Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987)

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987) (see below for alternate cover and preview images)

Directed by Lee Harry
Starring: Eric Freeman, James Newman, Elizabeth Kaitan
 
IMDb   3.6/10             Rotten Tomatoes 0%              Metacritic NO DATA

I had to start writing this as I watched the movie tonight.  I felt so cheated out of a sequel, I immediately got online and started looking up the film.  I’m glad I did that.  Otherwise, I would have blamed the actual filmmakers for short-changing us.  But instead, I guess it was mostly the studio and budget issues.
 
That being the case, the film relied heavily on regurgitating footage from the first movie. What I read was that the studio originally wanted the first movie edited again and passed off for a sequel.  The director refused and demanded a budget for a new movie.  He was granted minimal funds and minimal salary.  And not only did they reuse original film footage, they “cleaned” it up as well.  They took time to show you all the nudity scenes but, edited them to barely show anything.  The movie is supposed to focus on Ricky and his killing spree.
 
The situation that set Billy off in the first one sets Ricky off in the second one.  I have to say, it’s not Freeman’s acting that is so bad, it’s just his speaking ability in the movie is horrific.  I can plainly see that it is supposed to be psychotic and scary but, it is incredibly forced and not even up to B-rate par.  The whole performance of trying to come across to the viewers as cold, heartless, unfeeling, maniacal, whatever you want to call it, is obviously one he struggled with and definitely overplayed.
 
The guy that played Manson in Helter Skelter was WAY BETTER at it.  Seemed to come almost natural to him.  The only time the Ricky character ever seems natural is when he is talking about Jennifer, a girl he apparently loved.
 
One very clever part of the movie is they use the first movie as the show Ricky and Jennifer see at the movies.  
 
Other than that, this movie is a bust.  The kills are bad, the dialogue is bad, the acting is bad, there are almost no special effects, little to no blood…just a total letdown.  Ricky couldn’t be less scary if he were walking around with a teddy bear clutched in his hand.  They couldn’t even get the facts from the first movie correct during the recollection process in the second movie.  Somehow, the deaf pastor who dressed as Santa for the orphanage children and was shot in front of Ricky all of a sudden becomes a deaf janitor instead.  I’m not sure how we could get confused between a pastor and a janitor but, you would think they would at least get the story straight.
 
It really seems that this whole film was the project that no one wanted any part of, no one took seriously and no one enjoyed making.  The poor guy that played Ricky basically dropped out of the limelight after this movie came out.  Bless his heart, it’s not like anyone who saw this film who jump up and say “I want that guy for my next film!”.
 
I will say that I liked the ending.  I’d say the last fifteen or twenty minutes of the movie was good.  I can’t much say that I recommend this film to anyone but, if you can take the majority of the movie, the ending is truly the good part.
 
RATINGS
1.5/5 Stars