“You better watch out… Halloween is just around the corner, and then the season comes greeting with Silent Night, Deadly Night arriving December 10, 2024, in a 40th Anniversary Edition 3-disc 4K UHD + Blu-Ray™ set from Scream Factory. Fans will be treated to a new 4K Scan from the Original Camera Negative, as well as a stuffed stocking’s worth of new bonus features including interviews with select filmmakers.
The 40th Anniversary Edition of the holiday horror is currently available for pre-order on ShoutFactory.com, early customers on the nice list will receive a limited edition slipcover with the first pressing.
40 years ago, community leaders tried to stop its release. The P.T.A. fought to ban it. But no one can keep an axe-wielding Santa from coming to town. Silent Night, Deadly Night celebrates forty years of ho-ho-horrifying frights with an all-new 4K release!
Silent Night, Deadly Night is the heartwarming holiday story of little Billy Chapman, who was traumatized by his parents’ Christmas Eve murder, then brutalized by sadistic orphanage nuns. But when grown-up Billy dons a Santa suit and goes on a yuletide rampage to “punish the naughty,” no one can stop him … not even your angry city council! Bonus Features for UHD/Blu-ray
DISC ONE (4K UHD – THEATRICAL VERSION):
NEW 4K Transfer From The Original Camera Negative
Presented In Dolby Vision
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
NEW Audio Commentary With Author Amanda Reyes And The Hysteria Continues Podcast
DISC TWO (BLU-RAY – THEATRICAL VERSION):
NEW 4K Transfer From The Original Camera Negative
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
NEW Audio Commentary With Author Amanda Reyes And The Hysteria Continues Podcast
NEW “The Night He Came Home… For Christmas: Creating Silent Night, Deadly Night” – An Interview With Producer Scott Schneid
NEW “In Search of Charles Sellier Jr: Remembering the Director” – An Interview With Editor Michael Spence
NEW “Naughty or Nice: 40 Years Of Silent Night, Deadly Night” – An Interview The Producers Scott Schneid And Dennis Whitehead About The Longevity Of The Film
DISC THREE (BLU-RAY – UNRATED VERSION)
NEW 4K Transfer From The Original Camera Negative With Standard Definition Inserts
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Audio Commentary With Actor Robert Brian Wilson And Co-Executive Producer Scott J. Schneid
Audio Commentary With Writer Michael Hickey, Composer Perry Boykin, Producer Scott J. Schneid, and Unit Director Michael Spence
“Slay Bells Ring: The Story Of Silent Night, Deadly Night” – Featuring Interviews With Writer Michael Hickey, Co-Executive Producers Scott J. Schneid And Dennis Whitehead, Editor/Second Unit Director Michael Spence, Composer Perry Botkin, Actor Robert Brian Wilson
“Oh Deer!” – An Interview With Actor Linnea Quigley
Christmas In July – Silent Night, Deadly Night Locations – Then And Now
Audio Interview With Director Charles E. Sellier, Jr. From Deadpit Radio (Extended Version)
“Santa’s Stocking Of Outrage”
Poster And Still Gallery
R-Rated Theatrical Trailer & Japanese VHS Trailer
TV Spots
Radio Spot”
Buy 4K + Blu-ray from Amazon.com
Meanwhile, here’s our previous coverage of this slasher classic:
Silent Night, Deadly Night is a 1984 slasher horror film produced by Ira R Barmak and directed by Charles E. Sellier, Jr. It stars Robert Brian Wilson, Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero, Linnea Quigley, Britt Leach, Leo Geter
The film focuses on a young boy who, after witnessing his parents’ brutal murder at the hands of a man clad in a Santa suit on Christmas, grows up tumultuously in a Catholic orphanage and slowly emerges into a spree killer himself. The film caused an uproar when released in 1984 during the holiday season, and has developed a cult following.
Controversy:
Upon its original release in 1984, TV critics Siskel and Ebert condemned the film and went so far as to read the film’s production credits on air, saying “shame, shame” after each one. Siskel also said that all the money the filmmakers were making off of this film was blood money. Leonard Maltin also condemned the film, calling it a “…worthless splatter film”, giving it zero stars and asking: “What’s next, the Easter Bunny as a child molester?”
Crowds (mostly angry families) formed at theatres and malls around the nation to protest the film. TriStar Pictures, its original distributor, pulled all ads for the film six days after its release (November 15). The film itself was also withdrawn shortly thereafter due to the controversy.
It was later re-released by an independent distributor, Aquarius Films, beginning in spring 1986, with an ad campaign that replaced the original “Twas the night before Christmas” audio track with a new one that centred on the controversy surrounding the film and edited out all close-up shots of Billy, in the Santa suit, with weapons. The print ad material also replaced the original ‘Chimney’ picture with one that talked about the controversy.
Silent Night, Deadly Night [DVD] [1984]
Buy DVD: Amazon.co.uk
Silent Night: Deadly Night 1 & 2
Buy: Amazon.com
Film facts:
The original titles were He Sees You When You’re Sleeping and then Slay Ride
Cast and characters:
Lilyan Chauvin … Mother Superior
Gilmer McCormick … Sister Margaret
Toni Nero … Pamela
Robert Brian Wilson … Billy at Eighteen
Britt Leach … Mr Sims
Nancy Borgenicht … Mrs Randall
H.E.D. Redford … Captain Richards
Danny Wagner … Billy at Eight
Linnea Quigley … Denise
Leo Geter … Tommy
Randy Stumpf … Andy
Will Hare … Grandpa
Tara Buckman … Mother (Ellie)
Geoff Hansen … Father (Jim)
Charles Dierkop … Killer Santa
Eric Hart … Mr Levitt (Storekeeper)
Jonathan Best … Billy at Five (as Jonathon Best)
A. Madeline Smith … Sister Ellen
Amy Styvesant … Cindy (as Amy Stuyvesant)
Max Robinson … Officer Barnes
Technical specs:
79 minutes | 85 minutes (uncut) | 96 minutes (video)
Audio: Mono
Aspect ratio: 1.85: 1
Related:
Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2
Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker
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