Classic Horrors Club

Believing I had already seen and written about Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), I jumped fearlessly into the sequel, cleverly titled, Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987.) I was enjoying the structure with Ricky Caldwell, fka Ricky Chapman, (Eric Freeman) in some type of holding cell being interviewed by Dr. Henry Bloom (James Newman.) However, there were frequent flashbacks, and suddenly I couldn’t remember if I had seen the original movie or not.

It turns out, if I had seen it, I had no record of it. I had certainly not written about it. Still, I continued enjoying the sequel, not realizing the flashbacks were scenes lifted directly from the original movie and would ultimately comprise nearly half of this one. I don’t have any idea where the story goes in any of the subsequent sequels or remakes, but Part 2 felt like a successful way to spin the franchise since the original character had died in part one.

Also, it makes Part 2 a rare sequel where it absolutely does not matter if you’ve seen the original… except for one thing. The flashback sequences offer absolutely no suspense. Unfolding like a television “clip show,” there’s no context for the highlights… there are only the highlights. I now understand why Part 2 was generally met with such disdain. The flashbacks do a great job of summarizing the plot, but not necessarily of entertaining the audience..

Let’s move on to the new part of the story. Part of it also takes place in flashbacks, but it’s new material that tells what happened to Ricky after his older brother, the original killer, Billy Chapman/Caldwell (Robert Brian Wilson), was shot by a policeman as he attacked the cruel Mother Superior (Lilyan Chauvin) in her wheelchair. After “little Ricky” (Alex Burton) witnessed the death and says, “Naughty”…

…he was taken into a nice Jewish home where celebrating Christmas would not become deadly. Still, though, “young Ricky” (Brian Michael Henley) would be triggered by two nuns who pass on the street and red clothing hanging in a store display window. “Medium-Aged Ricky” (Darrel Guilbeau) would be triggered when, on one of his long walks on back roads, a man picnicking with his lady tries to take what she’s not willing to give.

Finally, the Ricky we’ve known all along is triggered by a series of events involving Jennifer (Elizabeth Kaitan), the young woman who accidentally knocks him down on his motorcycle and then becomes his girlfriend. Noisy audience members at a movie, Jennifer’s former boyfriend, then anyone he crosses walking down the street with a gun, act “naughty,” causing Ricky to “punish.”

This explains his detention, but without revealing all spoilers, it’s suddenly Christmas Eve, and Ricky escapes, making a beeline to Mother Superior’s (now played by Jean Miller) house, dressed as Santa Claus. Still, I think Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 offers a few clever scenes. Where does he obtain a Santa suit? By killing a bell-ringing Santa in town. Unfortunately, the clever scenes are outweighed by the dumb ones.

There was apparently a disagreement among the creators about Ricky’s character. Freeman wanted to play him as a cold, malevolent killer. The scenes where he’s allowed to do that can be chilling. However, direct Lee Harry wanted him to be more of a wisecracking killer, and writer co-writer Joseph H. Earle told him to be as over-the-top as possible. The scenes where he’s forced to do that sadly outnumber the others and are hard to watch.

Overall, judging Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 as a stand-alone follow-up to a movie I guess I’ve never seen, I don’t think it’s bad. However, its above average good parts, including a couple of fresh kills, are drug down by its below average parts. That makes it average, which still isn’t as bad as most people who have rated it lower. Maybe they’ve seen part one, and if I had, I might be as outraged as them.