There are bad movies, and then there’s “Silent Night Deadly Night 2.” Made up of nearly thirty minutes of footage from the original film, followed by one of the cheapest, least effective continuations imaginable, resulting in the worst slasher sequel of the 1980s. Lead Eric Freeman seems to have little interest in the craft of acting, approaching his character like he just graduated from the William Shatner school of acting, while the relentless body count is in direct contrast from the movie’s serio-comic tone. Add to that some of the worst sets I’ve seen in a film production (in particular the movie theater scene) and terrible attempts at irreverent humor (“Garbage day?”), and you’ve got a notorious Z-level cheapie destined to satisfy nobody but worst-movie-ever fans: It it weren’t for the recycled footage from the original, this would register easily as a so-bad-it’s-good crapsterpiece, but the combination of old-and-new footage makes it impossible for the narrative to find a tone, and as a result the movie’s too tedious to be much fun.
Rating: ★ (out of 5)
