Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987)

User Rating:

2.6/10   

Director:

Lee Harry

Writers:

Michael Hickey (characters) and
Paul Caimi (characters) ...

Release Date:

10 April 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Horror

Tagline:

GARBAGE DAY!!!

Plot:

Ricky, the brother of the killer in the first film, talks to a psychitrist about how he became a brutal killer after his brother died, leading back to Mother Superior.

Plot Keywords:

Mother Superior | Revenge | Psychiatrist | Street Punk | Condom

Cast

Eric Freeman	...	Richard 'Ricky' Caldwell
James Newman	...	Dr. Henry Bloom (as James L. Newman)
Elizabeth Kaitan	...	Jennifer Statson (as Elizabeth Cayton)
Jean Miller	...	Mother Superior
Darrel Guilbeau	...	Ricky at 15
Brian Michael Henley	...	Ricky at 10
Corrine Gelfan	...	Mrs. Rosenberg
Michael Combatti	...	Mr. Rosenberg
Kenneth Brian James	...	Chip
Ron Moriarty	...	Detective
Frank Novak	...	Loan Shark
Randall Boffman	...	Eddie (as Randy Baughman)
Joanne White	...	Paula
Lenny Rose	...	Loser
Nadya Wynd	...	Sister Mary

Also Known As:

Cicha noc, smierci noc (czesc 2) (Poland) [pl]
Douce nuit, sanglante nuit 2 (France) [fr]
Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | Netherlands:16 | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Australia:R | UK:(Banned) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

Silent Night Releasing Corporation

Trivia:

The producers of Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) wanted director Lee Harry to re-cut the first film and insert just one or two new scenes with Eric Freeman playing a mental patient, to make the story in the original film appear to be nothing more than the ravings of an asylum inmate. But screenwriters Lee Harry, Joseph H. Earle, Dennis Patterson and Lawrence Appelbaum, wrote short vignettes involving the patient's youth, as he killed several people, and eventually it became this sequel. But there was not enough material for a full length film, so numerous flashback sequences were used to extend the running time. When the film still ran short, a lengthy closing-credits sequence (nearly ten minutes in length, showing the full cast and crew of this film and its predecessor) was added to pad-out the film's running time even further.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Ricky electrocutes Chip, his hand is still clenching Chip's throat. Since he has no insulated gloves on, he should've been fried as well.

Quotes:

Ricky Caldwell: It was something to see. Cops stopping Santas everywhere from here to the state line. But that didn't matter to Billy. He knew the roads, the shortcuts. He knew exactly where he was going, and nothing was going to stop him!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Invasion of the Scream Queens (1992)

It's Ricky's turn

It's a wonder that this first of four sequels to the 1984 cult classic exists at all. The first film was picketed until it was pulled from theatres, causing it to take a nosedive at the Box Office. But then this was the 80s, the decade the VCR was invented, and so the controversial horror film found a new life on video. It took three years, but a sequel was given the greenlight and was released to theatres instead of going straight to video like some of the later sequels. However, this film isn't known for the same thing the original is. Instead this sequel is famous because the first 40 minutes or so is mostly footage from the original in the form of flashbacks. Boy talk about low budget film-making. On the upside though, the rest of the running time is all new footage featuring Ricky, the brother of the first film's killer, instead of being a re-cut version of the first film like originally planned.

Pros: Moves at a fast pace. The acting, though not great, isn't too bad. It's fun to watch Eric Freeman chew the scenery("Garbage Day!" lol). Some creative kills. Some intentionally/unintentionally funny stuff. A good score, especially the main theme. And finally it's pretty gutsy of the makers of the film to use so much footage from the first film and adding around 40 minutes of new footage as a wraparound. You gotta admire them for that.

Cons: Maybe they shouldn't have used as much footage from part 1 as they did. There are a few minor continuity errors with the first film, like Ricky's last name and who gave Billy his job for example. Some mediocre acting, but thankfully it's from the actors in minor roles. No suspense or anything new.

Final thoughts: This is in no way a great film. Instead it's one of many so-bad-it's-good horror films of the 80s. It's deeply flawed, but sometimes the faults add to the fun, which is true in this case. It's also amazing that this was not the final nail in the coffin, for there have been three more sequels since and talk of a possible remake of the original.

My rating: 3/5