Review: The ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’ remake is a bloody Christmas treat

1984’s Silent Night, Deadly Night is exactly the slasher trash that’s needed a more modern, fresh update. While there’ll always be room for Charles E. Sellier Jr.’s original, it hasn’t aged well—particularly for its treatment of women. Mike P. Nelson, the man behind a V/H/S/85 segment (“No Wake/Ambrosia”), the long-awaited Jason Voorhees return (Sweet Revenge), and the criminally underrated Wrong Turn (2021), turns in a thematically timely script with obvious references to a certain political corner that thrives on hate. In his hands, the film yanks the source material into 2025 with a focus on pushing the genre forward. It leaves behind misogynistic tropes (such as a young topless woman answering her front door), cringy gay jokes, and the general ickiness of many 1980s slashers for something far more progressive.

Rohan Campbell plays Billy, infusing the iconic character with a smoldering charm. It’s a drastically different perspective from Robert Brian Wilson’s boyishly handsome take in the original. And both use their good looks to lull others into a false sense of security. Nelson’s Silent Night, Deadly Night takes several storytelling cues from the ’84 release, including the killing of Billy’s parents in the cold open and Billy’s new retail job, but it largely colors way outside the lines. It takes incredibly big and bold swings that will likely turn some viewers off—brace yourself for a chorus of “TOO WOKE” from incels online—that inject the story with much-needed voltage.

There’s no misinterpreting Wilson’s Billy as anything but the villain, whereas Campbell’s is a textbook anti-hero. His murderous impulses just might have a reason, leaving the age-old “nature vs nurture” debate intact. But there’s something darker, more sinister throbbing in that head of his. Nelson explores this question through a moody, character-driven narrative, with Campbell turning in one of his most electric performances to date. He oscillates between uncontrollable mania and devilish magnetism like batting his eyelashes. Playing opposite Happy Death Day‘s Ruby Modine (as shopkeeper Pamela), an unexpected love interest, he knows how to get your blood racing one moment and run your blood cold the next.

At its core, Silent Night, Deadly Night is a damn good time. Nelson perfectly walks the line between socially poignant critique and schlocky entertainment. Themes of rebellion against an oppressive system and combating a hateful society twist like gnarly oak tree roots around the gleeful carnage candy. He supplies all the blood, guts, and gore you could desire, with several deliciously nauseating setpieces. It’s a slasher that honors its cinematic origin while also expanding the boundaries, commenting on the present moment, and provoking the audience to think a little deeper.

Mike P. Nelson’s Silent Night, Deadly Night makes a last-minute bid for one of the year’s biggest surprises. And Rohan Campbell remains a firestorm of talent, standing in the middle of an unrelenting and bloody blizzard that’ll make for a great addition to the holiday rotation for years to come.