Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation

Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990)

Runtime: 90 minutes

Directed by: Brian Yuzna

Starring: Neith Hunter, Maud Adams, Tommy Hinkley, Clint Howard, Reggie Bannister

From: Silent Films Inc.

This needed a GARBAGE DAY! Ha Ha HA HA sort of scene.

Last night once I arrived home I saw this movie, and shortly thereafter revisited the original when it played on TCM Underground as it had been awhile for me. There doesn't need to be a new review for it as my opinion hasn't changed. Let me mention that and what I recall from the first two sequels:

The first SN, DN is a nasty piece of business which is rather harsh and has some great kills... yet for its low-budget faults I won't fault the attempt at addressing trauma and the mistakes that can happen when attempting to care for children w/ what is known now as PTSD.

Part 2... it is legendary for all the stock footage and the GARBAGE DAY scene as that is buckwild—but there are other elements which also made me guffaw, including the bad acting.

Part 3...what a dumb mess of a movie which at least has moments such as Ricky from Part 2 now being played by Bill Moseley & having what I've heard described as “an electronic salad bowl on his head” which exposes his brain. It's odd, although strangest of all is that it features three people best known for their work in David Lynch projects.

This, it abandons the first three movie and does its own thing. As it is from Brian Yuzna and features effects from Screaming Mad George, of course it is gooey & features gross-out moments, in this case using a plethora of bugs. That is all well and good... except that the story (from 5 different credited writers) was a real mess. Heck, it barely feels like Christmas. While it's set during that season, it is in Southern California so like in Florida, it's just not the same if there isn't a cold snowy landscape.

The “plot” revolves around a budding newspaper journalist-who is discriminated against at the workplace due to gender-investigating a mysterious death on her own assignment only to meet up with a group of ladies best described as “a coven” and... a bunch of weird things happen which barely tie together and even if there's unforgettable body horror moments, the overall product is just strange and something I'll shrug my shoulders at. At least it managed to tie together The Bible, bugs, Clint Howard and Reggie Bannister, but there are other Yuzna flicks he was involved with that I prefer to this, like Re-Animator or From Beyond.