Silent Night, Bloody Night: The Homecoming
Silent Night, Bloody Night: The Homecoming
| 20 October 2013 (USA)
Silent Night, Bloody Night: The Homecoming Trailers

The abandoned home of Wilfred Butler, a wealthy but troubled man who committed suicide in 1987, has been willed to his grandson, Jeffrey. The house has sat in disarray since Wilfred's death, standing in the way of developers who want to turn the property into residential homes. Just before Christmas 2012, many years after Wilfred's death, Jeffrey and his lawyer appear in town to negotiate the sale of the property. But an Axe wielding maniac has set up residence in the house, and he doesn't take kindly to strangers.

Reviews
Nigel P

As titles go, this isn't one that trips of the tongue. The awkwardness continues throughout this low-budget would-be slasher, with variable acting and sound design. The opening moments, there to lure in the viewer, are amongst the least effective thanks to some artless CGI and mismatched sound dubbing.Things pick up a little after the effective opening credits have rolled. One of the reasons I often enjoy low-budget productions is that they use, out of necessity at times, inventing ways of telling a story that negates the need for flashy effects. Such is the case here, with some interesting direction and camera angles used to partially obscure the details of some of the gory moments – of which there many. Much of the action takes place without dialogue, which adds an extra sinister layer to events.This seems to be James Plumb's project; he is credited as director and writer, but as the film is often a scene-by-scene recreation of a 1972 American horror, Plumb's is a pretty ambitious claim. Discrepancies occur – the nicely seedy Wilfred Butler dies and leaves his house to grandson Jeffrey. When we meet Jeffrey, he immediately makes a bad impression – perhaps that is the point, inviting us to believe he is the masked, brutal killer who is this film's violent protagonist. And Jeffrey is just a petulant boor with no charm whatsoever. When the killer is revealed to be Wilfred (not dead after all), we are left to wonder how old this man actually is, and how he manages to physically assault and kill so many people.This is a fairly interesting, if mangled film in which the often underwritten characters' sole purpose is the brief lead-up to their own murder.

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Michael_Elliott

Silent Night, Bloody Night: The Homecoming (2013) * (out of 4) Wilfred Butler commits suicide by setting himself on fire. His grandson is left his mansion but when he plans to sell it a maniac with an axe shows up to start killing people.SILENT NIGHT, BLOODY NIGHT: THE HOMECOMING is a British remake of the 1972 cult film that features Patrick O'Neil and John Carradine. When this film first went into production it really wasn't clear if it was a remake or a long-rumored sequel. Well, it's certainly a remake but those hoping for a sequel to the original film will be happy to know that it's on the way too. As for this film, it's a pretty bad film on many levels and also a very frustrating one.I say frustrating because even though the original was quite good, there were some flaws that could have been ironed out and made into an even better movie. Sadly this isn't that movie. In fact, the flaws in the original are somewhat made worse here. On a technical level this film, like the original, really shows its budget. The entire thing has a very cheap look and feel to it and there's really not a bit at atmosphere or anything else creepy. The film contains one of the worst CGI effects I've seen in my life and it won't take long for you to know what I'm talking about. The gore effects really aren't any more impressive, although I must admit that they did have a certain charm if you grew up in the 80s watching those direct-to-VHS titles. These low-budget films often featured kills off screen and then someone throwing blood onto a blanket or wall. The same type of stuff is used here.The performances are pretty much what you'd expect from a film like this and that's not very good. The biggest issue I had with the movie is that it pretty much copies the original film with only some changes towards the end. The original film had a terrific plot but there were a few things that could have been changed for the better but that doesn't happen here. In fact, I'd say the story appears to be the least concerning thing to the filmmakers. Instead they go for the blood effects and these here just aren't enough to carry the picture. Fans of the original Friday THE 13TH might want to check this out for Adrienne King but be warned that she only supplies a voice.

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vengeance20

I thought from seeing this film that it was going to be great, but unfortunately it wasn't all I thought it was going to be.The effects were pretty crap! The blood effects & sound effects especially! The editing was sloppy & badly done, like it was done by some brainless teens doing it for a college project! The music was badly scored & didn't flow with what was going on screen! The film itself was dull & depressing & had no life in it! The scoring/music, again, didn't help as their'y be silence in dramatic scenes which didn't need silence! It was so diluted & sour! The acting was OK, not the best, but OK. The characters in the film seemed thin & watery & not well known! Story-line was abit weak & slightly confusing! I also felt that in most scenes in the film dragged on for too long! Sometimes their'd be no dialogue for 3-4 minutes! The less important things were focused on too much than they needed to be dragging the film on for longer, this was awkward! The scene in the van at the end of the film had this treatment!The deaths were tame as much as the amount of blood & gore! It was quite a let down for a film titled: 'Silent Night, Bloody Night: Home Coming'Overall it was disappointing & not as good as it leads on to be! 2/10

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thehorrorwithin

I really can't even muster up the energy to write a full in depth review for this title. It was only on the off chance that I picked up this film, I looked at the awesome cover and read the synopsis and believe this had the potential to be a really good film.I was wrong, as the saying goes; you can never judge a book by it's cover. The acting was poor, the storyline was terrible and the camera work was below that in which you would find in a soap opera.It was obvious the budget was low but I feel more money went into the cover than that of the film. There was heaps of potential but it was never realised. Sadly and it pains me to say this, but this is one of the worst films I've ever seen. I've sat through, Freddy Got Fingered and Gigli and still they seemed so much better than this film.British horror is dead and only seemed any good with the help of Shaun Of The Dead. Please bear in mind, this is only my opinion. One star might be harsh but two would be too kind.

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