Ranking the Silent Night, Deadly Night Franchise / Santa Killer SPEED-ART
Hey Jack, I’m back! This time, I’m ranking one of the most infamous holiday horror franchises ever made: Silent Night, Deadly Night. I recently animated the Silent Night films on my channel, to, well, controversial results. It might end up being my least-watched video ever, but I’m pretty proud of it, so I wanted to rank the franchise today.
It’s a series so controversial that it got protests that pulled it from theatres, rebooted multiple times, and somehow still kept going. From killer Santas to evil toys, psychic connections, and straight-up nonsense, this franchise is weird.
So grab some eggnog and let’s rank every Silent Night, Deadly Night movie from worst to best.
7. Initiation: Silent Night, Deadly Night 4 (1990) — ★★
Dead last is Initiation, the movie that basically gives up on being a Silent Night, Deadly Night film entirely.
There’s no killer Santa, no tangible connection to Christmas, no connection to the previous movies. Instead, this one leans into occult horror, ugly bug imagery, and surreal dream logic.
That said, it’s not completely without merit. The practical effects are genuinely impressive, and the cast is way stronger than you’d expect for a low-budget sequel like this. But it’s slow, messy, and feels like a totally different script that got rebranded. In fact, overseas, it was just released with the title Bugs. An interesting curiosity, but easily the weakest entry.
6. Silent Night, Deadly Night III: Better Watch Out! (1989) — ★★½
Next up is part three, which is honestly better than its reputation.
It tries something different by turning Ricky into a silent, psychic-linked slasher who stalks a new final girl who he’s somehow connected to. It’s low-budget, slow-paced, and definitely not as iconic as part two, but it’s watchable. The new final girl is fun, although her brother in the film is dating a girl who literally looks nearly identical to her, I think the director had a type and cast his actresses accordingly.
It’s not a so-bad-it’s-good classic, but there are far worse late-’80s slashers out there. If you’re deep into franchise marathons, this one’s not a total waste of time.
5. Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) — ★★½
Right in the middle is the original Silent Night, Deadly Night.
As a slasher, it’s pretty mid-tier for the era, but the story behind the movie is way more interesting than the movie itself. Protest groups were furious over a killer Santa, theatres pulled it early, and the controversy basically defined its legacy. It takes a while to get going. I find most of the origin of Billy’s trauma to be quite boring, but once he puts the suit on in the department store, that's when things start to ramp up.
There are some solid kills and an unsettling premise, but it doesn’t fully capitalise on it. Still, it’s a must-watch around Christmas if only for its place in horror history and for the lack of watchable Christmas-themed horror movies.
4. Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (1991) — ★★½
Coming in at number four is The Toy Maker, and honestly… this one surprised me.
It’s extremely Christmas-y, packed with fun practical effects, and leans hard into absurdity — especially by the time you hit that finale.
Mickey Rooney is clearly having a blast here; the evil toys give off major Dolls, Puppet Master, or Demonic Toys energy here, while not being as good as those films. It’s completely ridiculous, and it knows exactly what kind of movie it is. It’s messy, but entertaining, and way more fun than it has any right to be. The twist ending is the best part of these earlier films. Of course, it has some of the same pacing issues and things sort of meander around in the middle, but this one is a lot of fun. It’s also funny that Mickey Rooney once protested the first film’s release, but got on board for the fifth film.
3. Silent Night (2012) — ★★★
In third place is the 2012 reboot, Silent Night.
This one doesn’t reinvent the slasher genre, but it’s a solid modern Christmas horror flick that understands its assignment. It’s mean-spirited, bloody, and surprisingly stylish at times.
I do think it believes the ending is more clever than it actually is, like seriously, that was the twist, I didn’t ever know who that character was at first, I had to Google it and rewind. That is not how you do a twist in a film. Making it some character who was totally unknown until that scene. Imagine if Scream did that, it would’ve been straight to VHS.
But overall, it’s a fun watch and a respectable update for the franchise. Definitely worth throwing on during the holidays if you want something nastier than your average Christmas movie.
2. Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987) — ★★★
Runner-up goes to the absolute legend that is Part 2.
This movie is pure so-bad-it’s-good perfection. The first 40 minutes are literally recycled footage from the original, but somehow that only adds to the charm. Although I would highly suggest not marathoning the first two films side by side in one season because of all the reuse. Watch one or the other, and swap it the next year.
But once this film gets into totally new footage, it goes off the rails, and I mean it really goes off the rails.
The pacing is quick, the acting is wildly unhinged, and it gave the world one of the greatest horror memes of all time: “GARBAGE DAY!”
Honestly, if you’re only watching one movie from this franchise for fun and maybe having a couple of drinks or some of the green puff sticks, I’d probably suggest this one.
1. Silent Night, Deadly Night (2025) — ★★★½
And in first place is the latest entry, Silent Night, Deadly Night (2025).
This one takes the core idea of the original and actually does something thoughtful with it. It modernises the story, improves the character work, and still keeps the holiday horror vibes intact. It’s not some amazing remake like The Thing or The Fly, but it’s a very large improvement over the previous versions.
It respects the franchise without being trapped by it, and it manages to stand on its own while still feeling like a proper Silent Night, Deadly Night movie. Easily the most solidly made film in the series and the best overall experience. There is a supernatural twist to the story that some traditionalists might find strange, but this is the 7th film in this franchise, let’s get weird with it, I say.
So that’s my ranking of the Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise — a weird, messy, but oddly charming collection of mostly Christmas slashers.
What’s your favourite entry? Are you here for the killer Santa, the evil toys, or just GARBAGE DAY memes? Let me know in the comments. Check out my animation covering the entire Silent Night, Deadly Night Franchise.
I’d also like to thank my patrons. Until next time, I’ve been Aaron—and I’ll tell you something later!