**This post contains spoilers**
During the closing moments of Silent Night, Deadly Night, Billy was shot to death before he had the chance to murder the ruthless Mother Superior, but another killer was born after Billy's demise. With his brother's bloody axe pointing at his feet, a young and furious Ricky Caldwell issued an ominous warning to a wheelchair-bound Mother Superior with one word: "Naughty."
Years later, Ricky found some comfort with his foster parents, Mr. and Mrs. Rosenberg, but Ricky had to endure another tough setback after Mr. Rosenberg's sudden death. After a brutal killing spree, Ricky is forced to serve a lengthy sentence at a mental hospital.
One day, Ricky receives his last chance evaluation from Dr. Henry Bloom. During the tape recorded chat, Ricky reveals stories from his past, including memories from Billy's killing spree, and Ricky's childhood with Billy at St. Mary's Orphanage. Eventually, Ricky turns the tables on a petrified Dr. Bloom. After Bloom's murder, Ricky escapes the mental hospital to finish Billy's mission. A retired Mother Superior lives alone, and she's still recovering from a stroke, but a remorseless Ricky will stop at nothing to put an end to Mother Superior.
Billy and Ricky hate Mother Superior with a burning, whit hot passion. Both men murdered the woman of their dreams, and both men wore a Santa suit during their killing sprees. The main difference between Ricky and Billy? Ricky is more devious than Billy.
Billy snapped, BUT you could sense some remorse from him during his final plea to Mother Superior. On top of that, Ricky was a victim of Superior's beatings and harsh "punishments" (remember, Superior forced Billy to stay in his room by tying him to the bed one night). On the other hand, Ricky willingly chose his path as a sadistic murderer. He enjoyed killing people, and Ricky actually had a loving support system as a child and a teenager.
Santa was Billy's trigger, and the color red is Ricky's trigger. When Ricky spots ANYTHING red, you're in trouble. SNDN Part 2 finds a way to insert red into the vast majority of Ricky's kills, a red Mustang, a red Jeep, and there's a red B on Dr. Bloom's handkerchief. Plus, you get see the trauma Ricky's experiences from nuns, when a young Ricky spots a group of nuns with his stepmother one day.
Billy never had a chance to experience a relationship with Pamela, but Ricky had Jennifer. After an accident on his motorcycle, Ricky found a girlfriend in Jennifer. Although, the relationship came to an end after a deadly encounter with Jennifer's ex-boyfriend, Chip. The preppy snob (Chip) pushed Ricky too far, while doing some work on his red Mustang one day.
Jennifer and Chip were the first two victims in Ricky's violent killing spree. Ricky's murderous rampage in SNDN Part 2 is memorable for a few reasons. First, the lunacy during the non-stop rollercoaster of mayhem is full of jaw-dropping moments and laughs (Ricky shooting the red car, and the car exploding out of nowhere after a quick flip is my favorite funny moment in this one). Second, Ricky provided us with a great, cheesy one-liner and a popular meme, when he shouts "Garbage Day!" before murdering the poor guy, who's taking out his trash.
I don't know about everyone else, but as far as performances go, I enjoyed Eric Freeman's Ricky more than Robert Brian Wilson's Billy. Freeman's hammy performance is on a short, SHORT list of highlights in SNDN, and his dark side is more creepy, in a comical way of course.
Also, SNDN 2 features two of the most inventive kills in the franchise. Ricky using the jumper cables to electrocute Chip, and Ricky using an umbrella to finish off Rocco (a bully/loan shark) stand out amongst everything in Part 2, and it's not even close. And it's not inventive (and it's not Freeman's Ricky), but Ricky murdering Eddie in the open field with his red Jeep is another noteworthy death scene here. Eddie is having a picnic with his girlfriend. He tries to rape her, and Ricky has a flashback of the Santa trying to rape his mother, so Eddie triggers Ricky's dark side. Ricky uses Eddie's red Jeep to run him over (repeatedly) for the kill, and Eddie's girlfriend express her gratitude with a casual "Thank you" after the murder.
Oh, and Ricky murdering the rude moviegoer at the movie theater is good for a few laughs. Ricky quietly leaves Jennifer alone, murders the moviegoer, and he returns to his seat next to Jennifer like nothing happened. Good stuff.
Regrets? Forget about it! Ricky succeeded in his mission by beheading Mother Superior, but Ricky suffered a series of gunshots. The second-to-last shot of SNDN Part 2 shows Ricky laying in a pile of broken glass, and he flashes a sinister smile at the camera to close out the movie. Unfortunately (and you can't point any fingers at Freeman), the Ricky character returns in Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!
Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is far from perfect, but we'll never forget this meme!
Follow this link to read my spoiler review for Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987). In this review, I give a more in-depth and thorough analysis of the sequel -
http://mitchmacready.blogspot.com/2013/01/silent-night-deadly-night-part-2-1987.html
Wanna know what happens to Ricky after Part 2? Read my spoiler review for Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! http://mitchmacready.blogspot.com/2013/02/silent-night-deadly-night-3-better.html
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