[Gojirosan]

So...finally got around to watching Silent Night Bloody Night which I got from Poundland last month.

First off, I really liked this film. It's something of a forgotten gem in my opinion. A stylish and very atmospheric low budget slasher mystery (it's very much an "American Giallo" if you will) with a decent story and obvious regard and care in its making. Acting is more of the Messiah Of Evil/Let's Scare Jessica To Death dream-like thing and this adds to the general ambience very nicely.

The explanation to the basis of the mystery comes at the end in a lengthy and totally wonderful flashback sequence filmed in a beautiful Expressionist style in sepia. This just superb and it's worth sitting through the film just for this. Fabulous stuff.

However...there is a problem. A big problem. It is not with the film, but with the state of it. The film has fallen into the public domain and the quality of this release on the Stax label is simply appalling. The sound is very muffled and distorted and the visuals are murky, blurry, fuzzy and some scenes set in darkness are just black - often confusing the action.

The audio visual quality of this print was so bad I was hoping the film would be rubbish so that it didn't matter, but it is a brilliant little chiller and I think it matters a lot. Oh for something like what Code Red did for Messiah Of Evil or Synapse did for Lemora here! This is a film crying out for a wash and brush up.

Nonetheless, even in it abysmal public domain state, it is still worth watching. I am delighted to have discovered it. Now the hunt is on for a decent quality print!



* In fact, if those screenshots are anything to go by, that is a better version than my purchased DVD!