laura wishes the lieutenant a "Merry Christmas" before having a vision of Ricky breaking the fourth wall as he states, "... And a Happy New Year".

Cast

Archive footage

Production

At a screening at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas, in July 2008, Hellman introduced the film, saying he thought it was his best work (though not his best film). [1] His esteem for the work was partly due, he said, to the speed at which the entire project was put together. The original script was thrown out and rewritten in one week, starting in March. [2] By the end of April, principal photography was done, editing was done in May (with Hellman taking time out to go to the Cannes Film Festival), and by July 1989 there was an answer print screened at a film festival.

Release

International Video Entertainment released the film on VHS, [3] while Image Entertainment released it on laserdisc. [4]

Lions Gate Entertainment released the film along with its sequels, Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation and Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker as a three-disc set on December 1, 2009. They are presented in full screen format with no special features included. [5]

Lionsgate re-released the film to DVD on January 4, 2011, in a "4-Film Collection" set along with My Best Friend Is a Vampire , Repossessed and Slaughter High . [6]

On December 13, 2022, Silent Night, Dead Night 3: Better Watch Out! was released in a Blu-ray box set with Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation and Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker through Lionsgate's Vestron Video Collector's Series. [7]

Reception

Silent Night, Deadly Night 3 received mostly negative reviews from critics upon its release. TV Guide awarded the film one out of five stars, writing, "Hellman has a flair for chaotic camera angles and handles the film's cinematic references quite nicely, but the whole thing lacks suspense, is slowly paced, and badly acted." [8] Alan Jones of the Radio Times gave the film a similar rating of one out of five stars. Although Jones noted that it was a slight improvement from its predecessors, he criticized the film's lack of suspense, and inventive murders, calling the whole film "tedious". [9] Fred Beldin from Allmovie wrote that the film, "stretches the original plot line so thin that it snaps, with logical lapses and continuity gaffes galore, but because of so much damage and stupidity, Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! emerges as the most entertaining entry in the series." [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Silent Night, Deadly Night</i> 1984 American slasher film by Charles E. Sellier, Jr

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.

<i>Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2</i> 1987 film by Lee Harry

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is a 1987 American slasher film edited, co-written with Joseph H. Earle, and directed by Lee Harry. It is the sequel to 1984's Silent Night, Deadly Night, and was followed by Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! in 1989. Its plot focuses on Ricky Caldwell, the brother of Billy Chapman, and his own trauma regarding his parents' Christmas Eve murders, which triggers his own killing spree. The film relies heavily on flashbacks, utilizing approximately 30 minutes of stock footage from the original film.

<i>Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation</i> 1990 film by Brian Yuzna

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monte Hellman</span> American film director, film producer, and film editor (1929–2021)

Monte Hellman was an American film director, producer, writer, and editor. Hellman began his career as an editor's apprentice at ABC TV, and made his directorial debut with the horror film Beast from Haunted Cave (1959), produced by Gene Corman, Roger Corman's brother.

<i>Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker</i> 1991 film by Martin Kitrosser

Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker is a 1991 American science fiction horror film directed by Martin Kitrosser and stars Mickey Rooney, who had previously condemned the original film. It is the fifth film in the Silent Night, Deadly Night film series.

<i>White Line Fever</i> (film) 1975 film by Jonathan Kaplan

White Line Fever is a 1975 Canadian-American action crime neo-noir film directed by Jonathan Kaplan and starring Jan-Michael Vincent.

Christmas Do-Over is a 2006 Christmas television film starring Jay Mohr and Daphne Zuniga. It premiered on ABC Family in 2006 on their 25 Days of Christmas programming block. It is a remake of a previous 1996 television film, Christmas Every Day, but with an adult as the protagonist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Harring</span> American actress (born 1964)

Laura Elena Harring is an American actress and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 1985 and later began acting in television and film. She is known for her roles in movies, including The Forbidden Dance (1990), John Q (2002), Willard (2003), The Punisher (2004), The King (2005), Love in the Time of Cholera (2007), Ghost Son (2007), The Caller (2008), Drool (2009), Sex Ed (2014), and Inside (2016). She also played Carla Greco in General Hospital (1990–1991), Paula Stevens on Sunset Beach (1997), and Rebecca "Becca" Doyle in The Shield (2006). She is best known for her lead role as Rita in the 2001 movie Mulholland Drive.

Arthur Gorson, also known as Arthur H. Gorson, is an American film producer. He also has experience as a cinematographer, screenwriter, cameraman and record producer. He is currently (2024) active in TV, film and commercial production. As a record producer, he produced over 20 albums for major labels with artists such as Golden Earring, Phil Ochs and Tom Rush. His photographic work with artists such as Bob Marley is widely published. A series of his photos were included in the authorized documentary Marley directed by Kevin Mcdonald (The Last King of Scotland;as well as the 2023 50th Anniversary box-set of "Catch A Fire.".

<i>Silent Night</i> (2012 film) 2012 slasher film by Steven C. Miller

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Gaydos</span> American songwriter

Steven Gaydos is an American screenwriter, songwriter, and journalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nate Cooper</span> Soap opera character

Nate Cooper is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Kyle Pryor. The character made his first screen appearance on 26 September 2013. Pryor originally auditioned for another character before he was offered the role of Nate. He had to keep his involvement with the show a secret prior to arriving on-screen. The actor had moved from another country for work which made him similar to his character. Nate is characterised as a career driven and respected doctor. He comes to work Northern Districts Hospital because he had longed to work in a busy emergency department. Personally he is calm and collected with a love of kayaking.

<i>Silent Night, Deadly Night</i> (film series) American Christmas horror film series

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Chapman (character)</span> Fictional character

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).

Kim Levitt Fictional character

Kim Levitt is a fictional character in the Silent Night, Deadly Night film series. Created by Brian Yuzna, Arthur Gorson, and S.J. Smith, she is an editor for the fictional classified ads paper the L.A. Eye. She is first introduced in the fourth installment in the series, Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990), as the protagonist of the film who finds herself enmeshed with a cult of witches while investigating the mysterious spontaneous combustion death of a woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aubrey Bradimore</span> Fictional character

Aubrey Bradimore is a fictional character in the Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise. Created by Jayson Rothwell, she is a police officer in a small Midwestern town who finds herself hunting a killer dressed in a Santa Claus suit on Christmas Eve. Portrayed by Jaime King, the character is first introduced in Silent Night (2012), a loose remake of the original Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984).

<i>Better Watch Out</i> 2016 psychological horror Christmas film

Better Watch Out is a 2016 Christmas psychological horror film directed by Chris Peckover, from a script he co-wrote with Zack Kahn. It stars Olivia DeJonge, Levi Miller and Ed Oxenbould. The film had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 22, 2016, and was released in the United States on October 6, 2017, by Well Go USA and in Australia on November 23, 2017, by Rialto Distribution.

Better Watch Out is a 2016 Australian-American psychological horror film.

<i>The Christmas Chronicles</i> 2018 American Christmas comedy film

The Christmas Chronicles is a 2018 American Christmas comedy film directed by Clay Kaytis from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman. The film stars Kurt Russell, Judah Lewis, Darby Camp, Lamorne Morris, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, and Oliver Hudson. It is the first installment in The Christmas Chronicles film series. The film was produced by 1492 Pictures and Wonder Worldwide and was released on November 22, 2018, on Netflix.

<i>Just Another Christmas</i> 2020 Brazilian film by Roberto Santucci

Just Another Christmas is a 2020 Brazilian Christmas fantasy comedy film directed by Roberto Santucci and starring Leandro Hassum, Elisa Pinheiro, and Danielle Winits. Hassum portrays Jorge, a father who begins awakening on Christmas Eve with no memories of the year before, repeatedly in a time loop.

References

  1. Heller, Anne (July 24, 2008). "Dir. Monte Hellman Speaks on Silent Night Deadly Night 3". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  2. Squires, John (December 24, 2014). "30th Anniversary Silent Night, Deadly Night Retrospective: Part 3". Dread Central. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  3. Squires, John (December 6, 2016). "Bill Moseley Shares Emotional 'Silent Night, Deadly Night 3' Memory". Bloody-Disgusting. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  4. "Company Credits for Silent Night, Deadly Night 3". imdb.com. Retrieved 2011-04-13.
  5. "Silent Night, Deadly Night (Triple Feature)". dvdempire.com. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
  6. "My Best Friend Is A Vampire / Repossessed / Slaughter High / Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! (4-Film Collection)". dvdempire.com. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
  7. Squires, John (October 18, 2022). "'Silent Night, Deadly Night' Collection – New Release Brings the Underrated Sequels to Blu-ray!". Bloody Disgusting . Archived from the original on December 14, 2022.
  8. "Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! - Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings". TVGuide.com. TV Guide . Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  9. Jones, Alan. "Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! – review". RadioTimes.com. Radio Times. Retrieved 27 April 2020.[ permanent dead link ]
  10. Beldin, Fred. "Silent Night, Deadly Night III: Better Watch Out! (1989) - Monte Hellman". Allmovie.com. Allmvoie. Retrieved 27 April 2020.