Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2: Collector's Edition - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2: Collector's Edition

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
Oh boy, it’s GARBAGE DAY! (you have to watch the movie for that unintentionally hilarious gem). Last December Scream Factory released for us (with a glorious new transfer) the cult classic Silent Night, Deadly Night in a nice new collector’s edition (reviewed HERE). One year later they have gone back a print and done a new 2K remaster of the sequel, and gussied it up with some wickedly cool extras like the original, and allowed us a take at this unintentionally hilarious horror sequel (well, the first of the sequels, since there was actually 4 sequels plus a remake in 2012 of the original film). What makes the movie so memorable to ME personally is the fact that this was the movie my older brothers would quote around the house endlessly back in the day, shouting “Garbage day!” at the top of their lungs while decked out in a Santa clause outfit, while chasing my little butt all over the place. Revisiting the film some 20 years later it’s a blast to watch with about 4 shots of bourbon, and a sloppy smile on your face, but I wouldn’t go into the film thinking it’s a serious horror film, or you may want to drink even MORE just to survive the night!

It’s time to take out the garbage! The kid brother of the Santa Clause killer from Silent Night, Deadly Night, Ricky (Eric Freeman), is about to be released from a mental institution after witnessing his brother shot by the police years ago. However, little Ricky is not about to just go quietly. His interview with the exiting psychologist goes “poorly” (to put it mildly), and the younger brother is about to emulate his older sibling, going on a rampage throughout the city to avenge his brother’s death. Culminating at the evil Mother Superior’s house who molded his brother and him into the vicious punishment driven monsters that they became.

Kind of amusingly, if I wanted to describe the first half of Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 all I would have to do is paste in my review for Silent Night, Deadly Night into this section and leave it. The first half of the movie is just Ricky narrating over the top of the highlight reel for Silent Night, Deadly Night, as he describes all of his brother’s murders to the outgoing psychologist. The video is lifted straight from the first movie, letting us watch all the gruesome kills in quick succession, and it’s not until the 40 minute mark that Ricky himself murders his way out of the insane asylum and goes on his OWN killing rampage. As such, it’s more of a mini movie within a recap of the first movie, meaning that you don’t actually have to watch Silent Night, Deadly Night to understand what’s going on here (ironically you’ve nearly watched all of Silent Night, Deadly Night by the time you get to the halfway point in the movie!).

After getting out of the asylum and tearing things up, Ricky’s story begins and it’s a hilarious romp in slasher paradise. Some of the kills are so over the top that I was just guffawing with laughter and nearly spilling my coke and vodka on myself. The scene with the umbrella is one of the funniest of the movie, but you NEED to watch his first kill out of the Asylum that culminates with the insanely funny “GARBAGE DAY!” sequence. It’s truly a cinematic shot and one that is a crowd please for anyone who’s ever had the misfortune of seeing this movie.

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is utter garbage (wink wink), but it’s so over the top and unintentionally hilarious that you’re enjoying this garbage. While the first one was a bit deep, and had some good kills, part 2 is just a recap with one of the worst acted kill sequences in history. Eric Freeman looks like an 80s jock more than he does a deeply disturbed killer, and his social skills make him seem just a bit more relatable than his near autistic brother. Silent Night, Deadly Night had a distinctly raw and sleazy, almost greasy, feeling to it, but Part 2 is much more 80s in nature, with a much more polished feeling to the insanity. It’s not going to win awards, but by golly this is one of the most fun and ridiculous slashers I’ve ever seen.




Rating:

Rated R by the MPAA




Video:

Scream Factory supposedly used two sources for this film, with a 2K remaster that pulled mostly from the theatrical print, but also a work print for some of the more damaged scenes. The results are nearly homogeneous, but you can sometimes see some print damage with speckles and flecks come up that most likely comes from the work print, vs. the cleaner theatrical print. The 2K remaster is quite good, with sharp colors, decent detail levels and a cleaned up look that is truly exemplary at times. It’s not as jaw dropping as the incredible 4K remaster of the first movie, but this was a very problematic sequel that had some serious issues with the stored prints, so getting it to looks as great as it does now is no small feet. Black levels are deep and intense, and clarity is usually very good. There some soft and smeary look to some shots (such as the theater scene, or the fight in Mother Superior’s home), but there are just as many shots that show off incredible detail to offset those problematic scenes. Overall this is a great looking disc and leagues ahead of the old DVD I saw some years back.






Audio:

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 features the original mono track in lossless DTS-HD MA and it’s exactly what you would expect for a low budget horror movie. Clarity is pretty sharp, with solid dialog and decent front sound stage, but the dynamics are a bit weak to be honest. The track is very constrained and tight, with not too much on the high end to give it much pop, and the low end is nonexistant (what you would expect form an old mono track). It’s a solid entry and does nothing WRONG per se, it’s just that the sound design limits it a bit.







Extras:

• BRAND NEW 2K REMASTER OF THE FILM FROM AN ARCHIVAL THEATRICAL PRINT
• NEW Audio Commentary with director Lee Harry, actors Eric Freeman and James Newman
• NEW Slay Bells Ring Again: The Story of Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 – featuring interviews with co-writer/director Lee Harry, actors Eric Freeman, James Newman, Elizabeth Kaitan, Darrel Guilbeau, Kenny McCabe and makeup effects artist Christopher Biggs
• NEW Garbage Days Are Here Again – a look at the film's locations
• NEW Ricky Today – a short film featuring a 2018 interview with Ricky Chapman/Caldwell
• NEW I Don't Sleep – an extended interview with makeup effects artist Christopher Biggs
• Audio Commentary by co-writer/director Lee Harry, co-writer Joseph H Earle and actor James Newman
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score: ​

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is an awful film, there’s no way round that bit of logical extrapolation. HOWEVER, it’s one of those “so bad it’s unintentionally AWESOME” types of films. The “Garbage Day!” scene cracks me up each and every time I watch this, and is the perfect fodder for a bad movie night. Not to mention the fact that Scream Factory has given this a pretty nice remaster and stuffed it full of new extras as well, with the original cover art on the inside flap, and new cover art to match the first movie on the the slipcover. If you’re a fan of the first Silent Night, Deadly Night, then this is the perfect companion for the film (and I can only hope that the other 3 sequels get released some day).



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Eric Freeman, James Newman, Elizabeth Kaitan, Jean Miller, Frank Novak
Directed by: Lee Harry
Written by: Lee Harry, Joseph H. Earle
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Scream Factory
Rated: R
Runtime: 88 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: October 10th, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Hilariously Cheesy Watch

 

[Asere]

Thanks for the review. I will be buying this one when the price drops some. I bought the first one but haven't seen it with the new video transfer. I hope to see the first one sometime before Christmas after all tis the season lol.

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I will have to check this one as well as the first one.

 

[Todd Anderson]

That cover art... LOL. Wow