‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’: New Reboot in the Works From ‘Terrifier 3’s Cineverse!!

With the spooky season come and gone, it’s time for horror fans to start gearing up for their next marathon theme, the holiday slasher. The Christmas season has been the center of countless iconic horror films, like Black Christmas, Christmas Evil and Better Watch Out. Just last month, fans got a new entry in the blood-soaked sub-genre in the form of Terrifier 3. Now that franchise’s backer, Cineverse, will be taking on another iconic holiday horror franchise, Silent Night, Deadly Night.

Reported exclusively by Deadline, a new reimagining of the beloved 1984 slasher will be on the way from writer and director Mike P. Nelson. The film is currently slated for release late next year. Nelson is no stranger to franchise horror or reboots, as he directed the criminally underrated 2021 installment of Wrong Turn and a segment in last year’s V/H/S/85. The film will be going into production “soon”. This version of Silent Night, Deadly Night will also be produced by Scott Schneid and Dennis Whitehead, who executive produced the original film. Cineverse has global rights for the project. When talking about the upcoming installment, Cineverse Executive Director (Acquisitions), Brandon Hill said, “I have always been a huge fan of Silent Night, Deadly Night and can’t wait to bring Mike’s vision to fellow fans of iconic slashers.” He would continue on, “As we have seen this year, there continues to be incredible demand for independent horror films with bite, and we believe this can deliver strong audiences from theatrical to home entertainment and streaming.” Nelson would add:

“The opportunity to work with producers involved with the original Silent Night, Deadly Night and to partner with the Terrifier 3 team is an honor. I’ll never forget walking into the video store at the mini mall when I was 5 and seeing that poster for the original film. I was in awe and started imagining what horrifying things would happen. To be a part of the film’s legacy many years later is insane! I’m looking forward to getting production underway, and unleashing my new take on this compelling story. Billy is back!”

The Original Controversy of ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’

While there were many controversial films that defined the 80s, none arguably got more press than Silent Night, Deadly Night. This was due to its bold marketing campaign that highlighted its killer Santa Claus, and it would become a film that’s graphic original vision would be highly censored as a result. Despite it going toe-to-toe with A Nightmare on Elm Street, out-grossing it in its opening weekend, it would be pulled from theaters 10 days later in large part thanks to The National Parent & Teacher Association. However, like most controversial films of the era, it would become legendary as it made $2.4 million in its short run. That was more than three times its budget. The story of the film itself was also very dark. It followed a traumatized young adult named Billy who grew up with his brother in an orphanage. Being the oldest of the two, he witnessed the gruesome murder of his parents at the hands of a crazed man dressed as Santa.

That made him swear off the Christmas season. However, when his job at a local toy store forces him to dress up as Santa for the kids, Billy snapped and went on a murderous rampage through the local town. It’s one of the more physically disturbing horror films you’ll watch despite what was cut from the theatrical version. The franchise would go on to get four sequels and a reboot in 2012. Yet nothing captured the demented magic of the original film. Given their history with Terrifier, it’s going to be exciting to see what the partnership with Cineverse will do for this franchise. Terrifier 3 made more than a few references to Silent Night, Deadly Night. It even reminded us that the controversies surrounding Christmas horror movies never really went away.

Where Can You Stream ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’?

Silent Night, Deadly Night currently isn’t available on a traditional streaming service, but you can rent it for $3.99 USD from paid VOD platforms like Fandango at Home. Scream Factory will also be honoring the film’s 40th anniversary by releasing the classic on 4K for the first time on December 10. The trailer can be viewed below.