October Horror Challenge - Silent Night, Deadly Night (2025)

Synopsis

Traumatized after seeing his parents murdered by a man in a Santa suit, Billy grows up to be a Santa-clad slasher.

Review

I love the original Silent Night, Deadly Night and have a soft spot for it's sequel (despite it being most footage from the first), so I was nervous about this one. I didn't need to be though, because this movie rocks. 

The director takes the original premise, kid becomes Santa-clad killer based on childhood trauma, and does his own thing with it. Rather that just being a traditional slasher, this Billy only kills the naughty. He also has a voice in his head that directs him to kill the naughty. I don't want to spoil the plot, but this Billy is a slasher vigilante, rather than a traditional slasher. He also has a voice in his head that helps him on his journey. 

Despite the changes this reboot still has a few of the best kills from the original. We still get a deer head and axe/vehicle decapitation. There are some new great kills in this one too. Honestly, this version of Billy could be a Punch A Nazi Week write-up because he slaughters the celebrants at a "I'm Dreaming Of A White Power Christmas" party.

The cast is great. Rohan Campbell is great as the lead. He's intense, but also likeable. I know some horror fans might write him off because of his roll as Corey in Halloween Ends, but that's a mistake. Ruby Modine (Happy Death Day and Shameless) is also endearing as his love interest Pam. She's quirky, cute, and unstable (which makes her even more attractive in my messed up mind). Finally I want to say Mark Acheson is fantastic as Charlie. While he might only appear on screen briefly, he played and important part of the story and his presence was felt. 

This one is on Tubi and I know Halloween might not be the time to watch it, but I definitely recommend y'all check this one out closer to Christmas.

In Your Game

These stats are slightly revised from the ones I posted three years ago.

Billy (Humanoid)
Armor Class: 14Hit Dice: 5
Move: 12
Actions: 2
Attack: Axe (d10)
Special: sense evil, toughness +2
Bonuses: +4 to Attack rolls, +2 to melee damage, +5 to Stealth

Alignment: Neutral

Morale: 7

Madness: 6 (12) 
Terror: -

HDE: 3

October Horror Movie Challenge 2026

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