For part one of Yule Be Sorry, Silent Night, Deadly Night Sequels click here!
Bugs, Clint Howard and a little bit about Christmas: Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: The Initiation (1990)
The fourth film in the Silent Night series is also the first to have a totally stand-alone storyline. It also unfortunately has really little to do with Christmas. But I think it’s a much better overall film then the previous entry. Brian Yuzna directs this gooey outing that feels very much like a spiritual sequel to 1989’s Society, a wonderful and insanely underrated ‘80s horror film. In fact, both films were not only directed by Yuzna but also has effects by the legendary Screaming Mad George. While Yuzna may not be at his strongest here in terms of both execution and polish, the movie thrives thanks to a good deal of creativity and a mystery hook that keeps things engaging enough. Things quickly devolve into a trippy and surreal Lynchian world complete with extremely well-done gross-out FX. Even with some lackluster performances and at times scattershot writing, I was never bored.
My biggest issue with this film is probably the lack of actual Christmas elements in it. I could be wrong, but this feels like the script started life as something completely different and later was re-tooled to fit the Silent Night series. Sure, they talk about the holidays, and clearly, it’s Christmas time; however, the movie does have little with it on a thematic level. This feels like a missed opportunity, because I think you could have worked in the Pagan elements of the season perfectly with very little effort. I have to say, overall, this is a fun film, but as a holiday horror, it really misses the mark. Yuzna had re-teamed with his writing partner on Society and I can honestly see this as an almost sequel to that film rather than a Silent Night, Deadly Night film. Still, the movie is a wild Freudian nightmare of a film that has Clint Howard in a bigger than usual role which is always a win. Fun but not quite what I was expecting in terms of a holiday horror.
The One that Really Goes Off the Rails AKA The One with a Creepy Mickey Rooney: Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toymaker
So, remember how I said that former child star Mickey Rooney had launched a campaign against the original Silent Night, Deadly Night? Well, in 1991 the late actor seemed to come around, at least in terms of a paycheck, as he starred in the fifth and final film in the series. When horror fans talk about this series, typically the two films outside the original that are discussed the most are part 2 and 5. Honestly, this is the one I was most looking forward to as I heard that it was a lot of people’s favorites of the series. Whew, okay, after finally watching this film, I can safely say that it might be my favorite of the sequels.
By virtue of it being co-written by Brian Yuzna with effects by Screaming Mad George, this certainly feels like a fever dream and an old school Empire Pictures production. Indeed, it has moments that truly feel like the filmmakers captured an actual nightmare on film. Like pretty much every sequel, the movie is limited by various sizes of plot holes. For example, the Toymaker’s motives for the killings and certain other aspects (which I won’t go in for spoiler reasons) just don’t make sense. Not to mention the acting which is frankly pretty bad.
Though, the movie has a go-for-broke, high energy and creativity that helps one gloss over its limitations. I enjoyed how this is not only a strange re-telling of Pinocchio but fuses a hint of Shelley’s Frankenstein tale, complete with creation rebelling against his creator. It’s this latter aspect which I feel it is a missed opportunity as I wished they would have leaned into this more. What the Yuzna entries brought to the series was a return to the more fantastical elements with his signature wry and wicked sense of humor. I also loved the meta moments such as you can spot a guy with a Re-Animator t-shirt and a little girl asking Santa for Bride of Re-Animator on home video.
Final Thoughts: When you talk about really strange horror series, I think most people will mention the Childs Play series or even Leprechaun. However, I must say that the journey through the Silent Night films was a wild ride to say the least. Typically, these kinds of op-eds are focused on movies I already love, but I wanted to watch these films and write down my honest reflections in real time. Overall, I had a blast with these films. Parts 2-5 are currently streaming on Shudder.
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Big film nerd and TCM Obsessed. Author of The Ultimate Guide to Strange Cinema from Schiffer Publishing. Resume includes: AMC’s The Bite, Scream Magazine etc. Love all kinds of movies and television and have interviewed a wide range of actors, writers, producers and directors. I currently am a regular co-host on the podcast The Humanoids from the Deep Dive and have a second book in the works from Bear Manor.
