Silent Night, Deadly Night Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Silent Night, Deadly Night Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Justin Dekker April 20, 2026

Director Mike P. Nelson's ('Wong Turn' (2021)) latest, 2025's 'Silent Night, Deadly Night' arrives on Blu-ray disc courtesy of Cineverse. The remake of the 1984 holiday horror classic stars Rohan Campbell ('Halloween Ends') as the troubled Billy Chapman, the Santa suited slayer, along side Ruby Modine (Shameless') in a feature that has little to do with the original film. Technical merits are solid enough for the bloody slice of holiday cheer, and on-disc supplemental materials are light. A slipcover is also included, but a Digital Code is not.

After young Billy Chapman witnesses his parents' brutal murder by a man in a Santa suit his life is forever changed. Now an adult, he completes his own bloody Christmas tradition, adding names to his own "naughty list" and killing a number of people while dressed as Santa each time the holiday rolls around. Arriving in small Hackett, MN just days before Christmas, Billy's (Rohan Campbell) life will change again when he meets the volatile Pam (Ruby Modine) as the voice in his head continues to drive him to kill.

One of my colleagues here is fond of saying "different reviewers mean different ratings", and that's certainly true. Take for instance the original Silent Night, Deadly Night. Upon it's first Blu-ray release one of my colleagues was underwhelmed by the acting, the low-budget production, and the overall one- notedness to the whole bloody affair to put it mildly. At the time of it's second Blu-ray release, another of my colleagues had an even more negative reaction to the film, using a host of colorful adjectives to put that particular bit of holiday bad cheer squarely on the naughty list. For me, it's required holiday viewing. Every December, you'll find me grabbing a cup or two of nog to go along with the annual viewing. There are some other holiday-themed horror films on the agenda each December as well, but the original Silent Night, Deadly Night is always what rings in the season. For as another wise person once said, "There's no accounting for taste.".

There truly aren't that many similarities between the 1984 classic slasher and this more recent reimagining, but there are a certain number of allusions to that film that are worth mentioning. The first has to do with an encounter young Billy Chapman has with his aging and infirm grandfather. In both films, the old man gives his young grandson a warning about being good because Santa is coming, and the impressionable lad is clearly shaken by what he hears. In both, just moments later, young Billy has the misfortune to witness a man in a Santa suit brutally murder his parents in a seemingly random roadside encounter. It's more than fitting that the new film honors the first by maintaining Billy's origin story. The second most meaningful nod to the first film has to do with that film's most notorious kill scene. In the 1984 film, Denise the amorous teenager who has a liaison with her boyfriend on the pool table is half-naked when she is impaled on the antlers of a deer head mounted high on the family room wall while her clueless boyfriend loiters in the basement. Here, that trademark kill is included in the film though both the staging and the victim are quite different.

Of the numerous differences between the two films, several stand out to me as being the most substantive. The first is the new film's steadfastness in Billy using an axe to punish the naughty. The visceral impact of the first film can be partly attributed to the various methods he employs to dispatch his intended victims. A string of holidays lights to strangle an abusive man, a boxcutter to gut Pamela, the aforementioned antlers, and a claw hammer are just a few of the brutal toys he's got up his sleeve, and it helps keep audiences guessing as to what will come next. By having Billy stick with his ever-present axe, it diminishes one key element that is critical to films of this nature. Secondly, in the original film, Billy's presence is genuinely disturbing. In his Santa suit, he's greasy and sweaty, and there's a crazed look in his eye. There's no inner voice or interior monologue to which we're privy that guide him to or from potential victims. Vintage Billy is a wildcard, and anyone he encounters is at extreme risk. In the latest iteration, Billy doesn't present as being disturbed and is clearly guided and motivated by a deep and sonorous interior voice. It directs his actions by selecting his targets, warning him of danger, and even spurring more mundane actions such as stopping in at a local greasy spoon for a cup of coffee. Not only does it remove some of the spontaneity of the horror action, but is also works to strangely absolve Billy of the murders he's committing. After all, he's just doing as he's told - he may not actually want to kill. Thirdly, the original film was willing to wallow in a bit of trashiness, mixing some gratuitous nudity into Billy's bloody business and the presence of the nuns adds the potential for an additional level of kinkiness, although that never materializes. Billy is immediately smitten with Pamela the instant he first sees her in the Thunderbird during the new film's first act. But despite their relationship, and a few young women dressed in provocative Santa suits, the 2025 picture is decidedly chaste.

Silent Night, Deadly Night Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Silent Night, Deadly Night 4K possesses a solid enough 2160p presentation that strangely lacks HDR or Dolby Vision to document and relay the bloody festivities of the murderous Billy and the strange community where the film is set. Shot digitally with film grain obviously added in post, the feature posses a filmic look that intimates that of an older film while still retaining a more modern feel. With the film's action taking place around the Christmas season there are no shortage of yellows, blues, and especially reds on display in the the lights and decorations that adorn the town, though the film has a slightly desaturated palette. Still, given the fact that the film's protagonist does most of his murderous work dressed in a Santa suit, reds are most frequently and routinely on display, and present with a pleasing but not outlandish amount of pop. Blood effects, also routinely visible in copious amounts, are a satisfyingly sticky deep red. Fine detail levels are best observed in close-ups delivering precise fine lines, stubble and make-up particulars, though mid- and long-range shots see a slight step down in that regard, such as when the bus that Billy rides into Hackett passes a field and the vegetation isn't as precisely rendered as one would hope. Given an intentionally gritty and a grindhouse-inflected aesthetic, this lack of precision is somewhat explainable, as is the therefore presumably purposeful blooming that is visible around light sources in certain scenes and providing them with a softer, hazier look, though this effect is not consistently applied. Whites can be quite impressive, and blacks can be deep and inky, but crush occasionally becomes an issue in certain scenes, such as when the young Billy visits his grandfather in the nursing home and the room's darkened interior confronts the viewer with shadowy depths are that are relatively impenetrable. It's also noticeable in the car's interior during the important scene that follows, and at a few other points throughout the film such as during the final fight which I won't spoil with a description here. However, given the other things going on in the image such as the occasional softness and intermittent and likely intentional blooming, a case could be made that Nelson didn't want those darkened areas to be observable that these moments are a directorial choice meant to put the film in line with its origins rather than a defect. Skin tones are healthy throughout. The presentation looks extremely similar to that of the Blu-ray and the discs' identical scores reflect that.

Silent Night, Deadly Night Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is a fitting and workmanlike companion for the film. Like the video presentation, the track doesn't dazzle, but it handles things commendably. The track is often rather front-focused and is not consistently immersive. Instead, the film picks it's moments to surround the viewer with music from the underscoring, environmental and ambient sounds from things like the hockey practice and the Christmas party that Billy crashes, and the voice in Billy's head which is a recurring and insistent presence. The visions Billy periodically endures are also typically accompanied by musical and effects stings that attack the viewer from all angles. So, too, does the voice in Billy's head move about the field from one occurrence to the next, sometimes being placed in the front, and other times in one or the other of the surrounds. The effect can be a bit disorienting and unsettling, but it does a fair enough job momentarily giving the viewer the sense of what it's like to be Billy. Sound effects are authentically rendered and supported with enough bass to allow axe blows and gunshots to hit their targets with convincing authority. Dialogue is clean and is reproduced without defect or anomaly.

Silent Night, Deadly Night Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This release includes only a very slight selection of extras that wouldn't even fill the smallest of stockings. They are as below.

• 'Slient Night, Deadly Night': Unwrapping a New Legacy (10.58) - Director Mike P. Nelson, stunt coordinator Kristen Sawatzky, stars Rohan Campbell and Ruby Modine, and producers Scott Schneid and Dennis Whitehead (both of whom were executive producers on the original) are on hand to quickly discuss the origins of the project, the reimagining of the tale, and the spin that Nelson put on the material. Casting is also a topic of conversation, as are character sketches, stunts, and effects work. While the behind-the-scenes glimpses are interesting, the segment is not lengthy enough to dig beneath the surface of any given subject.

• Trailer (1.28)

Silent Night, Deadly Night Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The original Silent Night, Deadly Night was a sleazy, nasty, bloody slice of fruitcake, which isn't going to be to everyone's taste, but for those who enjoy it as I do, they'll relish an annual taste. The new film, while bloody and boasting a greater overall body count than its predecessor, has a different different agenda, complete with a Billy who audiences won't feel as guilty rooting for, even if the film is a little cluttered with one storyline too many for it's roughly 90-minute runtime. Still, Rohan Campbell handled the action of the story well, and Ruby Modine's occasionally unhinged performance proves she's one to watch. Featuring some excellent practical effects and wisely choosing to cut its own path, there is some chatter about a potential sequel and the film's ending provides the perfect segue for such an eventuality. Until such time as a new installment arrives, viewers will have to content themselves with this film, and Silent Night, Deadly Night comes recommended.