<p id=”par-1_66″>One of the most famous <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/horror/”>horror</a> films of all time <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/friday-the-13th-was-inspired-by-a-film-whose-director-doesnt-like-it.html/”>was <em>Friday the 13th</em></a>. While the movie was not a critical success, it inspired numerous slasher movies that came after it — including a Christmas horror movie about a killer Santa Claus. The film in question is very different from <em>Friday the 13th</em> in a lot of ways. It’s actually a lot better than its fore-bearer. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-friday-the-13th-was-part-of-a-wave-of-slasher-films-that-inspired-a-killer-santa-claus-movie”>‘Friday the 13th’ was part of a wave of slasher films that inspired a killer Santa Claus movie</h2>
<p id=”par-2_80″>1980 was the year of <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/santa-claus-horror-movie-hugely-controversial.html/”>the slasher film</a>. Some of the slasher titles released that year <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/fiona-apples-father-killer-santa-claus.html/?swcfpc=1″>include <em>Christmas Evil</em></a>, <em>New Year’s Evil</em>, <em>Prom Night</em>, <em>Terror Train</em>, <em>He Knows You’re Alone</em>, <em>Funeral Home</em>, <em>Maniac</em>, <em>Mother’s Day</em>, and <em>Don’t Answer the Phone!</em> While some of these films are underrated or have cult followings, the only slasher films from 1980 that spawned franchises are <em>Friday the 13th</em> and <em>Prom Night</em> — and the former series is so much more famous than the latter!</p>
<p id=”par-3_61″>In a 2013 interview with <a href=”http://www.duqsm.com/silent-night-deadly-night-qa-with-the-films-crew/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>The Duquesne Duke</a>, producer Scott Schneid discussed the origin of his movie <em>Silent Night, Deadly Night</em>. “I received a screenplay from a former student from a college screenwriting course I taught,” he said. “It was called <em>He Sees You When You’re Sleeping</em>. It was very amateur: a slasher movie with a Santa Claus character in it. </p>
<p id=”par-4_72″>“Even though the screenplay was unprofessional, there was an idea embedded in it — a psycho dressed in a Santa Claus suit — I felt was fantastic,” he added. “This was the time of the first <em>Friday the 13th</em> and <em>Halloween</em>, and I said, ‘Wow. No one’s done anything like this for a teen audience: what about a killer Santa?’ We threw the script out basically and developed a whole new project.”</p>
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<iframe title=”Friday The 13th (1980) – Official Trailer” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/aDrOvFtzyPQ?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-silent-night-deadly-night-was-not-the-1st-flick-about-a-murderous-santa-claus”>‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’ was not the 1st flick about a murderous Santa Claus</h2>
<p id=”par-5_51″>Interestingly, Schneid was wrong about <em>Silent Night, Deadly Night</em>. It was not the first slasher movie about a killer in a Santa Claus suit. <em>Christmas Evil </em>and <em>To All a Goodnight </em>are both about murderers who dress like Jolly Old Saint Nicholas. However, both of those movies flew under the radar.</p>
<p id=”par-6_101″>Writer Michael Hickey was brought in to pen a new screenplay for<em> Silent Night, Deadly Night</em>. Hickey discussed how the relationship between the final film and his script. “As for changes going into production, the movie as it stands, is at least 99% faithful to the script that was turned in,” he recalled. “The dialogue is all verbatim, except for that of one actor — the actor who played Andy, Billy’s boss in the stock room of the toy store, ad-libbed a couple of lines of dialogue.” Hickey said that he hates hearing the ad-libbed dialog when he watches the film.</p>
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<iframe title=”Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) – Official Trailer” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/hNBJfv5pIdY?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
<p class=”related-article__title”>
<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/5-best-christmas-horror-movies-ever.html/”>
The 5 Best Christmas Horror Movies Ever </a>
</p>
</div>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-why-silent-night-deadly-night-is-a-better-movie-than-friday-the-13th”>Why ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’ is a better movie than ‘Friday the 13th’</h2>
<p id=”par-7_69″>While<em> Friday the 13th</em> and <em>Silent Night, Deadly Night </em>are both slasher movies, they take very different approaches to the genre. The latter is a whodunnit with little to no character development. Meanwhile, <em>Silent Night, Deadly Night </em>is essentially a character study about its villain. While S<em>ilent Night, Deadly Night</em>, is the more complex film, <em>Friday the 13th</em> is more famous. That’s because it was distributed by Paramount Pictures. </p>
<p id=”par-8_16″>Love or hate <em>Friday the 13th</em>, its influence on the horror genre is hard to overstate.</p>