

AMBUSH BUG (BUG): So Steven, it’s great to talk with you again. You’ve been a part of my horror panels at the San Diego Comic Con a couple of times a few years ago. And since then, you’ve done a lot of awesome films and it’s been great to see your career grow through the years.
STEVEN C. MILLER (SCM): Yeah! Great talking with you again, Mark!

SCM: Yeah, it’s a very loose remake of SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT. It definitely has some big homages to the original. As a fan of horror, I always find that I like the remake if it takes the movie in a different direction or tries to bring something very new to the mix. That’s what we tried to do with SILENT NIGHT. It’s very much its own thing, there are some nice homages, but it does take another direction. It’s really about Santa Claus and him killing a lot of people on Christmas Eve and we’ve got these small town police officers trying to catch the killer. That’s really just the basic plot. We wanted to keep things simple so audiences can basically have a really fun time.
BUG: The original film was hit with a lot of controversy when it came out. There were tons of church groups and parent groups up in arms about a killer Santa Claus. Has there been any of that with this film?

BUG: So what are the main differences between this film and the original?
SCM: Well, when I got the script, we didn’t really have a lot of time. I didn’t really have a lot of time to do much work on it. I mean, we shot the film in 17 days. We had to move really quick and everyone had to be on their toes and we got it done.
But when I got the script I saw that it was a complete departure. So it was really important for me to go in and imbue it with a little bit of homage here and there from the original and maybe even some of the sequels. All of those old SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT films were really fun.

BUG: Were you one of those kids who started crying when you had to sit on Santa’s lap when you were a kid? Did Santa ever scare you?
SCM: [laughs] He did scare me. I was one of those kids who would not sit there. I had a huge issue of sitting on this big red guy’s lap. Somehow that resonated with me and I think that’s why I was drawn to the VHS Box art of the original movie. You know with the hand with the axe hanging out of the chimney. I was like, “Oh man, I’ve got to see this movie!” and it really messed me up. I had the fortune and misfortune to go in and try to recreate it.

SCM: Awesome. Thanks man. It was a one of my favorite films I’ve ever done. I love that type of film. Again, it’s kids taking on adult material and danger and scares. I find myself doing that a lot in my films. I enjoyed having a character that didn’t speak the entire movie and trying to get the audience to connect and root for him. It was a fun experience.
BUG: Then you have another film coming out called UNDER THE BED. What’s the status of that film and when can people see that one?

BUG: And again, you seem to be dealing with childhood fears in UNDER THE BED with a monster actually living under this kid’s bed. That seems to be an ongoing theme with you. Do you find it easy for you to write from that child-like perspective?
SCM: Yeah, I guess I never grew out of that. That’s what’s fun of being a filmmaker. I guess the reason why I resonated with that one so much is because I grew up in a big family and we would spend so much time thinking and talking about what kind of monsters were under our beds and building tents with our sheets and stuff like that. And UNDER THE BED is very much a throwback film to those old Amblin films like GOONIES. It just happens to get hyper-violent in the last hour of the movie.

SCM: You know what, Craig Perry, the producer of the MOTEL HELL remake, came to the SILENT NIGHT premiere and he is the one who actually signed me on to do the film when we were over at MGM. And I talked to him last Wednesday and asked him, “Did you enjoy this?” And he said, “Dude, I loved this!” So hopefully it’s a move in the right direction. It’s really just about their situation over there. So if we can get them excited about SILENT NIGHT, it could be great to help make MOTEL HELL happen. I love MOTEL HELL. So it would be really fun to try to move on to that.
BUG: Maybe it’s a good thing that it’s taken so long to get MOTEL HELL approved since you’ve been able to prove yourself with all of these other films.
SCM: Yeah, you’re right and I think it could mean that it’s even going to be bigger because of that. SILENT NIGHT has that same sort of dark humor going on that MOTEL HELL will definitely need.

SCM: I think people should just go in with an open mind. As much as it is a remake, I feel it’s more like a reimagining or a reboot. We try to take it into a new direction and keep in mind of getting new fans as well as honoring fans of the original.
BUG: Fantastic. Well, I wish you luck with this film. And Merry Christmas to you and your family!
SCM: Thanks, Mark! You as well, buddy!
BUG: SILENT NIGHT is available today on BluRay and DVD! Below is my review of the film.

SILENT NIGHT (2012)
Directed by Steven C. MillerWritten by Jayson Rothwell, Based on SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT by Charles S. Sellier
Starring Jamie King, Malcolm McDowell, Donal Logue, Ellen Wong, Brendan Fehr, Lisa Marie, Curtis Moore, Andrew Cecon, Courtney Jane-White, Tom Anniko
Find out more about this film here!
Reviewed by Ambush Bug

The original SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT was not a fantastic film. Sure it’s got some gruesome deaths and a fun premise. It’s also got some very cool scenes such as the horrific opening sequence in the car, Linnea Quigley’s death by deer antlers scene, and that scene where the old man scares the kid talking about the true terrifying story of Christmas. SILENT NIGHT, on the other hand has all of what is cool with the original, but with better actors and better production value. Plus, this Santa is a whole lot scarier.

The shift from following the Santa Claus killer to the police searching for him is an interesting one. In the first one, we follow the troubled child turned homicidal holiday maniac from start to finish. Here we don’t know who this killer is, so instead we along with the cops who are searching for the truth. And we don’t really get that until the very end, but I found the payoff to be a fun homage to the previous films, while keeping us guessing right up until the credits roll.
But you’re interested in this movie because it’s Santa Claus killing folks. How are the kills, you may be asking?

Slasher films are often panned for being simplistic in story and I can’t say that this one is complex in any way. There are a few nice twists towards the end which make for a thrilling finale, but for the most part, SILENT NIGHT is just a simplistic and down to earth film about a man dressed as Santa who goes on a killing spree on Christmas Eve for being naughty. There are some cool scenes with a naughty kid and a nice kid that will most likely cause some ire with the more sensitive types, but if you’re looking for a fun, throwback to the 80’s with some better than average acting and some red splattery kills, SILENT NIGHT will definitely get your Yule log burning.




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