Silent Night, Deadly Night. Every Christmas, he dons a Santa Claus costume and kills one person a day to avenge the death of his parents and grandfather who were brutally murdered by a man who also wore a Santa Claus costume. Writer/director Mike P. Nelson has made a wildly entertaining, suspenseful and gory horror thriller. He knows how to hook the audience with a prologue that sets the tone while providing the audience with a taste of the bloodshed to come. There are many, perhaps too many, flashbacks to Billy's traumatic childhood when he witnessed the man in the Santa Claus costume killing his parents and grandfather---it's clear from the beginning that those painful memories haunt him and serves as the catalyst of him becoming a serial killer. Meanwhile, Is he schizophrenic? That's up to the audience to interpret, but it would be fair to discern that because he hears the voice of the killer in his head that tells him who to kill.
Fortunately, Silent Night, Deadly Night doesn't just bombard the audience with blood and guts. It doesn't hold back on showing the grisly kills, but there's more to the film than just shock value and horror; it's also somewhat of a character study, and there's romance between Billy and Pam who has more to her than meets the eye which makes their relationship more interesting. It also benefits from solid performances by Rohan Campbell and Ruby Modine who manage to breathe life into their roles. Fortunately, Silent Night, Deadly Night never becomes clunky, dull or tedious, so it's an above average B-movie that holds a candle to the 1984 original. At a running time of 1 hour and 37 minutes, it opens nationwide on December 12th, 2025 via Cineverse.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
Fackham Hall, directed by Jim O'Hanlon, is a delightfully zany, irreverent and hysterically funny parody that will leave you in stitches. The screenplay by co-writers Jimmy Carr, Patrick Carr, Andrew Dawson, Steve Dawson and Tim Inman sparkles with tongue-in-cheek humor, dark humor, slapstick humor and wit while poking fun at everything from "Downton Abbey" series to The Lord of the Rings to Agatha Christie. None of the jokes will be spoiled here, and try to avoid watching the trailer which spoils some of the surprises. If you like British humor, Fackham Hall will be just your cup of tea. The entire ensemble cast from Thomasin McKenzie to Damian Lewis to Tom Felton, Jimmy Carr and Anna Maxwell Martin get a chance to shine. Blink and you'll miss a joke that may or may not go over your head the first time around, you might have to rewatch it. Yes, there's somewhat of a plot, similar to the plot of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale with the added bonus of a murder mystery. There are some surprisingly tender moments, though, so this isn't a parody 100% of the time; if it were 100% satirical, it would've become tedious and exhausting. It's one of the funniest British comedies since A Fish Called Wanda, and a high-spirited, crowd-pleasing delight. At a running time of 1 hour and 37 minutes,Fackham Hall is now playing nationwide via Bleecker Street.
Number of times I checked my watch: 1
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