The cult classic 1984 horror film Silent Night, Deadly Night is getting a reboot later this year, and it'll bring back everyone's favorite Santa-dressed killer (next to only Art the Clown, who has been making his mark on the world recently). The story follows Rohan Campbell's Billy Chapman, a psychopath whose intense desire to kill takes over every December, as he fills a bloody Advent calendar, all leading up to Christmas Day.
While this new take on the story does have plenty of similarities to the original movie, director Mike P. Nelson's new take is fresh, unique, and will offer fans a unique twist on what they already know. The Direct was able to see the film earlier this year at Fantastic Fest, and we had a great time with it.
The Direct spoke with Silent Night, Deadly Night director Mike P. Nelson at New York Comic-Con (NYCC), where he spoke about how he approached bringing to life his reboot of the cult classic 1984 film.
"It was important to me to, first of all, do a film that was important to me," Nelson explained, adding how he "wanted to make something warm and cozy that also kept in the spirit of the irreverence of the original, but didn't have to copy it." The director admitted that he "just want[ed] to have fun doing such a weird and bizarre little movie."
We also spoke with Silent Night, Deadly Night star Ruby Modine, who plays Pamela Varo in the film. Be sure to check out the full interview below. Silent Night, Deadly Night lands in theaters on December 12, 2025.
Silent Night, Deadly Night Director on Rebooting a Cult Classic
Mike P. Nelson Wanted to Make an Important Film With a Crazy Tone.
- The Direct: "You're remaking, in a sense, the original, but watching the movie, it's very different. So can you talk about that process of balancing, where you're honoring the original and where we're going in different directions?"
Mike P. Nelson: It was important to me to, first of all, do a film that was important to me. So right off the bat, I was like, okay, what can I do with these characters to make them my own? Obviously, we want to bring back Billy Chapman. I really wanted to bring back Pamela, but give her more, you know what I mean...
I wanted to make something warm and cozy that also kept in the spirit of the irreverence of the original, but didn't have to copy it. Because I feel like if I'm going to wrangle another IP, and if I'm going to do it my way, I'm not just going to redo the same thing again. I don't think it's a good use of anybody's time, to be honest with you, it's not a good use of my time.
I think just doing that for the fans is a cop out, whether they like my take on these things or not. That being said, ses, I feel like the main thing is, like, the original 'Silent Night, Deadly Night,' has an incredibly strange tone, which, again, gives it its presence. You know what I mean?
And so for me, my nod to it was not only a little bit in the first opening scenes, but what can we do tonally to make this feel like, wait, what? What are we watching here, you know, but again, doing it my way, not the way that they did it in the past. And that was it. I just want to have fun doing such a weird and bizarre little movie.
Mike P. Nelson Talks About the Reboot's Unique Kill Cards
They Really Make an Impact and Pull a Reaction Out of Audiences.
In the new version of Silent Night, Deadly Night, director Mike P. Nelson has included what he called Kill Cards for Billy Chapman's big moments in the movie. Just before he is about to kill one of his victims, or a group of them, a stylized title card comes on screen letting audiences know exactly what's about to happen.
- The Direct: "I want to also talk about the title cards in this movie. When we watched it at Fantastic Fest, there was one in particular, I won't say what it is, but it was such an experience and a reaction. But just the title cards in general have that reaction. So can you talk about, like, putting those into the movie?"
Mike P. Nelson: The Kill cards were actually scripted, so that was very much on the page in the draft, because I was like, I think I want to do this thing where I have—It says these words, and I want to continue that out throughout the movie. I don't know exactly how they're going to look yet, but I want this to happen, and then in the moment, I feel like you're hinting at here, that was like the one [where] I'm going to change it up a little bit and do something that shouldn't be able to happen, but fuck it, we're gonna do it yes, and that makes me happy.
Ruby Modine on Why Her Pamela Varo Is Perfect for Billy Chapman
"She's a Bit of a Psychopath Underneath the Surface.."
In Silent Night, Deadly Night, Ruby Modine plays Pamela Varo, a sweet local helping her father at their town shop. While Varo is nice, she's suffering from notable anger issues under it all, something that actually clicks pretty well when she meets Rohan Campbell's Billy Chapman for the first time.
- The Direct: "Let's talk about Pamela, because I want to know why you think, well, first of all, just diving into that character, and why is she such a good fit for Billy, despite, you know, Billy is a psychopath?"
Ruby Modine: I think that because she's a bit of a psychopath underneath the surface, but in a very, very different way. I think that she has a great understanding of having something very dark that you're ashamed of, that you want to be able to manage and handle well, and she doesn't have that grasp on it yet. So I also feel [that] there's nobody in the town that you grew up in that has this issue. So for somebody to come to town that is so similar to her, I mean, how do you not get along with that?
The entire interview can be viewed here:
For more horror coverage, be sure to check out The Direct's interviews with the cast and filmmakers behind Paramount Pictures' upcoming killer chimp movie Primate.
