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Monday, March 10, 2014

SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT 2 (1987)

SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT 2 (1987) (R) Dir. Lee Harry
88 min.


Billy Caldwell was a young boy when he witnessed the murder of his parents by a psycho dressed in a Santa suit. In the aftermath, he and his little brother are sent to an orphanage where they are routinely abused by the dread Mother Superior, who drills into their young minds that sex is naughty and punishment is absolute. After he leaves the orphanage Billy gets a job at a little toy store but snaps and goes on a murder spree when he is made to dress as Santa in-store. He seeks out "naughty" teens and adults and punishes them with his trusty ax. All this culminates into a final showdown between Billy and Mother Superior. The is the first Silent Night, Deadly Night.
 
Why am I summarizing the first Silent Night Deadly Night? Well, that's because 50% of the sequel is comprised of flashbacks to the original.
 
The flashbacks are narrated by Ricky, Billy's little brother, who is in a sanitarium and recounting these events (many which are impossible for Ricky to have remembered) to his psychologist. Once this narration switches from Billy's story to Ricky's this movie really begins to shine.
 
Ricky is played by the infamous Eric Freeman, and his performance in this role is the stuff of legend. Not because it is Oscar worthy mind you, but because it's so exaggeratedly over the top and bad, it becomes hilariously awesome. The jacked up actor laughs maniacally at the drop of a dime, has amazingly cheeseball one-liners and hypnotically moves his eyebrows like they are doing jumping jacks. 
 
 
In the movie's new footage, we see that Ricky is adopted from the orphanage by the Rosenbergs due to their lack of Christmas spirit. He is a seemingly normal teenager until he spots a man in a field trying to rape his girlfriend. So Ricky gets all chivalrous and runs the guy over in his own jeep. Again, and again. Classic.
 
Though trying to live a normal life, like getting a job and a girlfriend, Ricky can't stop intermittently killing those he deems naughty. Then after being egged on by his girlfriend's ex, Ricky goes on a full on rampage of epic proportions. This entire rampage scene is simply glorious and is the source of the infamous "Garbage Day!" meme.
 
This is what ultimately leads to Ricky's incarceration and once he's finished recounting his story to the doctor, he escapes the institution and aims to finish his older brother's work: the death of Mother Superior.
 
 
This sequel is tedious at first if you've seen the original, but the new material is laugh out loud funny with its comically silly acting, writing, violence and lack of logic. It has become a cult classic in the same vein as Troll 2 and The Room for a very good reason; it deserves to be in such company. Rabid fans have been trying to find the elusive Eric Freeman for years, and for a while it seemed to no avail, but a little Christmas miracle happened in 2013 and the king of eyebrows resurfaced once again.
 
Mandatory viewing for lovers of camp. 7/10

View the trailer:

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