Silent Night, Deadly Night: Director and Star on Revamping a Cult Christmas Slasher

Back in 1984, Silent Night, Deadly Night made waves as one of the most notorious Christmas horror flicks, stirring up plenty of controversy for its brutal take on holiday traditions. Now, the cult classic has been given a fresh spin, with Cineverse—the same mob behind Terrifier 3—bringing a new, equally gory version to the screen. The remake had its first outing at Fantastic Fest this year, where it was met with a warm reception from horror fans and Christmas film lovers alike.

Shifting the Tone: From Bleak to Bonkers

We caught up with director Mike P. Nelson and lead actor Ruby Modine to chat about their approach to revamping the infamous slasher. Nelson explained his vision:

I wanted to make a fun, cosy, warm Christmas film. I’ve always wanted to make a Christmas horror film. This was the perfect opportunity. When Brad Miska came to me and was like, “Do you have a take for this?” I was like, “Give me a beat, let me think of something.”

He’s known for thrillers and horror, but this time, he was keen to inject a bit of heart and warmth into the chaos. Rather than focusing on the original’s grim themes of trauma and madness, Nelson leaned into a more fantastical, even romantic, direction.

The first film had that weird tone, right? It was a very strange film tonally. I wanted to do something similar with tone, but not the same way that film did. So for this one, it was more leaning into the fun tropes of Christmas films and that kind of stuff. But then you cut to a scene and there’s an old man getting an axe in his head and you’re like, “Oh, okay, that’s what we’re watching. Oh, somebody’s just gotten their head blown up with a shotgun! For the love of God!” So it was always jumping between those two things and having that two-sidedness that kept crossing over each other.

Romance and Gore: Finding the Balance

One of the biggest changes in this new take is the focus on romance, which Nelson reckons is what grounds the story.

To me, that’s what anchors the whole thing. It’s how we fall in love with both Pam and Billy. It’s how we learn about them as people. It’s two people dealing with demons.

Modine chimed in with a bit of behind-the-scenes banter, recalling a particularly gruesome effects moment:

I just want to backtrack to one thing, because the head that he was describing that cracked open. He was sat in a chair in hair and make-up one day, and I’ve never screamed louder in my life. And I’ll never forget, the head of wardrobe was like, “You’re on a horror movie set, Ruby, get it together.” I just want to make a shout-out because the effects on this film were legendary.

She added that the romance element is what gives the film its feel-good edge:

But in regard to the romance, I think it’s because love conquers all, right? We all want a feel-good film. Like Mike was saying, we all want blood and a little love. It’s a good balance. It’s like Halloween and Christmas.

Building Chemistry and Memorable Moments

Modine spoke about working with co-star Rohan Campbell, saying their on-screen chemistry came from genuine camaraderie and plenty of laughs off set.

Well, Rohan is an incredible human being to begin with, an incredible artist. He’s very committed. But if we weren’t on set working with Mike, we were together working on the dialogue. We were creating secrets between each other. We were challenging each other, creating backstories. So, the chemistry that people are talking about is because it was coming from a genuine place of fun. And how lucky are we that number one, we get to do what we love, but number two, you’re working with people that are so happy to be there and excited to be doing what you’re doing? So yeah, that chemistry came from endless amounts of laughter.

As for the film’s wildest scenes, Nelson said he always planned to throw in a moment that would have punters talking.

Honestly, from the start of the idea, it was one of the key moments in the story. I knew kind of at the midpoint that I wanted to do something that was completely off the rails. I was like, “If I’m gonna do a Silent Night, Deadly Night film, there’s got to be this moment where shit gets nuts.”

He wanted these over-the-top sequences to reveal more about the main character, Billy, and get the audience on his side.

The thing is, there’s putting a scene in a film in which crazy stuff happens, and okay, great, it’s a crazy scene, and then we move on. Then there’s putting a crazy scene in a film that actually gives us perspective on who our character is — who our lead is. In this case, with Billy, it really makes you understand his predicament that he’s in a little bit more, but also that he’s got a strange moral principle to him. I think it’s at that turning point, where you’re like, “I’m Team Billy. I get it. I want to see him out to the end. I hope he wins.”

Carving Out a Place in Christmas Horror

Asked about where this new version fits in the “Santa horror” tradition, Nelson said he hopes it becomes a staple for both horror buffs and Christmas film fans.

I hope that it’s a film that Christmas film lovers can put on during the holidays and be like, “Yep, this is one of them.” And not even just horror film people. I’m a huge genre fan. I love horror films, and I’m always gonna watch my Christmas horror films, but I also sit down and I watch my Christmas films during this time of year. And I wanted to make one that blended it together and could be both and just be that fun romp — not to be cheesy, but that kind of brings joy.

Silent Night, Deadly Night is set to hit cinemas on December 12.