Silent Night, Bloody Night

Revenge of the public domain stigma from outer space!  Here again, I am faced with a lost title that was everywhere in the days of Suncoast and Media Play (those were good days).  How can a film be considered lost if it was easy to find, you query?  Personally, I'm not going to pick up a DVD with a shitty cover disseminated by a company notorious for shitty transfers.  I ignored 1972's Silent Night, Bloody Night for that very reason, as did many others.  It didn't look particularly appealing to me anyway.  Brick-and-mortar entertainment chains are dead now, and I'm a grown goddamn man.  I'm more open to watching these motion pictures, even if I have to settle for dicey video quality.

After imbibing Bloody Night, I'm dumbfounded that it's treated like an ostracized waif.  It's never mentioned when the topic of "influential slashers" is adverted.  Of course, Black Christmas gets the (well-deserved) glory.  What you may not know is that the two algid, pine-scented processions have quite a bit in common.  POV kills, disturbing phone calls, Keir Dullea razing a piano...well, I can't confirm the destruction of ivory keys and felt-capped hammers, but Bloody Night does star Keir Dullea.  Just kidding.  God, what a stupid lie.  Who sits around and types out misinformation concerning the cast of an esoteric gland-chiller?  This motherfucker!  Hear me roar!

I loved this movie.  I loved it so much, that I'm not going to rehash the plot.  No synopsis for you (I became The Synopsis Nazi, apparently).  Go in fresh, but pay attention.  You'll be rewarded with a flutter of twists in the third act that rocks your cranium and effectively changes the rest of Bloody Night.  Replay value is high.  This isn't the kind of DVD you spin once and banish to a dust-doused shelf to be forgotten.  As a matter of fact, I'm eager to buy a legitimate, razzle-dazzle copy so I can discern detail during some of the darker parts.  When I say "darker parts," I'm referring to the bulk of Bloody Night.  The lighting is substandard, although I do appreciate a scare flick that takes place post-menopause.  That's what PM stands for, right?

I'm primed to penetrate the fourth paragraph, yet I haven't said much about today's subject.  I have my reasons.  I want someone else to be as pleasantly surprised by Bloody Night as I was.  In this case, underselling is my preferred approach.  I do want to call attention to the adroit acting, the grisly murders and the authentic flashback sequence.  Theodore Gershuny directs it all with a cool hand.  I am officially recommending Silent Night, Bloody Night with authority.  Man, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I might...MIGHT give it the edge over Black Christmas.  You need to own both.  And cutlery.  You need to own cutlery.