In 1950, William Butler ran from his house on fire, apparently self inflicted (possibly by accident). He leaves his house to his Grandson, Jeffery, on condition that the house be left exactly as it is "As a monument to inhumanity".
Over the years the house lay empty, and developed a reputation for being haunted.
Eventually in 1972, Just ahead of coming back to the small town himself, Jeffery sends a lawyer to visit the towns elders, who have wanted to buy the house for some time. At last Jeffery is willing to sell - for a fraction of the market value - provided that can pay, in cash, by noon the next day... And suddenly a killer is on the lose.
Is Jeffery the killer? Has William returned from the grave? Why is the killer, clearly a man, calling himself 'Marianne'? And what other secrets does the house hold?
A bit of a proto-slasher this one, and one of the first Holiday Horrors, predating even Black Christmas (Both were released in 1974, but this one had been shelved following completion for 2 years already by then). For all that it must surely have gone on to influence movies that followed, it's own influences are clear too; Twitch of the Death Nerve (1971) can be seen all over it.
Despite the title, Christmas doesn't cast much of a showdown over the film; it's mentioned in passing that it was the 24th of December when William burned to death, but aside from the constant use of 'silent night' on the film's score, there's really no connection to the holiday.
The acting is solid throughout, as one would expect from a cast that features Patrick O'Neal, John Carradine, and a handful of Warhol alumni. The biggest surprise from a credits point of view is co-producer, none other that "Uncle Lloyd" Kaufman, in his prey Tromaville days!
The primary mystery is a fun one, although predictable, but the full backstory as to the whys comes way out of left field and is explained entirely in exposition, in a way that only films of this era seem to be able to get away with.
Most releases of this film (including the one I watched) are from a grainy public domain print, which many would claim is in need of a restoration. I, however, found that the grain and occasional negative damage added to its gritty feel... Some movies were never meant to be pristine, and this is one of them!
If I ever win the lottery, and buy that revival cinema I've always promised myself, Silent Night, Bloody Night is going on a double bill one night with Don't Look In The Basement.
Disclaimer:
If you look through the archives, you'll see that I've been using "Bought from Poundland" as a tag since at least 2011.
At the end of October 2013 I decided that all of my 2014 movies would be purchased from Poundland, and began buying up horror movies, to ensure I would have enough come October 2014.
In March 2014 I took a part time job at Poundland.
In accordance with the companies social media policy, in September 2014 I contacted Poundland's social media team to check that I would be okay to carry on with my plan to use the "bought from Poundland" tag.
I have been given the go-ahead on condition that I make the following clear:
All the reviews on this blog are entirely the opinion of Will Tingle, the reviews are not endorsed by Poundland in any way and (as should be obvious from some of the more scathing ones) are certainly not reviews I have been paid to write.
In short: The views expressed in this blog are mine alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Poundland or it's owners, shareholders, or management.
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