Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2
Poster for the film
Directed by	Lee Harry
Produced by	Lawrence Appelbaum
Screenplay by	Lee Harry Joseph H. Earle
Story by	Lee Harry Joseph H. Earle Dennis Patterson Lawrence Appelbaum
Starring	Jean Miller Eric Freeman Elizabeth Kaitan James L. Newman
Music by	Michael Armstrong
Cinematography	Harvey Genkins
Edited by	Lee Harry
Production company	Silent Night Releasing Corporation
Distributed by	Manson International Virgin Vision MCEG Productions, Inc.
Release dates	April 10, 1987 (1987-04-10) (United States)
Running time	88 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$100,000
Box office	$154,323

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is a 1987 slasher film written and directed by Lee Harry, and co-written by Joseph H. Earle. It is the sequel to 1984's Silent Night, Deadly Night, and was followed by Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! in 1989.

Plot

The sequel picks up on Christmas Eve some years after the first movie, with Ricky Caldwell, the 18-year-old brother of the first film's killer, now being held in a mental hospital, awaiting trial for a series of murders that he committed. While being interviewed by the psychiatrist Dr. Henry Bloom, Ricky tells the story of the murders his brother Billy committed throughout a series of several flashbacks using footage from the original film. These flashbacks have new shots to make Ricky appear in more of Billy's original story.

After this, Ricky tells his own story: after Billy's death, he was adopted and given a good upbringing, but his trauma was never treated. After his foster father's death, Ricky loses his composure and commits a series of random murders, targeting people who are "naughty". A chance for a normal life seems to appear when he starts dating Jennifer Statson, but an unpleasant encounter with Jennifer's ex-boyfriend Chip sends Ricky over the edge. He kills Chip by electrocuting him with jumper cables that are attached to a car, while Jennifer watches. He then uses the antenna of the car to strangle Jennifer to death. A security guard sees this and as Ricky is about to get arrested, he grabs the guard's gun, shoots him in the forehead, and goes on a shooting spree throughout a suburban neighborhood. He gets into a stand-off and fails to commit suicide before getting arrested by the police.

Cutting back to the present day, Ricky kills Dr. Bloom and escapes from the mental hospital, murdering a Salvation Army Santa and stealing the man's costume. Ricky plans to kill the now disfigured, wheelchair-bound Mother Superior, whom he blames for Billy's death. After chasing Mother Superior throughout her house, Ricky succeeds in decapitating her. The police arrive and gun him down afterwards. Sister Mary wakes up, and the police officer tells her, "He's gone, Sister. It's over." Then, she turns over and sees Mother Superior's severed head, before screaming in terror. Ricky, who had been shot by the cops, suddenly opens his eyes and smiles devilishly, indicating that he had survived his gunshot wounds. The final shot shows Billy's arm dressed in a Santa suit plunging a knife into the screen, before it freezes and the credits roll.

Cast

• Eric Freeman as Richard "Ricky" Caldwell
  • Darrel Guilbeau as Ricky at 15
  • Brian Michael Henley as Ricky at 10
• James L. Newman as Doctor Henry Bloom
• Elizabeth Kaitan as Jennifer Statson
• Lilyan Chauvin (archive footage) / Jean Miller as Mother Superior
• Corrine Gelfan as Martha Rosenberg
• Michael Combatti as Morty Rosenberg
• Ken Weichert as Chip
• Ron Moriarty as Detective
• Frank Novak as Rocco the Loan Shark
• Randall Boffman as Eddie
• Joanne White as Paula
• Lenny Rose as Loser
• Nadya Wynd as Sister Mary
• Kenneth McCabe as Rent-A-Cop
• J. Aubrey Island as Orderly
• Jeremiah Sird as Gregg

Production

On the film’s DVD commentary, the filmmakers say they were paid a dismal amount of money to make the film. Originally, they say, they were told to re-edit the first film and pass it off as a sequel. Director Lee Harry said he insisted that a new film be shot, though he did not have the budget to create an entirely new story.

Harry says they tried to find Eric Freeman to participate for the commentary track, but they were unable to locate him at the time.^[1]

Release

The film received a limited release theatrically in the United States in 1987. It grossed $154,323 at the box office.^[2]

The film was released on VHS in the United States by International Video Entertainment in 1987.^[3]

The film was available on the DVD Double Gift Pack on October 7, 2003 from Anchor Bay Entertainment, along with the original Silent Night, Deadly Night, but was discontinued due to copyright problems and is currently out of print.^[4]

On December 4, 2012, the film was again released alongside Part 1 as a two-disc "Christmas Survival Double Feature," containing the same archival bonus features as the 2003 release.^[5]

Reception

Due to the excessive use of footage from the original movie, the film was panned by critics. However, the film does have an audience with slasher fans/horror fans, and has gained a cult following as an unintentional comedy due to Freeman's performance.^[6]

During Ricky's suburban shooting rampage, he kills a neighbour that is taking out trash cans, shouting "Garbage day!" before firing on the person. The scene has become an Internet meme due to the seemingly non-sequitur nature of the scene as well as the comedic cheesiness of the line's delivery.^[7]

Sequel

Eric Freeman has plans to make a direct sequel to Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 ^[8]

References

External links

• Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 at AllMovie
• Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 at Rotten Tomatoes
• Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 at the Internet Movie Database