Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972) on Netflix
R19721h 21mHorrorMysteryThriller
On Christmas Eve, lawyer John Carter arrives in East Willard, Massachusetts, to sell the Butler mansion for its heir, Jeffrey Butler. The town's leading citizens want it too.
- Watch on NetflixThis title is not on Netflix right now. Please check back later for updates.
- Watch on Prime
- Watch on NordVPN
- Netflix2.6/5
- IMDb5.2/105,611 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
A burning accident kills Wilfred Butler outside his home in the Massachusetts town of East Willard on Christmas Eve in 1950, and the mansion passes to his grandson Jeffrey. Two decades later, lawyer John Carter comes to East Willard at Christmas to sell the house for Jeffrey, and he brings along his assistant and mistress, Ingrid. The town's leading citizens want the property: Mayor Adams, Sheriff Bill Mason, Charlie Towman, the mute owner of the local newspaper, and Tess Howard, who runs the telephone switchboard. They agree to buy the mansion on the town's behalf for fifty thousand dollars in cash, which Jeffrey requires the next day, and Carter and Ingrid stay the night at the house.
Cast
- Fran Stevensas Tess Howard
- Staats Cotsworthas Wilfred Butler (voice)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Actor James Patterson became seriously ill with cancer during the later part of filming and could not continue, forcing the editors to restructure the film's conclusion. Writer Jeffrey Konvitz recalled that scenes were rushed and other things cut, which is why the ending may seem bizarre and disjointed.
- The film's use of point-of-view shots from the killer's perspective predates those used in later slasher films, among them Black Christmas (1974) and Halloween (1978).
- Television rights were sold to CBS for $300,000 in 1974, and the film ran as a midnight movie before being shown on WWOR-TV's Fright Night from 1978, becoming a November and December staple. The network kept airing it at Christmas despite its dark subject matter and violence.
- The shoot was hit by technical trouble early on: bad weather caused electrical outages and left the camera operating equipment freezing in the cold temperatures.
