Horror Movie Review: Silent Night, Bloody Night 2: Revival (2015)

Directed by Theodore Gershuny, starring Patrick O’Neal and Mary Woronov, Silent Night, Bloody Night was released in 1972. It originally went under the name of Night of the Dark Full Moon and was also retitled as Death House later on. Still, most know it under the Silent Night, Bloody Night name as this helps tie it into Christmas.

Promptly forgotten about upon release, the film fell into the public domain as it was never registered with the United States Copyright Office and has slowly garnered a cult following over the decades.

We’re not sure why. It’s not a good film and you can read our review here.

It was then remade in 2013 as Silent Night, Bloody Night: The Homecoming before writer John Klyza and director Dustin Ferguson came along to make a direct sequel to the original movie called Silent Night, Bloody Night 2: Revival.

Angelica (Julia Farrell) and her brother James (Luc Bernier) stay at a small bed and breakfast in East Willard having travelled to visit a loved one’s grave. There, they meet some of the locals and learn of a series of murders that took place back in 1972. A series of murders that are seemingly connected to a local legend about a killer Santa, and their own past.

Digging around unearths some dark secrets though and a fresh set of murders. Will they be able to find out the truth and stop the cycle of death?

Oof, this is a rough watch. Not just because it’s extremely low-budget, and has poor visuals and sound. No, it’s a rough watch because it utilises so much footage from the original movie. This isn’t just the odd flashback smattered here and there, we’re talking about extensive replays of the 1972 horror.

There seems to be a desperation to ensure every person who sees this knows exactly how it ties into the original. Yet, it goes overboard with it and the constant cutting to the original’s footage just upends this film’s story. One that isn’t exactly captivating, even if credit can be given for the attempt to make a coherent sequel.

The cast do ok too. Or at least the main cast do. Nothing particularly outstanding and their characters are basic, but you will remember their names at least. The supporting cast are mostly awful though.

It’s an ugly film and the effects really show just how low the budget was. Even then, it’s hard to forgive because there’s simply no excuse for so much of the cheapness. Especially when you consider how much footage of the original movie was used. It makes you question where money was being spent.

If you’re a big fan of the original, you might enjoy Silent Night, Bloody Night 2: Revival more because it has the same feel. Everyone else is unlikely to find this anything more than a boorish chore.