Movies

First Teaser for Reboot of One of the All-Time Most Controversial Horror Movies Released

A reboot of one of the most controversial horror movies is coming this Holiday season.

Silent Night Deadly night trailer

The very first teaser for the upcoming reboot of Silent Night, Deadly Night has been unveiled. The film, which is a reimagining of the 1984 film of the same name, made Santa Claus into a killer and was met with controversy upon its initial release, even resulting in calls for the film to be pulled from theaters. Even with all of the controversy surrounding the first movie, Silent Night, Deadly Night spawned not only sequels, but also a remake titled Silent Night. While Silent Night was a loose take on Silent Night, Deadly Night, the forthcoming reboot will be a reimagining of the horror classic.

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The writer and director of the Silent Night, Deadly Night remake is Mike P. Nelson, who has worked on titles such as Wrong Turns, V/H/S/85, and The Domestic. The horror remake includes a cast of up-and-comers that includes Rohan Campbell (The Hardy Boys), Ruby Modine (Satanic Panic), Mark Acheson (Peter Pan & Wendy), David Lawrence Brown (Orphan: First Kill), and David Tomlinson (The Hillsdale Adoption Scam). The reboot is being executive produced by Steven Schneider, Anthony Masi, Sarah Eilts, Brandon Hill, Brad Miska, Erick Opeka, Yolanda Macias, Matthew Helderman, and Luke Taylor. Here’s the trailer, freshly released at Comic-Con:

The remake is also produced by Scott Schneid, Dennis Whitehead, Jamie R. Thompson, Erik Bernard, and Jeremy Torrie. The upcoming remake hails from Cineverse and Iconic Events Releasing, who will be giving the film an unrated, wide release later this year. The remake focuses on Billy, who witnesses his parentsโ€™ grisly murder on Christmas Eve at the hands of someone dressed as Santa, leaving him on a lifelong mission to spread holiday fear. Every Christmas, Billy dressed up in the jolly red suit and delivered a blood-soaked massacre to feed his twisted sense of justice. In the remake, Billy is played by Rohan Campbell.

Silent Night, Deadly Night, which was originally released by TriStar Pictures, only earned $2.49 million at the box office during its theatrical run in 1984. While on the lower end, the movie was produced for a meager $750,000. At the time, releasing a horror movie about a killer Santa was quite controversial, and it played in theaters at the same time as A Nightmare on Elm Street. Its theatrical run was cut short due to the public backlash, even while besting Nightmare on Elm Street at the box office. Despite this, Silent Night, Deadly Night has remained a cult classic among horror movie fans.

The original movie starred Robert Brian Wilson as Billy (at 18), Lilyan Chauvin as Mother Superior, Gilmer McCormick as Sister Margaret, Britt Leach as Mr. Sims, Nancy Borgenicht as Mrs. Randall, Linnea Quigley as Denise, and Randy Stumpf as Andy. It hailed from director Charles E. Sellier Jr. from a screenplay by Paul Caimi and Michael Hickey. The film was followed by Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 in 1987, Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out in 1989, Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation in 1990, and Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker in 1991.

The remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night will slash its way into theaters on December 12th, just in time for the holiday season. This holiday, Billy wants to know if you’ve been naughty or nice. The answer better be nice, if you want to avoid his wrath.