Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2

Director - Lee Harry (Street Soldiers)
Starring - Eric Freeman (Children of the Corn), James Newman (The X-Files), and Elizabeth Kaitan (Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood)
Release Date - 1987
Genre - Horror
Tagline(s) - "The nightmare is about to begin... again!" and "Prayers Won't Save You In The Silent Part Of This Night..."
Format - DVD (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

      Slasher film are the staple of any horror fans holiday viewing regardless of what holiday it is. Slashers are known for taking days of celebration and turning them into a reason to see carnage and bloodshed.  That is one of the many reasons I love slashers so much.  No day is off limits to the mayhem slashers have to offer.  That brings me to the 1987 sequel to one of my favorite slashers Silent Night, Deadly Night.  My first viewing of SNDN occurred a few summers back and I loved it.  Unfortunately, I was never to see any of the sequels until this year when I was able to find a double feature of both films real cheap.  I could not pass it up and grabbed it.
     The film follows Ricky (Freeman) who is the brother of Billy from the original Silent Night, Deadly Night.  He was adopted after Billy's death and tried to live a normal life but deep down he had the same dark desire to kill just like his brother.  Ricky is being questioned by a doctor in a mental hospital and he recounts the horrendous events that befell his brother and what happened to him after that day.  He recounts all the deaths that were by the hands of his brother and the few he committed before falling in love.  His relationship with Jennifer (Kaitan) was perfect until her ex came into the picture.  Ricky tried to hide his impulse to kill but that did not last long.  He snaps one day and kills her ex while she watches.  She is disgusted with the act and screams at him sending him on a murdering rampage...on GARBAGE DAY!
     I love sequels because they tend to be a continuation of a film that I love...or enjoy for the most part. They give you more of the story you like but on a different (usually lower) level as the original.  As much as I love the original SNDN it was only a matter of time until I watched one of the sequels but I wish it wasn't this one.  This film is a direct sequel that uses more footage from the original than it does new footage.  That is a cheap way to pull in fans of the original.  After watching this I felt ripped off.  I was under the impression I would be watching a brand new movie but I was dead wrong.  What short amount we do get that is original is so bad that it is unintentionally funny.  The acting in this one is forced by the entire cast with the exception of Elizabeth Kaitan.  I am not a fan of her but she is the only one in the film that actually made her character feel natural.  The story is just more of the same of the original but the brothers have switched places.  Nothing original and the fact they used footage from the original for more than half the film really killed this for me.  Finally, those looking for great special effects and on screen kills will be disappointed with this one.  The film had a few good kills, with the exception of Garbage Day, but the rest were really nothing worth noting.  Overall, this film is one of the worst sequels I have seen and that is really saying something.  However, I still recommend watching this one just for the Garbage Day segment alone.