In 1984, a film sent a shockwave of terror through America. Silent Night, Deadly Night was a controversial movie about a killer Santa that goes on a rampage during the holiest of seasons. Banned, protested, and shredded by those that felt the film went over the edge, the cult classic became an iconic franchise. Director Steven C. Miller gave the horror nation a loose reboot in 2012. Though this adaptation was very good, the numbers did not add up for future installments. This holiday season, Mike P. Nelson (Wrong Turn 2021) attempts to bring back the axe with a new take on the holiday horror saga.
After witnessing his parents being murdered by a psychotic Santa, Billy begins a cursed life filled with only vengeance clouding his troubled mind. Billy takes a job at a small retail store where he starts to fall for the owner’s daughter, Pam. As his holiday heart starts to swell, Billy attempts to keep his demons at bay while he completes his yearly mission of sacrificial slaughter. The small town provides plenty of fresh frozen meat to cut up, but has the holiday season, along with his newfound affection, finally cured Billy of his troubled past?
Nelson put out an interesting and entertaining piece with his reboot of Wrong Turn. The writer/director stubbles through the snow with this holiday horror classic. Silent Night, Deadly Night 2025 is a choppy presentation that pulls the audience more into the psychological effects of trauma rather than focus on some good old fashion slaying. This attempt to turn Billy into a heroic victim plays out in a boring mish-mosh of oversaturated dialogue through the run time. The film is saved with several decent kill scenes though done in a basic fashion that is all too familiar with most new releases over the last decade. After his debacle of a performance in Halloween Ends, Rohan Campbell returns in another laughable effort as a serial killer. The young performer puts forth zero suspense of disbelief as someone who could commit these horrific acts of violence. Campbell is more suited for Hallmark horror than anything resembling an iconic slasher. After a few strong horror performances, Ruby Modine shows some form of her strong talents while the script turns her into a bland character with the unnecessary consistent cut aways of a young woman just looking for love. This reboot falls too far into the snow with a lame attempt at its own ideas, legacy, and self-important messages. Sticking to a simple slaughter, which the fans crave, could have taken the franchise into a sleigh ride of future films. Instead, Billy and his axe will probably stay buried under the ice for another decade.
Scream Score: 6/10