Silent Night, Bloody Night (1974)

Silent Night, Bloody Night (1974)
Oyster Bay, Long Island

This weird, fascinating, and somewhat confusing early slasher film has unfortunately slipped into the public domain, so I have a feeling that we may never get to see it in any form other than the murky prints populating so many horror-themed multi-movie DVD sets. It's still worth checking out.

The film details the bloody history of a former madhouse, the return of its mysterious owner, and an accompanying murder spree. It's a moody, atmospheric film marred by a confusing script, a few missing scenes (at least it appears something has been cut from the prints available), and Mary Woronov's somewhat disengaged performance. The cast is also a lot of fun, and includes Hollywood vets Patrick O'Neal, John Carradine and Walter Abel, along with Warhol Factory refugees like Ondine and Candy Darling.

Late director Theodore Gershuny (who was married to Woronov at the time), filmed this in 1972. Associate producer Lloyd Kafman worked with Gershuny again on Sugar Cookies (1973), and went on to found Troma Films. Both Kaufman and Frank Vitale (another producer on this film) also worked with Oliver Stone around the same time.

Producer and writer Jeffrey Konvitz was an entertainment attorney also wrote both the novel and film The Sentinel (1977), and produced Spy Hard (1996).

From the Uniontown, Pa., Morning Herald-Evening Standard, Aug. 8, 1974: