The 1984 Christmas slasher film Silent Night, Deadly Night became a huge source of controversy, even for those who hadn't actually seen it. Christmas is of course primarily a time people associate with happiness, good cheer, and celebration. Not everyone who observes Christmas does it for religious reasons, but it's easily the most popular holiday in America, and in many other parts of the world. Christmas' non-religious mascot is the jolly fat man known as Santa Claus, who brings presents to all the good little children around the world.
Despite being far more associated with consumerism than the birth of Jesus Christ, Santa Claus is himself almost a sacred figure to many, with people never failing to get up in arms at any portrayal of the character they consider inappropriate. Especially since Santa is a character targeted at children, and many people take their tykes to sit on Santa's lap at their local shopping center every year in December.
On the other hand, the fact that Santa Claus is associated with bringing joy to kids makes him a perfect target for a horror makeover. Horror fans love the twisting of beloved cultural institutions into terror tales, and there's been no shortage of movies and TV shows with some variety of killer Santa Claus. Few, however, endured the barrage of hate experienced by Silent Night, Deadly Night.
Why Silent Night, Deadly Night Was So Controversial
Silent Night, Deadly Night focuses on Billy Chapman, who witnesses the brutal murder of his parents as a child by a criminal dressed in a Santa Claus suit. Billy is then sent to an orphanage run by an abusive nun, which doesn't do much to help his mental health. As a young adult, he gets a job working at a toy store around Christmas. Things go great, until the owner asks him to fill in as Santa. Putting on the suit he associates with his parents' deaths causes him to snap, and go on a killing spree.
That background is necessary to point out, because it's clear that the majority of people who protested the release of Silent Night, Deadly Night back in 1984 hadn't actually seen the film, or were even particularly familiar with its plot. Most of the objections toward the film were based solely on the marketing campaign, which featured a man in a Santa suit going down a chimney with a bloody axe. Many of these protesters clearly assumed the killer in the film was actually supposed to be Santa, and not just a crazy man wearing the red suit. Parents' groups complained that the TV ads, posters, and trailers for the film were actually making their kids afraid of Santa Claus.
Sadly, these protests against Silent Night, Deadly Night, combined with a public shaming of the filmmakers by iconic film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, actually worked in the short term. All advertising for Silent Night, Deadly Night was pulled a mere week into the film's theatrical release, and the film itself was pulled from theaters not long after. The funny thing is, all the controversy surrounding Silent Night, Deadly Night just made many moviegoers more eager to see it. Subsequent home video and theatrical re-releases proved highly successful, and a full-blown franchise resulted, with four sequels and a 2012 remake being made. That was surely a lump of coal in the stockings of the film's detractors.