Silent Night, Deadly Night (film series)

Silent Night, Deadly Night
Silent Night, Deadly Night Parts 3–5 DVD set
Distributed by	TriStar Pictures LIVE Entertainment Anchor Bay Films
Release date	1984–2012
Running time	531 minutes (total)
Country	United States
Language	English

Silent Night, Deadly Night is an American Christmas horror film series, consisting of six films. The first film in the series, Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), originally titled Slay Ride, tells the story of Billy, a young man who experiences a psychotic break and goes on a murder spree dressed as Santa Claus. The film received theatrical distribution from TriStar Pictures, but was pulled from theaters in November 1984 after a series of protests against the film.

The second film, Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987) continues the story of Billy's younger brother, Ricky, who also goes on a murder spree, and is largely made up of flashbacks featuring footage from the first film. The third film, Better Watch Out! released direct-to-video (as were the next two films), concludes the Billy/Ricky storyline, and follows Ricky as he stalks a clairvoyant blind woman on her way to visit her grandmother for Christmas Eve. The fourth film, Initiation (1990), departs from the killer Santa storyline, centering on a feminist cult in Los Angeles, California who are planning a ritual sacrifice. Directed by Brian Yuzna, the film features special effects by Screaming Mad George. The fifth film, The Toy Maker (1991), stars Mickey Rooney as a toy store proprietor whose brand of toys come to life and murder their owners.

In 2012, a loose remake of the original film, entitled Silent Night, was released by Anchor Bay Films, starring Jaime King and Malcolm McDowell. It was the first film in the series to receive a theatrical release since Part 2 in 1987.