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Ho Ho Ho! Seasons greetings, FEARnet fiends! If you're like us, then most likely you live and breathe horror. That means that you take the genre very seriously, and you probably celebrate it seasonally. Meaning, in February, you watch 'My Bloody Valentine.' When summer rolls around? You break out the summer slashers. And now that we're right in the thick of December, you're probably making your way through all of the Christmas holiday themed horror movies! No doubt you've probably celebrated Bob Clark's influential classic 'Black Christmas.' You may have gone more modern (and foreign) with 'Rare Exports.' Hell, you may have even gone camp with 'Jack Frost!' And most likely, you've revisited the original, notorious 'Silent Night Deadly Night.' But how 'bout the sequels? As of today, we're currently streaming'Silent Night Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out' and I've got 5 reason why you need to stop everything right now and watch it!
1. It's directed by Monte Hellman.
Believe it or not, the legendary director behind the cult classic 'Two-Lane Blacktop' was at the helm for the second sequel to the notorious 'Silent Night Deadly Night' franchise. Rumor has it that he only agreed to direct the film because he was asked while completely delirious with a nasty flu by a producer friend who wouldn't relent! After taking the gig, Hellman spent a week rewriting the script, another week in prep and 4 weeks on production, essentially making the entire movie in about a month and a half's time. The first edit took 10 days and was screened for an audience within 4 months, becoming one of the fastest productions the director has ever been on. Despite critical reception, Monte has gone on record to say he thinks the film is his best work. Not his best movie, but his best work.
2. It features a pre-'Mulholland Drive' Laura Harring.
I have a theory that David Lynch has this amazing ability to capture certain actors at the absolute peak of their beauty. Laura Dern in 'Wild At Heart.' Isabella Rossellini in 'Blue Velvet.' Kyle MacLachlan in 'Twin Peaks.' So I think we can all agree that Laura Harring has never looked more gorgeous than she did in 'Mulholland Drive.' Just stunning. But long before that, she made an appearance as Jerri, the lead character's brother's girlfriend in 'Silent Night Deadly Night 3.' She's sporting a hairstyle that's very, very late 80's, but still manages to be quite a beauty. Although, judging from the brief nudity in this film, you'll realize that she um... definitely had some enhancements to her chest area by the time she got to 'Mulholland Drive.' Sorry to shatter the perfect illusion.
3. Bill Moseley is in it. As the killer!
We all love Bill Moseley. The dude's in everything, but of course he gets a pass for life for his brilliant depiction as Chop Top in Tobe Hooper's 'Texas Chainsaw Massace 2,' as well as that amazing, amazing performance as Otis in Rob Zombie's 'The Devil's Rejects.' But in between those, he played Ricky Caldwell in 'Silent Night Deadly Night 3!' Granted he looks nothing like the previous incarnations of the character. (Respect always to Eric Freeman.) And at the end of SNDN 2, Ricky takes multiple slugs to the chest, yet inexplicably, when we see him here, he has a large fishbowl holding his brain in place because apparently he got half his head blown off in the last movie. Regardless, Moseley looks unique and Ricky's kinda creepy in this one. You definitely won't find another killer that looks quite like this!
4. Robert Culp!
The star of one of my childhood favorite television shows 'The Greatest American Hero' appears in 'Silent Night Deadly Night 3' as Lieutenant Connely, a character that was (supposedly) there when they gunned down the Santa killer Ricky Caldwell. And if that's not good enough for ya, how 'bout the simplistic 'Halloween'-esque score by J. Steven Soles. Granted, the majority of the movie is actually devoid of traditional score music, but when it does kick in, it's pretty darned cool.
And last but not least...
5. It's streaming FREE on FEARnet's website right now through December 19th!
You can head over to our web movies page right here on the FEARnet website and enjoy 'Silent Night Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out' for free and from the comfort of your own computer up until this Thursday.
And if you want to keep with the holiday horror tradition, we've got you covered. Streaming free from December 19th through December 23rd is 'Silent Night Deadly Night 4: The Initiation' and then from December 23rd right through to December 26th, you can watch 'Silent Night Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker' here too.
Merry Christmas, FEARnet readers & watchers. Don't be naughty! And have a Happy Garbage Day!