Silent Night, Deadly Night Reboot In The Works

The previously controversial holiday-themed slasher series Silent Night, Deadly Night is making a comeback with a brand new remake of the 1984 horror movie officially on the way. Orwo Studios and Black Hanger Studios have announced they’ve acquired the rights to the remake, working with the producers of the original film Scott Schneid and Dennis Whitehead of Wonderwheel Entertainment for a new film scheduled to arrive next year. The studio didn’t reveal who will pen the script, direct the film, or star in the new version of the slasher feature, but noted that Orwo Studios is financing and representing the film for worldwide sales rights.

In a statement Wonderwheel said, “The continued desire for horror content and the ongoing success of the genre meant it was the perfect time to be able to offer up this chilling revival of the iconic title.” Producer Anthony Masi of MasiMedia added, “We are thrilled to be working with the original producers as well as Orwo and Black Hangar and are committed to honoring nostalgia for the original while offering surprises for new audiences to discover and embrace.”

In the original Silent Night, Deadly Night, the film told the story of a child who is traumatized after seeing his parents killed by a man dressed as Santa Claus. Upon growing up he put on the red suit himself and went about town slaughtering persons like jolly Jason Voorhees. Upon its release the movie was quickly hounded by certain members of the public and various family groups for its depictions of a “killer Santa” in its advertising, their chief complaint being that this (very clearly R-rated horror movie) would be traumatizing for young ones that still believed in him. The noise made by the protests resulted in the film being pulled from theaters not long after it premiered.

That didn’t keep the series down though as FOUR sequels followed. Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 was released in 1987 and has a reputation for being one of the worst horror sequels of all time, albeit also featuring the often parodied “Garbage Day” sequence. Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! would debut in 1989, Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation in 1990, and Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker in 1991 (with the fifth film also starring Mickey Rooney who famously lambasted the first movie upon its release). A reboot of the series, simply titled Silent Night, was first attempted in 2012.