Ho, ho, horror! StudioCanal and its in-house genre shingle Sixth Dimension are behind a revival of the holiday cult horror franchise “Silent Night, Deadly Night” (debuted back in 1984 and spawned five subsequent films) as they’ve dropped a new trailer for the slasher that features an imbalanced killer that dresses up as Santa Claus and is heading to theaters this Christmas, quite a fitting release date.
Helmed by Mike P. Nelson, and isn’t a stranger to the hororr remakes after tackling the 2021 version of “Wrong Turn.” It also stars Rohan Campbell as Billy, who has some major genre cred, as he was previously seen in horror flicks such as David Gordon Green‘s “Halloween Ends” and Osgood Perkins’ “The Monkey,” an adpatation of a Stephen King story. Other cast members in the upcoming feature include Ruby Modine (“Happy Death Day”) as Pamela, Mark Acheson, David Lawrence Brown, and David Tomlinson.
READ MORE: 18 October Films To See: ‘Frankenstein,’ ‘Bugonia,’ ‘Springsteen,’ ‘Anemone’ & More
An official logline for the horror flick via StudioCanal:
“Silent Night, Deadly Night” reimagines a 1984 cult horror classic in which a young boy witnesses the murder of his parents at the hands of a man dressed as Santa, only to grow up and become a killer himself. Haunted by trauma and fuelled by a twisted sense of justice, he dons the red suit, turning the advent calendar into a series of nights of terror. As Christmas Eve approaches, a small town becomes his latest hunting ground, where the naughty and bad pay the ultimate price. Blending psychological horror, brutal slasher thrills, a touch of the supernatural, and – more shockingly still – a sprinkle of romance, the film delivers a modern, chilling new take on the ultimate holiday nightmare.
A producing team assembled consists of the 1984 Tri-Star film’s producers Scott Schneid and Dennis Whitehead, alongside Jamie R. Thompson of New Dimension, with Erik Bernard. Anthony Masi and Steven Schneider are also on board as executive producers alongside Erick Opeka, Yolanda Macias, Brandon Hill, and Brad Miska for Cineverse (handling the U.S. release). While Jed Benedict is overseeing the remake at Sixth Dimension.
Christmas and horror might not be a pairing most will think of, but the mash-up has a long history within the slasher sub-genre. It goes back to the Canadian pic “Black Christmas” from 1974 (pre-dates John Carpenter‘s “Halloween“), along with the iconic “Tales From The Crypt” episode “And All Throught The House” (a TV remake of the segment from the 1972 British anthology film directed by Freddie Francis) that featured an escaped axe-wielding lunatic dressed as Santa terrorizing a mother (the twist, after she kills her husband) and the lesser known exploitation film “Christmas Evil” from 1980.
“Silent Night, Deadly Night” arrives in theaters on December 12, and you can watch the red band international trailer below.
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
