Silent Night, Deadly Night III: Better Watch Out!

Silent Night, Deadly Night III: Better Watch Out! (1989)

Runtime: 90 minutes

Directed by: Monte Hellman

Starring: Samantha Scully, Bill Moseley, Richard Beymer, Eric DaRe, Robert Culp

From: Quiet Films Inc.

What a film to watch during the holiday season. See if it filled me with yuletide cheer below: 

I'll be gone in a few days on a now-customary trip out of state to hang out with some family members for the Christmas season, and I won't have much time for film-watching; I was hoping to see more holiday-related flicks but I'll be happy with just seeing a few before December 25. Seeing Christmas horror, might as well? The first two Silent Night, Deadly Night films were the only ones I had seen until last night. This one, it's from a filmmaker who had done actual movies before (Monte Hellman) and for all you David Lynch fans, it has to be noted that this has Dick Beymer, Laura Harring AND Eric DaRe.

This film: pretty wacky. Laura is a teen psychic who also happens to be blind, because why the hell not. At least the movie makes it clear early on she is sight-impaired, which is more than I can say about The Hills Have Eyes Part II and its lead heroine, where most people probably don't figure it out until like halfway through. Laura is not Daredevil; she still needs help getting around. She goes to a crazy doctor who also happens to be the host of Ricky, the killer from the second movie and brother of the original's crazed Santa.

After the second film, he's in a coma-for 6 years-and as part of trying to fix him, he wears what I've heard described as an “electronic salad bowl” on his head which covers his otherwise-exposed brain; again, why the hell not? Laura, her metalhead-looking brother (hilariously, played by DaRe) and his cheap date go over the hills and through the woods to grandmother's house, and so does Mr. Salad Bowl... of course he awakens from his coma, and he walks around even better than Seagal did once he woke up from his 7 year coma in Hard to Kill. Even better, he's played by Bill Moseley.

The movie is pretty dumb. Of course Laura's powers are intermittent and convenient to the plot. Even worse, you see footage from the first film and they make it seem as if the footage involving Billy was actually what happened with Ricky. Some of the main characters seem nonplussed about the weird things that happen at granny's house, and even when Ricky shows up they don't get too excited about it. It's just bizarre.

Yet I can still say the film's average. Some of the bad acting can at least be laughed at and the film is never boring. The moments with cop Robert Culp and crazy doctor Beymer were simply delightful-light in tone and humorous. Although, the funniest aspect was seeing DaRe w/ an 80's hair metal rocker hairdo.