On The 16th Day Of Christmas... Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2

(1987)
Director: Lee Harry
Writers: Michael Hickey, Paul Caimi, Lee Harry, Joseph H. Earle, Michael Hickey, Paul Caimi, Dennis Patterson, Lawrence Appelbaum

If you've seen the first Silent Night, Deadly Night, then you've already seen the first forty minutes of Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2. The sequel focuses on Billy's brother Ricky, who is now incarcerated in an institution and recounting the events of the first movie to a psychiatrist through footage edited in from the first film. Once we're done with that, we move on to Ricky's story and things start to get really good. Ricky reveals to the psychiatrist his past with a foster family and how thing began to fall apart once his adopted father passed away. He recounts several murders committed against "naughty" people and seemingly triggered by the color red. Finally, after killing his girlfriend, he goes on a murder spree ending in a failed suicide attempt. After his tale is told, he escapes the institution and sets out to punish the person he blames for everything, Mother Superior.

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is the stuff of legend. Originally intended to be a re-edited version of Silent Night, Deadly Night passed off as a sequel with only one or two added scenes, editor Lee Harry convinced his employer to give them a little more to make an actual sequel. Although the budget is often quoted at $250,000, filmmakers claim that the budget was actually far less. Considering the budget, the fact that the film was made on the fly with only one or two takes for each scene, and the fact that it was filmed in 10 days, Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is actually quite an accomplishment. It's not a good movie, far from it. But it's adequately put together and it's never dull. Eric Freeman's acting skills, or lack thereof carry the film into so-bad-it's-good territory. According to IMDB, his eyebrows move up and down 130 times throughout the course of the film, and it's hilarious every time. Ricky's ridiculous murder spree, featuring the infamous "Garbage Day!" line, puts me on the floor every time. While not even close to the quality of the first film, Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is just as (if not more) entertaining. Alcohol and friends is a must with this one. 5 out of 6 beers.