Season's greetings, flapjacks! I have one last “bloody” gift nestled under the tree for you to unwrap, and of course it’s Christmas themed. See what a nice guy I am? Toiling away on Christmas Eve in this dump of a pancake joint, putting up with Delores’ constant nagging that they’re closed and to get out, all to close out the year with another “Bloody” themed Short Stack. As Courage the Cowardly Dog says, “The things I do for love,” …and money. Did I mention to support the site, YouTube channel, and podcast on Patreon at www.patreon.com/themadpancaker? Oh, only every chance I get, you say? Well, look, it’s either that or work at Arby’s, a fate worse than death. But enough plugging and gripping, because we have another horror film to review.
Now what movie to review, let’s see… well, there’s Blood Beat, but that’s “blood” and not “bloody,” hmm… Oh, I know! 1972’s Silent Night, Bloody Night, starring horror notables Patrick O’Neal (The Stuff, The Stepford Wives (1975)), Mary Woronov (Eating Raoul, Chopping Mall), and horror legend John Carridine. Things already look promising for this stocking stuffer, so let’s dig in!
Did I say things looked promising? Because we are greeted with some exposition dump narration from Mary Woronov about the history of this old mansion, and that its owner was burned alive, being ruled an accident. But was it? I’m sure that’s not going to matter later. Actually, the opening narration is spectacular and well delivered, setting the creepy tone for… Deathouse? What the hell, title card!? I thought I was watching Silent Night, Bloody Night? Yeah, this is another one of those movies that has several alternate titles.
We hop in Arch’s DeLorean and travel back to the future, where Mary Woronov, the daughter of the town mayor, passes a motorist stranded on the side of the after his car broke down. When she refuses to stop, he unleashes his inner Wooley and goes apeshit, shattering the windows with his tire iron. Maybe it was for the best that she didn’t give him a lift.
This unlucky and unstable motorist is Jeremy Butler, grandson of the aforementioned immolated mansion owner. He’s returned to sell the house to the mayor and town associates and has sent his attorney and girlfriend ahead to present his offer to them. Most notable among them is John Carradine’s character, Towman, the mute owner of the town newspaper who comically rings a bell to communicate. I’m glad it works for him; I keep ringing this bell for some service, but Delores just keeps shouting “We’re closed!” at me. Maybe I should head across the street to the gas station like Scary Perry. Never mind, that place is a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode. Do you have any idea how many horror movies have a gas station explode in them?
Ding! Okay, John, we get it, you have a bell and like to ring it every chance you get, just like how I like to plug my Patreon.
The attorney and his girlfriend head to the empty mansion, or so it seems. However, before they can commence the foreplay, they are met with foul play, as a black gloved killer brutally murders them with an axe. Then, he starts to make creepy phone calls to the all the community leaders, claiming to be the daughter of the mansion owner. Wait, creepy phone calls on Christmas? I didn’t put in Black Christmas (1974) by mistake, did I?
The chances of this black gloved killer being Ivan Rassimov are greater than zero. Just saying.
Apparently, the pillars of the community hide a dark secret, as does that ancient dwelling, and the killer has returned to taunt them and exact his revenge, luring them one by one toward the house and slaughtering them. Meanwhile, the mayor’s daughter and Jeremy Butler slowly investigate and unravel the mysteries of that abandoned estate, discovering the horrible secrets that it hides. An amazing sepia tone flashback reveals all, divulging the actual circumstances surrounding the death of Jermey’s grandfather. But who is the mysterious black gloved killer? Is it the erratic Jeremy Butler, one or more of the town notables eliminating their coconspirators, or does a far greater and more bizarre twist await us at the finale?
The sepia flashback reveals what the darkness hides... or just makes it darker.
Silent Night, Bloody Night is an excellent proto-slasher that oozes with eerie atmosphere. An effective, tense score lends a sense of unease as the story unfolds. The quirky characters are especially rememberable and the dialogue the actors deliver is top notch and surprisingly well written for such a low budget affair. The film is very giallo-esque and like many slashers borrows heavily from the genre: POV shots, a black gloved killer, and mysterious, unsettling phone calls from an anonymous killer. For a movie with “bloody” in the title, the gore is rather light, mostly utilizing cut aways while flashing back to blood splattered on the victims. However, this isn’t a knock since the scenes are quite effective and many great horror movies use this approach. Overall, Silent Night, Bloody Night is an excellent horror movie that I would love to unwrap on Christmas morning. Plus, it’s in the public domain, so you can watch it for free on YouTube, which I recommend because the version on Tubi looks like trash by comparison.
Well flapjacks, that concludes this year’s run of Bloody Short Stacks. There were a few films that I didn’t have time to review, including the giallo The Case of the Bloody Iris (a film I really wanted to talk about and highly recommend). Still, I hope you had as much fun this year as I did. 2024 was a rough year for me (and that’s not including Delores’ terrible service), so here’s to a better 2025, filled with many Short Stack horror movie reviews. Hopefully, some of my other side projects come to fruition too, so keep an eye on this website, my socials (I’m @TheMadPancaker pretty much everywhere), and my YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/@themadpancaker) for the latest content and updates. That’s all for now, and thanks again for reading. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, flapjacks!
Overall Rating: 4 and ½ Pancakes
