By George & Josh Bate
The first of four secret screenings at Fantastic Fest 2025 saw Christmas come early in Austin this year. Silent Night, Deadly Night, a remake of the 1984 holiday slasher, was screened ahead of its theatrical release on December 12, 2025 and, much to our delight, may just be the most pleasant surprise of the year.
From director Mike P. Nelson (Wrong Turn (2021), The Domestics), Silent Night, Deadly Night follows Billy Chapman (played by Halloween Ends’ Rohan Campbell), a disturbed young man drifting without much direction in life. Billy’s troubles come from a traumatic childhood, which saw him witness the murder of his parents at the hands of a man dressed in a Santa Clause outfit. Years later in adulthood, Billy turns to violence every Christmas, killing unsuspecting victims in a Santa Clause outfit just like his parents’ slayer.
The original Silent Night, Deadly Night is far from a great film, but many viewers (including ourselves) have a particular reverence for it. The acting may be poor and the concept rather unoriginal, and yet there is something indescribably fun and funny about the movie. The array of sequels that followed devolved into sillier and sillier territory, with Part 2 regarded by many as one of the worst movies of all time (despite gifting us with this legendary meme). Given the track record for this franchise, the highest expectations were for another unabashedly fun, silly slasher romp and not much else. In a truly surprising turn, however, Nelson’s Silent Night, Deadly Night takes itself seriously, with a complex lead, endearing romance, and clever spin on the original film’s concept.
Despite the inherently goofy idea of a serial killer dressed as Santa Claus who kills every Christmas season, Nelson treats his remake more as a contemplative character study than a run-of-the-mill slasher. The film still knows how to have fun with its concept, featuring plenty of crowd-pleasing blood and guts to feast on along the way, but finds itself most compelling when examining Billy himself. Silent Night, Deadly Night takes its time peeling back the layers of Billy’s psyche and motivations, leaving most of these creative reveals for the final act. Until then, Billy is shrouded in mystery. His first scene as an adult clues us in that he is a killer, that is for sure. And he engages in a conversation with a deep-sounding voice in his head, not dissimilar from Eddie Brock and Venom’s back-and-forth in the Venom movies. But the depths of his psychological makeup remain an intriguing mystery that Nelson opts to slowly unravel to the audience.
The Venom-like voice in Silent Night, Deadly Night creates a tension for Billy and the audience. The voice, who Billy calls Charlie, seems to be encouraging Billy to kill on each day of the Christmas season. Lead actor Rohan Campbell finds himself covertly talking to this inner voice, which no other character can see or hear, whispering exchanges as to not arouse suspicion in those around him. It’s a smart decision that allows the audience to literally get inside Billy’s head and understand his experiences, although the context of why Billy experiences these voices is saved for a great, somewhat predictable twist nearer the end that Dexter fans in particular will love.
While the kills may be a bit few and far between, Silent Night, Deadly Night compels with its unexpectedly endearing romance. Despite being constantly accompanied by the voice in his head, Billy is lonely and desperate to find connection, even if past attempts to do so have seemingly gone awry. Upon arriving in a small town, Billy gravitates toward Pamela (played by Shameless and Happy Death Day’s Ruby Modine), a young woman who soon becomes his co-worker at a local Christmas shop. Like Billy, Pamela is troubled by her own issues as an explosive personality and inclination for outbursts gets her into all kinds of trouble. Arguably the film’s best scenes come from Billy and Ruby’s interactions as we witness their relationship grow, despite one another’s problems. Campbell and Modine share incredible, organic chemistry that makes it easy to root for them as a potential couple. As a result of their chemistry and just how endearing Billy and Pamela’s relationship is, perhaps the biggest surprise of this remake is that it works better as a holiday romance than a holiday slasher.
The slasher elements of Silent Night, Deadly Night may be a little tame in a post-Terrifier era, but they are salvaged by a sprawling kill sequence near the middle of the film. The Fantastic Fest crowd was roaring with cheers as Billy took on a particularly dislikable group of enemies after slightly breaking the fourth wall to disclose why he kills the way he does. The scene is a ton of fun and a reminder that a more captivating character study like this can also enjoy itself at times.
Whether it be when axes are slicing people up or intimate words are exchanged, Rohan Campbell triumphs as Billy Chapman. Qualms with David Gordon Green’s Halloween Ends aside, Campbell was an undoubted highlight of the movie as Michael Myer’s heir apparent (of sorts) Corey Cunningham. In Silent Night, Deadly Night, Campbell plays a similarly subdued and troubled character, but is given rich material to chew on here. After his turn in Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey earlier this year, Rohan Campbell is proving to be quite the good luck charm for horror movies of 2025.
Marking a rare element that doesn’t work as well in the remake, the film also features another serial killer besides Billy. The identity of this serial killer remains unknown until it is revealed near the end in what is one of the more predictable reveals we can think of. The idea of another serial killer in the mix is interesting and, if focused on more, could have something even more unique to the proceedings. Unfortunately, the second serial killer plot remains too peripheral for much of the runtime and resolves underwhelmingly.
Before it wraps up, Silent Night, Deadly Night takes yet another ambitious swing that pays off. The film introduces some lore to the story that could have easily missed the mark and made it feel silly like the original movies in the franchise. This is ultimately not the case though as the lore is well-explained, logically fits into the story being told, and actually affords the movie with a genuinely emotional conclusion.
VERDICT: 8/10
Silent Night, Deadly Night may just be our pleasant surprise of 2025. Unlike the previous films in the franchise, Mike P. Nelson’s remake takes itself seriously and plays more like a contemplative character study than a traditional slasher. Rohan Campbell does excellently as Billy Campbell, a disturbed young man whose full psychological make-up and motivations interestingly reveal themselves more slowly over the course of the runtime. Interacting with a Venom-like inner voice gives audiences a chance to get literally inside the mind of Billy and care for him on a deeper level, while the romance that blossoms between him and Ruby Modine’s Pamela proves to be surprisingly endearing and organic. Although the slasher elements may be a bit tame for the post-Terrifier era, Nelson still knows how to have fun with his movie, which especially comes through in a crazy, sprawling, on-the-nose kill sequence in the middle of the film. A subplot involving a second serial killer remains too peripheral for much of the film and resolves far too predictably, but an ambitious swing to introduce added lore to the story pays off. Silent Night, Deadly Night takes the barebones of the 1984 holiday slasher and puts a clever spin on it, one that sees the film subvert expectations as a more dramatic character study than run-of-the-mill slasher.
Silent Night, Deadly Night hits theaters on December 12, 2025
