Silent Night, Deadly Night: Should you watch or skip the slasher remake? A viewer's guide

Silent Night, Deadly Night is a film in the slasher genre, and it was released on December 12, 2025. Prior to that, it had its world premiere at the Fantastic Fest. The film is written and directed by Mike P. Nelson, and it's a remake of the eponymous 1984 title. Here's the official synopsis as per IMDb:

"A child witnesses his parents' murder by a man in a Santa suit. Years later, as an adult, he dons a Santa costume himself and embarks on a violent quest for retribution against those responsible for the traumatic event from his childhood."

Let's explore if you should watch it or not.

A viewer's guide to Silent Night, Deadly Night

Silent Night, Deadly Night was released in the theaters on December 12, 2025. As of this writing, the film holds an 84% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Most of the critical reviews have generally been positive. This hints that the horror flick is watchable for people who enjoy the horror genre, and blood and gore.

Now we know that critics' views are mostly favorable towards this remake. But whether you should watch it or skip it also depends on your taste. If you liked the original film and are a fan of the genre in general, you should go for it.

However, if you distance yourself from gory stuff, this film isn't for you. Interestingly, the original 1984 film had met with mixed responses and was even pulled from the theaters. One reason for the controversy was because of its depiction of Santa Claus in a negative manner. The plot is a rehash of the original with small changes made to suit today's audiences. So, to conclude, the ratings point out that it might be a fun watch for horror fans. In 2012, the first remake was made as Silent Night.

Silent Night, Deadly Night is produced by Jeremy Torrie, Tanya Brunel, Scott Schneid, Dennis Whitehead, Jamie R. Thompson and Erik Bernard. The production banners include Wonderwheel Entertainment, New Dimension, Rebel 6 Films, White Bear Films and StudioCanal. Nick Junkersfeld is the cinematographer, while Geoff Klein is the editor. The trio of Blitz/Berlin has composed the score.

In a Rue Morgue interview, director Mike Nelson spoke about his approach of making something original despite it being a remake.

"I have to make something original. I can’t go back and just do the same thing again, even if I’m pulling you in to begin with, using some similarities. First and foremost, I just need to make a movie that I care about and that I feel is original. That’s key, and that doesn’t always work for everybody. Since Wrong Turn, I’ve been coming to terms with that more and more because, for some reason, I keep getting asked to jump onto these IPs. But I gotta go in and tell a unique story, and it’s gotta come from me."

Silent Night, Deadly Night is playing in the theaters.