oh wow. Steven C Miller's Silent Night (2012) was everything I wanted from a slasher film and more. I can't begin to tell you how much I loved this film. It's spot on with everything and really both embraces the cheese of the 80's but also keeps it scary. This is one of the rare remakes that is better then the original in every way.
Having seen the infamous original Silent Night, Deadly Night awhile back ago, I wasn't that impressed. It was a decent twisted tale but it didn't really live up to the hype. More could have been done and here the film makers have fully honored the original and not only build their own story on it but told it better. I have to give director, Steven C Miller a lot of respect not just as a horror fan but also as a film maker. I loved the fact that he actually made it scary. So little horror films, and even fewer slasher films, remember that not all the 80's slasher films were cheesy.
This film played it real and raw. I loved the fact that it looked like a real film. It was really well acted, well shot (loved the camera work and framing) and pitch perfect. Miller comes off as a real lover of horror and respects it, which is why this film works so well. Even though they play a lot of the horror in a realistic way... he still manages to give us outlandish death scenes, great gore, nudity and wonderful homages to the original. I don't want to give it away but if your lover of the original two films then you will catch them. I sure did and I screamed with joy because a lot of the film makers who do horror remakes, even more the ones who aren't horror fans, like to come off as snobbish when it comes to the original and Miller instead embraces them.
This film also works because it's not a retelling of the original film, instead it uses the original as a springboard to do their own version of the concept and in a lot of ways it stays really more true to the original's tone. Jamie King and Donal Logue really broke out for me acting wise because both delivered performances that really made their characters feel like real people with real emotions... that's rare in today's horror films. On the campy side, have to love Malcolm McDowell who totally hams up her performance in a great way. His character provides some great comic moments and really helps to remind us not to take this film too seriously and to have fun with it.
Silent Night is going to be high on my list of favorite films not just because I totally loved it as a film but also as an inspiration for me, as someone who wants to make these kind of films. This is a great example of why some films do need to be remade by people who love respect the genre and love it.
Having seen the infamous original Silent Night, Deadly Night awhile back ago, I wasn't that impressed. It was a decent twisted tale but it didn't really live up to the hype. More could have been done and here the film makers have fully honored the original and not only build their own story on it but told it better. I have to give director, Steven C Miller a lot of respect not just as a horror fan but also as a film maker. I loved the fact that he actually made it scary. So little horror films, and even fewer slasher films, remember that not all the 80's slasher films were cheesy.
This film played it real and raw. I loved the fact that it looked like a real film. It was really well acted, well shot (loved the camera work and framing) and pitch perfect. Miller comes off as a real lover of horror and respects it, which is why this film works so well. Even though they play a lot of the horror in a realistic way... he still manages to give us outlandish death scenes, great gore, nudity and wonderful homages to the original. I don't want to give it away but if your lover of the original two films then you will catch them. I sure did and I screamed with joy because a lot of the film makers who do horror remakes, even more the ones who aren't horror fans, like to come off as snobbish when it comes to the original and Miller instead embraces them.
This film also works because it's not a retelling of the original film, instead it uses the original as a springboard to do their own version of the concept and in a lot of ways it stays really more true to the original's tone. Jamie King and Donal Logue really broke out for me acting wise because both delivered performances that really made their characters feel like real people with real emotions... that's rare in today's horror films. On the campy side, have to love Malcolm McDowell who totally hams up her performance in a great way. His character provides some great comic moments and really helps to remind us not to take this film too seriously and to have fun with it.
Silent Night is going to be high on my list of favorite films not just because I totally loved it as a film but also as an inspiration for me, as someone who wants to make these kind of films. This is a great example of why some films do need to be remade by people who love respect the genre and love it.