So what does a town's parade of Santa's,
a Sheriff who wants to be in an action film, a few excuses to show
women half dressed, and a guy dressed in a Santa Suit with a really
long naughty list and love of power tools have in common?
They're the center of a fun little
movie called “Silent Night.” The premise is simple, a Wisconsin
town has a parade of Santa's every year. This year though people are
being murdered by a man wearing a Santa costume. So we get a look at
the seamy underside of small town life, see a lot of bloodshed, a few
tits and Malcolm McDowell chewing some scenery. All in all a pretty
good combination for the night when you need some popcorn fun in your
viewing diet.
It feels like someone said
“Hey, lets make a movie like Twin Peaks, except make it a slasher
film.” So they found a genre savvy writer with a sense of humor, (Jayson Rothwell) and
a director willing to have some fun with the material (Stephen C
Miller). Then turned loose a casting director capable of finding
Malcolm McDowell's agent number and off they went.
I'll say right now that film is one of
the most enjoyable pieces of visual junk food I've had in a while. The
bulk of the plot is carried by Jaime King who plays sheriff deputy
Aubrey Bradimore. A young lady with issues with her self confidence
and her confidence in the world. None of which is made any easier for
her by the events of the film. She does a really great job of
anchoring the film. Never really going over the top until it's
needed. Her portrayal feels real to the idea of anyone caught in a situation involving a crazy person, large amounts of blood death and carnage, and of course being surrounded by far too many men in Santa suits.
Speaking of over the top, let's discuss Malcolm McDowell. It's pretty obvious the director told him to act in
a completely different film than everyone else. While everyone is in
a suspenseful slasher flick, he's acting in some sort of Dirty Harry
film. Showing us this small town sheriff who has finally gotten some
of the action he always fantasized about. So he goes from one red
herring to another, all the while loving the chance to bash in a door
or possibly draw his weapon. For a man so well known for his earlier art house work I love that McDowell never feels like he's looking down on the material. It feels like he too is on the joke and loving playing along. The energy he brings is infectious and while it doesn't drive the film per se, it does add to its odd warped humor.
The films direction is quite competent.
Nothing to be overly excited about, Stephen Miller has the good sense
to let the story tell itself, and not get to wrapped up in trying to
create a singular visual style that distracts from the story being
told like some horror directors. (I'm looking at you Rob Zombie!)
Instead he has fun with the genre. Playing up its conventions playing
on it's tropes; like the last girl, and using certain perspective
shots that we're all quite familiar with, and a few that are outside
the usual to keep you guessing.
The effects in the film are well done,
playing to the slasher angle, theres plenty of blood. Most of the
effects are of the practical variety with some CGI thrown in.
Thankfully the CGI isn't too noticeable. The practical effects are
well done, and the blood when it flows, does so copiously.
In the end I have to say Silent Night
was a fun surprise of a horror film. The deaths in it often feel
karmic. (With a couple of exceptions), the writing is true to the
form but smart, and the acting is well above average. If you're in
the mood for a good popcorn film, you could do a lot worse than this.
Links for the Trailer and the related
tropes.
The Final Girl trope in horror films;
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FinalGirl
No comments:
Post a Comment