This is only a 90-minute movie, and the first 40 minutes are used to fully recap the first film. This leaves less than an hour of new content. So odd.

Sequel to the notorious killer-in-a-Santa-Claus-outfit horror movie is so ridiculous as to be utterly hilarious. Ricky, the surviving brother of the first movies' traumatized psycho, picks up where his dearly departed sibling left off. As the movie opens, he's obliged to spill his guts to a psychiatrist (James L. Newman), who is apparently his "last chance" what with all of the corpses Ricky's left in his own wake.

This basically allows the filmmakers to utilize a lot of footage from "Silent Night, Deadly Night"; most of the first half of the movie is made up of this footage. The whole purpose of Part 2 was to help the first movie gain a little more "shelf life", as it's been worded, anyway. One thing worth mentioning is that the movie that Ricky (Eric Freeman) and Jennifer (Elizabeth Kaitan) watch in the theatre *also* contains footage from SNDN 1. Now *that's* milking a movie for all that it's worth.

SNDN 2 does go in a decidedly different direction than its predecessor, which did have humour but that was mostly of the dark variety. SNDN 2 is theatre of the absurd from beginning to end. To start with, this movie cannot be discussed without bringing up the priceless performance by Freeman, who clearly understands that 70% of acting or better is all about optimal eyebrow movement. This guy is a riot. Just watch as he snipes at the psychiatrist (coming up with such witticisms as "Red car? Good point!" along the way) and laughs his way through his eventual murder spree.

There's of course the one scene we all remember from this movie that's been quoted time after time, but Ricky's dispatching of his other victims are all highlight moments as well - said victims include a lecherous creep, a loan shark, a heckler, his girls' annoying ex-boyfriend, etc. The death by umbrella is truly something special.

Newman does a decent job as the psychiatrist, and ultra sexy Kaitan is easy to watch; her final scene is definitely Looney Tunes type stuff as she gulps "Uh oh!" on camera. Unfortunately, the character of Mother Superior, so effectively played by Lilyan Chauvin the first time around, is reduced to something of an afterthought here, and the actress this time, Jean Miller, just can't compare to Ms. Chauvin. However, considering what happens to her here, fans will be happy to see her brought back.

Gore effects are either tacky or non-existent, which will certainly disappoint some viewers, and the director / editor Lee Harry (just one of the *four* story writers for this thing!) is a little too slick with his trimming of the nastiness from the archive footage.

Horror fans willing to accept a lot of silliness in what they watch, and who know to expect it going in, are sure to find this a deliciously daft movie.

Eight out of 10.

Remember Silent Night, Deadly Night? Well, that movie was a big deal before it was pulled from theaters and then became an even bigger deal on home video. A sequel was demanded and it was delivered, but it was made on a shoestring, with director Lee Harry trying to make something other than a greatest hits reel of the first film. Seriously, though, this movie is nearly the entire first film with a couple of new scenes.

Ricky Caldwell, the 18-year-old brother of Billy from the first movie, is in a mental hospital after a series of murders. He's being interviewed by psychiatrist Dr. Henry Bloom, which allows us to watch pretty much the entire first film before Ricky goes off on his own rampage.

Ricky did have a chance once, because he fell in love with Jennifer Statson (Elizabeth Kaitan, Savage Dawn, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood and several of the Vice Academy films). However, her ex-lover Chip sends Ricky over the edge, which ends with Ricky hooking his head up to some jumper cables and then him killing his girlfriend just because. Then he goes even crazier, causing cars to nearly hit him (an incredible stunt) and then yells, "Garbage Day!" and wipes out everyone.

Ricky is captured by the police, but now we flash forward (or back) to the beginning of this film, where he kills the doctor and goes after Mother Superior, whose face now looks like Catholic school lunch pizza. Billy gets stopped, but he isn't dead. And why should he be? After all, it's Christmas.