Remakes, reimaginings, and adaptations have been intrinsic to cinema since its inception. In the series Version Control, Jesse Hassenger delves into stories with multiple notable film versions, helping you decide which movie suits your streaming preferences best.

For a fleeting moment in November 1984, a sinister Santa Claus outshone the infamous Freddy Krueger. On the weekend of November 9, A Nightmare on Elm Street debuted in 165 theaters, while nearly 400 theaters saw the opening of Silent Night, Deadly Night—a Christmas-themed slasher that stirred controversy with its depiction of a killer in a Santa suit. The film’s premise held true to its marketing, portraying a troubled young man donning a Santa costume to carry out brutal murders. However, it’s noteworthy that the real Santa isn’t depicted harming children!

Despite its modest opening, Silent Night, Deadly Night cleverly capitalized on its marketing gimmick and technically outperformed A Nightmare on Elm Street in their initial box office clash. Yet, Freddy Krueger’s debut boasted a superior per-screen average and impressive longevity; it remained in theaters for months and inspired a series of sequels, including a meta seventh installment that preceded Scream. Meanwhile, Silent Night, Deadly Night was pulled from theaters after just one week, ultimately gaining a cult following. Its sequels didn’t match the success of Nightmare; Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 seemed targeted at those who missed the original, with a third of its runtime dedicated to flashbacks from the first film. Subsequent sequels went straight to home video.

The legacy of Silent Night, Deadly Night endures in the realm of remakes. A reimagining simply titled Silent Night was released in 2012, and a fresh take on Silent Night, Deadly Night is now hitting theaters, just in time for the holiday season. So, which menacing Santa should you welcome this Christmas Eve? Version Control is here to guide your festive slasher film selection.

1. The original film, infamous for igniting a moral panic, remains one of the most recognized holiday-themed slasher films alongside Black Christmas. (The genre boasts numerous holiday slashers.) The quality drop from its intriguing title is significant. Despite its cult status, the original Silent Night, Deadly Night is often criticized for its mean-spirited tone, lack of humor, and unremarkable style, coupled with uninspired scares. The film chronicles the harsh life of Billy, whose trauma begins with witnessing his parents’ murder as a child, continues through abuse at an orphanage, and culminates in his violent spree at a toy store. While it offers a nostalgic glimpse into 1984 toy shelves, the film is marred by poor performances. Sometimes, moral panics arise from subpar films! For a Christmas-themed slasher from this era, Christmas Evil might be a better choice, offering a similar storyline with a more complex and unsettling connection to Santa Claus, crafted with a superior tone and preceding this film by four years.

   Stream Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) on Pluto

3. Anyone who came into this movie cold could be forgiven for assuming it is, at best, a casual knockoff of Silent Night, Deadly Night, given that it doesn’t use much of the original premise or even the actual title that producing a remake would theoretically capitalize on. As it happens, director Steven C. Miller hadn’t actually seen Silent Night, Deadly Night before making this movie. But technically, it is an officially sanctioned remake of the original film, and it’s not as if that original film requires great fidelity or love of the source. On paper, reconfiguring the story as a vaguely Scream-like small-town whodunit-slasher, with an identity-concealing Santa mask to go along with the outfit, makes sense. Just one problem: There aren’t any viable suspects, so it’s hard to care about the eventual and entirely arbitrary unmasking of the killer. What about the characters we do know? Though this is the starriest version of the movie by default, just because it features Jaime King (she was in Sin City), Ellen Wong (she was Knives Chau in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), Donal Logue (he was in a ton of TV shows), and Malcom McDowell (you know who he is), it’s hard to find any of them more than generically likable or loathsome. Which just leaves the movie with some impressively gnarly, sometimes mean-spirited kill scenes, and some cool red-and-green lighting in the climax. So without meaning to, Miller directed a remake very much in keeping with the original: a Christmas horror movie that’s all decoration.

   Stream Silent Night (2012) on Tubi

4. To the credit of writer-director Michael P. Nelson, who also remade horror non-classic Wrong Turn into a better movie, his ground-up rethink of Silent Night, Deadly Night feels attentive to the basic elements of the first movie while not beholden to keeping any of them intact in a slavish-remake-tribute sort of way. The basic premise of a kid witnessing his parents murdered by a guy in a Santa outfit, then growing up to do Santa-themed murders of his own based on who’s “naughty” remains, but this version of Billy (Rohan Campbell) is vastly more sympathetic, with an entirely different set of motivations beyond “wow, pretty messed up, right?” The presence of Campbell, who played a lead role in the underrated Halloween Ends, brings that David Gordon Green slasher to mind; the movie also recalls popular characters like Dexter and Venom. It’s also the only one of these three iterations that feels sincerely Christmassy, rather than just using lights and costumes for ironic window dressing. As an oddball character-based slasher, it’s pretty fun, and has a set piece where Billy slaughters a bunch of nazis having an unlikely Christmas party. The only real problem is that unlike Nelson’s Wrong Turn reboot, this Silent Night still isn’t all that scary. It’s also in the awkward position of appearing most clever to those who know the original, even though those who love the original will probably find its changes annoying. 

THE VERSION CONTROL VERDICT: Silent Night, Deadly Night (2025) is the best one so far!

Granted, the competition isn’t especially stiff, and there are better-overall killer Santa movies. But within this particular series, the newest take is easily the most entertaining.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! (At least, that’s what Andy Williams promised.) The holidays are a time to celebrate with family, friends, food, and, let’s not forget, fun things to watch. Whether you’re huddled up with the whole family in your living room or cozying up under the covers with your tablet, let Decider be your guide to all things festive this holiday season.

Jesse Hassenger (@rockmarooned) is a writer living in Brooklyn. He’s a regular contributor to The A.V. Club, Polygon, and The Week, among others. He podcasts at www.sportsalcohol.com, too.