Ask anyone about the SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT series, and
they will probably laugh, then either defend it or decry it, possibly offering
the same examples to back their pro or con stance ("It's awful, it has a
killer Santa!"/"It's amazing, it has a killer Santa!"). But
they might be surprised to discover that the series has five installments (six
with the recent remake), as it's the sort of title that a lot of people know
but haven't actually sat down to watch, let alone follow it to direct-to-video
land with the bulk of its sequels (only Part 2 played theatrically, and barely
at that). It didn't help that the lesser known entries were given a poor
release on DVD via Lionsgate, who dumped VHS transfers of the third, fourth,
and fifth installments onto a multi-pack of bare-bones discs and slapped a
killer Santa image on the cover, despite the fact that none of the films
contained within featured a killer Santa.
The tradition of the Christmas horror movie is a long and
storied one, a yule tide storybook that’s marked with half-realized nightmares,
a shallow talent pool and, just, terrible judgment. From snowmen possessed by
serial killers to murderous Saint Nicks, there’s no tradition too treasured or
figure too holy for horror movies to tear apart and mock for our collective
enjoyment.
HOME SWEET HOME (playing Brooklyn's 
Although many films in the 1970s dealt with the horror of
the Vietnam War and the affected soldiers’ difficult return to “normal” life in
the United States (LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, DEATHDREAM, TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE),
BLOOD FREAK (
“A big novelty surprise comes with each purchase,” Peter
Cushing slyly says as The Proprietor in FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE (1973). If he had
a Snidely Whiplash mustache to twirl, he would. Were he a lesser actor, he
would rub his palms together with evil glee. But he’s Peter f’n Cushing, and
all he needs is a glance. Even from across the decades and, well, beyond the
grave, he’s still got gravitas.