Movies
The ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’ Franchise, Ranked
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Which means we need to bust out some relevant Christmas horror films to watch here. And it also means there will be many listicles that put Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 at the top of their rankings for Christmas horror films by default. But it got me thinking that maybe we need a bit more of a meditation on this series.
Have we really written them all off so quickly because one of them is the most meme-able? I like the first few films in the series as much as the next guy, but The Ricky Chapman Trilogy that kicks us off doesn’t go beyond the pale the way everything after does. 4 & 5 are Apocrypha to the Ricky Bible, but they introduce many weird, out-there concepts that make them enjoyable bad movies.
Ranking All the Silent Night, Deadly Night Movies
So today, I’ve taken the liberty of hitching up the man-eating reindeer to the sleigh to take a retrospective ride through the Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise and find out…well, you read the title, you can do the math. Starting with…
SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT
The one that started it all and got a bunch of people in hot water. It’s funny to think that outrage culture has pretty steadily assaulted our eyes and ears with the dumbest of controversies since time immemorial. Still, it’s even funnier knowing this movie contributed to that outrage. But beyond the controversy, this film is actually…kind of good?
It’s the best shot of all the movies, so big props to Scream Factory for remastering it and restoring it to its fullest. It’s only a little meanspirited, which is good since it doesn’t get too heavy for its absurd concept. On top of that, the kills in the movie are exceptionally creative (antler impalings, Christmas light hangings, and sled decapitations, oh my!). My only problem is that Billy Chapman is no Ricky, he’s more serious and isn’t as much of a goofball.
I would say this ranked high up when I first started my rewatch but may go closer to the bottom of the list. Not for any technical fault of its own—just because it gets much funnier from here in…
SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT, PART 2
Do I even have to say the line to know it’s the first thing that went through your head as you read the title? GARBAGE DAY!
Let anybody who told you Art the Clown is the best slasher villain to use a gun see this and watch them change their tune. Watching this is only enriched by not having seen the first movie, which makes it one of those sequels that is better than the first in the worst way possible. If you were unfortunate enough to watch both the first and second films in one sitting, like myself, you’d know that roughly half of the movie is flashbacks to Billy’s rampage. But that doesn’t stop it from being entertaining as all hell.
Ricky Chapman is an all-time great slasher villain and delivers some kills almost as good as the original. Eric Freeman may just be the best-worst actor of all time, which makes this movie one of the best-worst films of all time by proxy. Which makes the following film feel like a fall from grace, given its…
SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT 3: BETTER WATCH OUT!
A.K.A. “The one with Bill Moseley in it,” because that’s the most remarkable thing about it. He’s not even a killer Santa in this one, but I guess mixing the motifs of “killer with exposed brain pan” and “Santa Claus with murder tools” might muddy the aesthetic waters. The final entry for our boy Ricky is kind of a sad whimper to go out on because this movie’s pacing is painfully slow.
It squanders a very fun concept (psychic girl is hunted by an evil Santa Claus she keeps having visions of) in favor of watching a lobotomized Ricky taking a road trip to his murder victim and killing people off-camera on the way. Worse, it squanders Bill Moseley, who doesn’t get to act outside of lumbering with a slack jaw. It’s the cinematic equivalent of dragging your sled up the hill again: tedious, no momentum, and no fun as you wait for the next weird ass thrill ride in the franchise.
SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT 4: THE INITIATION
And the next weird ass thrill ride in the franchise is here! Why should this even qualify when it looks and feels like Springtime in Los Angeles, and people had just forgotten to take down their Christmas decorations for months? Well, three reasons:
- Spontaneous combustions caused by witches.
- Monstrously massive bugs everywhere, designed by Screaming Mad George.
- Clint Howard as the resident crazy homeless guy who walks in and out of the movie.
While Ricky may be gone and its status as a Christmas movie is dubious, it’s a trip of a film with one particularly hellish sequence involving a lot of slime-covered giant insects. Some complain about its ham-fisted thematic notes of gender inequality, sex, and exploitation…but are you actually going into Silent Night, Deadly Night 4 expecting strong themes? Just enjoy this one for what it is, which is a lot of classic ick-inducing Brian Yuzna filmmaking. If you liked the weird, psychosexual nightmare that was Society, you’ll like this.
SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT 5: THE TOYMAKER
I was going to do another A.K.A. joke here, but I realized that the twist of this movie is so weird that it outclasses even The Initiation and needs to be seen to be believed. Rewatching this, I had forgotten exactly what the deal was with our mystery killer in the film and was mouth agape when the movie jogged my memory.
The Toymaker gives some very gruesome deaths and puts the Yuletide feeling of the film at center stage with a plot about murderous toys (not Demonic Toys, we swear, please don’t sue us Charles Band!). In fact, I would argue that since the effects in this movie and the violent kills don’t feel like a rehash of Society, it’s actually a major improvement on what 4 had going on. While four is slower-paced as it tells a (somewhat) more tempered story, five is aware of how goofy the plot is, with faster and funnier editing and some truly hilariously bad performances.
SILENT NIGHT (2012)
The final entry in the series is as plain jane of a slasher as they come but does manage to get the holiday aesthetics down pat, so even though it isn’t as wacky as the others, I’m including it in the ranking.
This film isn’t the one that reinvents the wheel or brings any fire to mankind (outside of the literal flamethrower murders depicted in it), but it is a very solid slasher. It has a cast of fun character actors, particularly Donal Logue and Malcolm McDowell, with our lead Jaime King as a no-nonsense detective hunting down our slasher. I just wish it was as madcap and off the walls as some of its predecessors were.
FINAL RANKINGS
Which is the best, which is the worst, and are there any good films in this series?
I would argue that all of them (except for 3) are great horror flicks in their own rights, since not a single one of them (except for 3) is boring (3 is getting the worst spot, sorry if I’m being redundant, but it sucks).
If I had to choose a best one, it would probably be our 5th spot on the list as The Toymaker is a diamond in the horror rough that, while lacking the bad acting of Part 2, has a genuinely insane script and all the best special effects of the series. So, from best to worst:
- Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker
- Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2
- Silent Night, Deadly Night
- Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation
- Silent Night (2012)
- Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!
When you’ve got those cookies baking in the oven, the house smelling of pine tree, and the lights twinkling, let this list from nice to naughty help you make the right decisions on which campy horror movies to watch this holiday season.
From all of us here at Horror Press, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year everyone!
The Best Movies to Stream on Shudder This Month
Tragedy Girls (2017)
A dark, comedic, high school romp about best friends gaining internet clout through murder. It may feel dated due to its use of Twitter rather than X, but it adds charm and reminds us of a simpler internet age. Brianna Hildebrand and Alexandra Shipp deliver devilishly fun performances, and their slasher personas are heavily under-appreciated in the horror community. There are lots of familiar faces here, including Josh Hutcherson, Jack Quaid, Craig Robinson, and not to mention the director, Tyler MacIntyre, who went on to be one of the writers for Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023).
Seance (2021)
This Is Not a Test (2025)
School’s Out (2018)
Graduation Day (1981)
One of my absolute favorite things to do when I’m on vacation is to visit horror filming locations. Wherever you happen to be going, odds are that at least one horror project was filmed there at some point. There’s something magical about seeing the places that helped bring iconic scary stories to life on the big and small screens.
However, some locations are better than others. A lot of them (like the original A Nightmare on Elm Street house, Stu’s house from Scream, and the schoolhouse from The Birds) are private property and aren’t always owned by people who are particularly happy to have horror fans milling around out front. Others (like the schools from Buffy, Elm Street, and many other teen horror titles) are active educational institutions that don’t welcome strange visitors.
But I’m here to deliver a guide to some of the coolest horror filming locations in North America that give you that magical vibe without somebody calling 9-1-1 on you. Because the best things in life are free, so are all the locations on this list.
The Bridge from A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Location: Linnie Canal Ct. Los Angeles, CA 9029, USA
The bridge where Glen (Johnny Depp) and Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) discuss the Balinese method of dreaming is nowhere near the movie’s fictional town of Springwood, Ohio. It’s actually one of the bridges over the human-made canals in Venice, California. Specifically, it’s the bridge over the Eastern canal that connects to Linnie Ct. It’s totally free to visit, and once you’re done taking photos and quoting “I’m into survival” to your heart’s content, you’re still in Venice. Not a bad place to be!
The Movie Theater from Scream 2 (1997)
Location: Rialto Theatre, 1019-1023 Fair Oaks Ave. South Pasadena, CA, 91030 USA
Although the majority of the campus scenes in the college-set slasher sequel Scream 2 were filmed at Agnes Scott College in Georgia, a lot of the school’s surrounding environs were filmed closer to Hollywood, in sunny Pasadena. While the movie theater where poor Phil (Omar Epps) and Maureen (Jada Pinkett Smith) are killed in the movie’s prologue is no longer an operating cinema and you can’t go inside (the building has been taken over by a church), the exterior has been well preserved and looks more or less exactly the way it did in the late 1990s.
This horror filming location is also just an 11 minute drive from the street where the film’s famous car crash sequence was shot, which is part of Green Street between South Los Robles Avenue and Madison Avenue in Pasadena.
The Myers House from Halloween (1978)
Location: 1000 Mission St, South Pasadena, CA 91030, USA
Although the building has been moved from its original location, it was rebuilt to look exactly the way it does when young Michael Myers is stalking his way around it in the iconic opening sequence of Halloween. There is a business operating out of the building, so don’t bother them or try to get inside (the interiors aren’t the same, anyway). But at this point, they’re very used to people doing photo ops out front. If you find yourself in Pasadena on October 31, it’s a can’t-miss destination, as a nonstop torrent of cosplayers swarm the area.
Other free Halloween locations in South Pasadena include the exterior of the hardware store where Michael gets his mask (right around the corner at 966 Mission St – it’s now the Radhika Modern Indian restaurant) and the famous hedge he hides behind when stalking Laurie Strode (just one mile away, at 1019 Montrose Ave S).
Brennan’s Tip: If you do have money to burn, check out the SugarMynt Gallery next door, which is chock full of horror-themed artwork. Also grab a snack at the Heirloom Bakery across the street! They’ve got all kinds of great treats (I even had them do the desserts for my wedding), and you can enjoy them on the outdoor patio with the Myers house looming over you.
The Town Square from Scream (1996)
Location: Healdsburg Town Square, Healdsburg, CA 95448, USA
Scream was filmed in and around Sonoma County, but the core town playing Woodsboro was the real-life wine country borough of Healdsburg. The town square, complete with fountain, is still there, and surrounded by cute shops and restaurants. You can also find the police station exterior where Sidney punches out Gale at Oakville Grocery (124 Matheson Street) nearby, but it has changed enough to be barely recognizable at this point.
Derry from It (2017), It: Chapter Two (2019), and It: Welcome to Derry (2025-)
Location: Port Hope, Ontario L1A 2Y7, Canada
The majority of the important locations in It and Welcome to Derry’s fictional town of Derry, Maine are all located along the main road of Port Hope, including the movie theater (Capitol Theatre on 20 Queen St), the library (Port Hope Town Hall, 56 Queen St), the park with the bandshell, and the alleyway outside the butcher shop, which still has the door painted with the faux sign from the movie.
Brennan’s Tip: Check out the river that runs parallel to the main street. When I went, there were hundreds of fish making their way upstream for spawning. Multiple species do this in Port Hope, in various seasons, so you never know if you’ll get lucky.
The University from Black Christmas (1974)
Location: Soldiers’ Tower at the University of Toronto, Hart House Cir, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H7, Canada
The college from the 1974 proto-slasher Black Christmas is played by the real-life University of Toronto, with the most notable area being the plaza outside Soldiers’ Tower, where Clare’s dad is seen waiting for his ill-fated daughter.
Brennan’s Tip: If you’re a huge Killer Party (1986) fan like I am, the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada building (25 Spadina Rd), which plays the haunted frat house, is just a short walk away.
Abe’s Snake Bodega from Scream VI (2023)
Location: Dépanneur St.Ambroise, 5701 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, QC H4A 1W9, Canada
Our next horror filming location is of a more recent vintage, but it’s an instant classic: the “New York City” bodega in which Ghostface hunts down Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) in Scream VI. Both the exterior and the interior of the shop were used for filming, though they changed a great deal of the inside to make it look more New York-y. You don’t have to pay to visit, but if you want to do a photo op posing like Ghostface at the end of the row of refrigerator cases, you might as well buy a soda on your way out as a thank you.
Other worthwhile free Scream VI filming locations in the area are the campus of Blackmore University (McGill University at 845 Sherbrooke St W), and “Central Park” (Parc La Fontaine, 3819 Av. Calixa-Lavallée).
Crawford Academy from Happy Birthday to Me (1981)
Location: Concordia University – Loyola Campus, 7141 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, Quebec H4B 1R6, Canada
The fictional high school from this classic Canadian slasher was played by the real-life Concordia University (except for the opening kill scene, which was shot around Douglass Hall at McGill University). It’s a relatively small campus, so you can’t miss the grand brick buildings, which look exactly the same now as they did 45 years ago, though the quad has been relandscaped.
The Steps from The Exorcist (1973)
Location: Corner of Prospect St and 36th St NW, Georgetown, Washington, D.C., 20007, USA
William Friedkin’s landmark classic The Exorcist is home to one of our most iconic horror filming locations yet. The steps that claim the lives of both Burke Dennings (Jack MacGowran) and Father Karras (Jason Miller) are still there more than 50 years later, and you’ll almost certainly find people exercising on them, as if they aren’t worried that Pazuzu is gonna fling another victim toward them when they least expect it.
While the house from The Exorcist is indeed at the top of the steps (at 3600 Prospect Street), it is more set back than the movie implies (the exterior of Reagan’s window was a facade). But it’s still there, as is the Georgetown campus, where other scenes from the movie were filmed.
The Crystal Shop from Obsession (2026)
Location: The Green Man, 824 N Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505, USA
Our tour of some of the greatest free horror filming locations of North America comes full circle now, bringing us back to Southern California with the most recent movie on the list. Curry Barker’s Obsession was entirely shot in and around Burbank, and the metaphysical supply store The Green Man looks almost exactly like the fictional store from the movie, both inside and out. Just don’t go in hoping to find a display of One Wish Willows.
