All 7 Silent Night, Deadly Night Movies, Ranked

The horror genre is filled with franchises that see monstrous threats returning again and again in new movies over the years. Most peter out within a decade or so, but some see a much longer stretch of time between the first film and the last. Some of the top franchises, in that respect, include the likes of "Halloween" at 44 years, "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" at 48 years, and "The Exorcist" at 52 years, the latter of which has a new entry coming from Mike Flanagan coming in the next year or two.

All three of those horror franchises are iconic, and it's probably safe to say that most people have heard of the films and character and maybe even seen a few of the films. It might surprise some of you, though, to learn that another one of the longest running horror film series kicked off way back in 1984 with a Christmas horror film called "Silent Night, Deadly Night." (See where it ranks on our massive Christmas horror movie list!) 

A new film in the series, a reboot, hit theaters in 2025, making the "Silent Night, Deadly Night" franchise 41 years old now. Not bad for a mediocre little movie about a madman dressed like Santa Claus that was protested on release like no horror film since.

There are now seven movies total in the "Silent Night, Deadly Night" franchise — the original, four sequels (some in name only), and two reboots — and we're ranking them all right here.

Ricky Caldwell was shot in a hail of bullets, and while many thought he was dead, he's actually been resting comatose in a hospital bed. He's in no ordinary hospital, though. Instead he's been under the experimental care of a doctor who longs to communicate with the mass murderer, despite Ricky's obvious mental deficiencies. Deficiencies because he's a psychopath, and obvious because his exposed (and comically large) brain is currently visible beneath a clear plastic dome secured to his head. Dr. Newbury's latest attempt involves the assistance of another patient, a blind psychic named Laura. His plan works, and the two become psychically connected, but it leads to Ricky waking from his coma and stalking Laura on Christmas Eve.

As mentioned above, there are four sequels to the original film, and they're all fairly distant from the killer Santa premise. "Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out" is connected on the narrative front, albeit with a new actor in the role of Ricky (Bill Mosely), but it ditches the ax-wielding Santa angle entirely. Ricky is still offing folks in various ways, but the kills are almost entirely (and disappointingly) offscreen. Laura's sees Ricky's memories, an excuse to add flashbacks as filler, and the whole is overly chatty and ultimately pretty dull.

Ultimately, the two most interesting things about the film come down to the talents involved. While the other films are directed by filmmakers more associated with the horror genre, part five is helmed by Monte Hellman of "Two-Lane Blacktop" and "Cockfighter" fame. He's an odd choice, and he brings with him his affinity for actors who've appeared in David Lynch's "Twin Peaks" universe including Richard Beymer and Eric DaRe (not to mention having a central female named Laura).

Little Billy's late-night visit to Grampa's sanitarium ends with the old man warning him to fear Santa Claus, and that bizarre portent finds a face when a man dressed as Santa kills the boy's parents during a botched carjacking. Billy and his younger brother spend a few years in an orphanage run by nuns, some cruel and others horny, but trouble really starts when he ages out of the place and gets a job in the real world. Asked to play Santa Claus for kids at his workplace, Billy snaps and begins a killing spree across town before heading back to the orphanage with plans for one final ax murder.

The film that started it all earns points for its novel premise, but "Silent Night, Deadly Night" is little more than that. It's ultimately not all that good, but it is exactly what it says on the tin — a movie featuring a killer dressed like Santa Claus — and that's enough to make it worth a watch around the holidays. The setup and the kills are the film's high points, but even here in the first film, we're treated to filler in the form of flashbacks to earlier in the movie.

It's a pretty long setup punctuated with sex and nudity — in longstanding slasher tradition, Billy is triggered by seeing people engage in the evils of fornication — but we also get a montage about his time as the store's stock boy. Once the carnage really starts, Billy's weapons of choice include knives, axes, razor blades, Christmas lights, and even, in the film's most memorable scene, the antlers of a stuffed and mounted deer head. You know exactly what you're getting here.

A woman, engulfed in flames, jumps to her death in downtown Los Angeles, and a canny journalist suspects there's a story there. Kim's investigation leads into a community of strong women connected by a secret. That secret? They're cultists who worship at the altar of Lilith, Adam's (of Adam & Eve) first lady friend and a feminist icon. The group pulls Kim into their circle through trickery, drugs, and straight-up kidnapping, and it's not long before big, sticky larvae and even larger cockroaches start entering and leaving her body.

"Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation" is an underrated Christmas horror film, even if the Christmas content is minimal and ignores the franchise's initial killer Santa premise. The events here are unfolding at Christmas time, so that counts! And this being a Brian Yuzna film ("Society," "Bride of Re-Animator," "Return of the Living Dead 3"), the horrors on display frequently take the form of slimy, wriggling monstrosities, like the aforementioned larvae worm and cockroaches, as well as some body horror, like hotdog-like fingers a full 32 years before "Everything Everywhere All at Once." Practical effects maestro Screaming Mad George is always a reliable collaborator on that front.

The film, released in the UK with the slightly more appropriate title "Bugs," is a solid, nightmarish descent into the cult's beliefs with some harrowing, surreal experiences for poor Kim. Neith Hunter, who plays Kim, endures quite a bit here and delivers a compelling performance as a woman caught up in something she can't hope to understand. Maud Adams and Alyce Beasley are among the familiar, witchy faces, while their male lackey, played by an always game Clint Howard, gets his hand and phallic mask equally dirty along the way.

Ricky watched his brother Billy gunned down by police four years ago, and now he's in custody himself. A psychiatrist intrigued by the brothers asks Ricky to share his story, and the young madman complies. He recounts the origin story that doomed them both, recalls Billy's journey to infamy, and then shares how his own homicidal tendencies began. It seems people acting naughty is his own personal trigger, and Ricky's spree includes death by electrocution, strangulation, and handgun, the last of which he uses with impunity while walking through a suburban neighborhood on garbage day.

Here's the deal: "Silent Night, Deadly Night 2" is a cheap cash-grab that fills its first thirty-seven minutes with a half hour of flashbacks from the first film. That accounts for over a third of the film's total running time, and the filmmakers should be ashamed of themselves. However, and this is important, when the film's not busy replaying footage from the earlier movie, it is a wildly entertaining Christmas romp. Ricky even goes on a date to the movies and watches the first movie. This is insane, and it earns back all the respect lost in that first half.

Much of the film's entertainment value comes in Eric Freeman's performance as Ricky. He's having an absolute blast as a deranged young man incited to violence by misbehaving people and the color red. His joy during the umbrella kill and the shooting spree are evident, and his delivery of, "Garbage day!" is unforgettable. The back half is nutty fun that balances out the ripoff of the first, and we even get a wild, near-miss car stunt. Ultimately, thanks to the abundant flashbacks recapping the first film's kills, you can skip the first film and just watch this one.

A young boy finds a wrapped present at home, but before he can open it, his stepfather sends him to bed and then opens the gift himself. Fool. The toy ball within opens up to include retractable arms that strangle the man, causing him to slip and impale himself on a fireplace poker. Could the toy have something to do with toymaker Joe Petto (Andy Rooney) and his oddball son, Pino? Hmm.

"Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker" is the final sequel to the 1984 original, and it once again strays far from the original killer Santa premise. It makes up for it, though, with its own original Christmas-related horrors while also finding a fun, meta connection to that first film in the form of Rooney's presence. He stars here as a toy maker capable of creating toys that come to life with decidedly mixed results for those who encounter them, but while his performance entertains in its excited, maniacal glee, it's also a bit ironic seeing as he was a very vocal opponent to the first film's portrayal of Santa back in the 1980s.

That's entertaining enough, but the film finds even more fun in the toys themselves. They're used to kill unsuspecting people, and one scene in particular feels like Stephen King's short story "Battleground" come to life, as toy soldiers and tanks fire explosive rounds into human flesh. (The story was previously and properly adapted for "Nightmares and Dreamscapes.") Other toys join in on the fray, including a rubber snake and a remote-controlled car with built-in razor blades, and things get even weirder when Pino's secret is revealed. He might not be a real boy, but he is a horny boy with mommy issues, so watch out.

A small Wisconsin town is heading into the holiday season unaware that this Christmas is going to be killer. A madman dressed as Santa Claus, complete with a jolly face mask, begins slaughtering citizens that he's deemed naughty, and the small police force is in a race to catch him before this holiday becomes the town's very last Christmas. There's no shortage of suspects, just as there's no shortage of sins among the victims, and Deputy Aubrey (Jaime King) discovers too late that the killer's motives have a personal connection to her and her family.

Director Steven C. Miller's filmography consists mostly of solidly made direct-to-video action and horror films with some genuine highlights among them. (His "Werewolves" is worth a watch, despite not making our best werewolf movies list.) His best film, "Silent Night," has a shorter title than its predecessors, but it has more kills, gore, and style than all of them too. It's not a comedy, but the film is clearly having fun as its characters struggle to identify and stop a killer whose murderous creativity knows no bounds. Victims are electrocuted, dismembered, shot through a woodchipper, and more, and it succeeds in turning the initial film's killer Santa setup into something of a whodunnit.

One of the more memorable images here is the killer Santa wielding a flame thrower, and Miller's eye ensures it looks equally cool and menacing in use. King is great fun as the nearest thing to a final girl here, and it's always great seeing Ellen Wong and Donal Logue in supporting roles, but it's Malcolm McDowell who's having the best time as a cranky but tough Sheriff who has no time for lawbreakers in his town, and that includes vengeful Santas with homemade flamethrowers and an abundance of bloodlust.

Little Billy's holiday visit with his grandfather ends with the old man's death (not Billy's fault), but the night gets even worse when his parents are both murdered on the drive home by a man dressed as Santa Claus. The killer takes a fatal blow during the encounter, and when Billy touches the man's hand before he dies, something is transferred between them. Years later, the now adult Billy (Rohan Campbell) is working through his own personal advent calendar with the help of an inner voice named Charlie that directs him to kill one person a day leading up to Christmas.

While 2012's "Silent Night" ends on a note that leaves things open for a sequel, the decision was made to simply reboot the franchise again — and the results are fantastically fun. The new "Silent Night, Deadly Night" removes the sexual triggers from past Billys (and Rickys) and gives its Billy a far more specific homicidal mandate. The voice is directing him to kill naughty people, as expected, but these people are actually and truly naughty. It's a fun, interesting take on the familiar setup.

Writer/director Mike P. Nelson delivers a Christmas killer update that's a terrific horror romp finding fun in both its intriguing premise and its colorful, bloody, and humorous execution. (It unfortunately tanked in theaters.) It's not a horror/comedy, necessarily, but there are several bits and beats that earn smiles including a sequence that sees Billy's skills unleashed on the revelers at a racist Christmas party. Campbell, who previously starred in the final entry of the recent "Halloween" trilogy, has a far more satisfying role here with a character who's once again caught at the crossroads of mental illness and murderous impulses. It's a fun time!