Character Spotlight- Ricky Caldwell- Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987)

**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

Character Spotlight- Regine Dandridge- Fright Night Part II 1988

Yeah, so I'm trying out a new post series titled "Character Spotlight." In this series, I'll share my thoughts on various characters from various film genres. And it's horror month, so I'm starting with Regine from the original Fright Night 2!

Charley Brewster was free of vampires, and happy to live a normal life with his new girlfriend Alex...... until Jerry Dandridge's sister, Regine came into the picture. Seeking revenge for her brother's death, Regine is able to use seduction to toy with Charley's mind, and before Charley has a chance to realizes it, he's transformed into the very creature he fought to destroy with Peter Vincent's help.

Julie Carmen's Regine is the female counterpart for Chris Sarandon's Jerry Dandridge. She's smooth, cunning, sexy, and she knows when to strike at the perfect moment. Although, unlike her brother, Regine knows where to draw the line in the sand, when it comes to cockiness. Remember, Jerry had PLENTY of chances to turn Charley, but he decided to play around with him until the end, so he could use Amy as a weapon. Of course, this approach backfired, and Jerry's dismissive attitude towards Charley as an amateur sleuth cost him his life.

Regine on the other hand was smart enough to catch Charley before it was too late by turning him into a vampire. And as I alluded to before, Regine used her good looks to mesmerize and weaken Charley, so he could lower his guard. A prime example right here:


                                

Another noticeable change is Regine's entourage. Remember, in the original Fright Night Billy was the only person (until Jerry turned Evil Ed), who protected and looked after Jerry, especially during Charley's daily snooping in the daytime. In Fright Night 2, Regine had a wall of security that included Belle, another vampire, Louie, the lone werewolf in the group, and Bozworth, a supernatural being, who spent most of his time devouring various insects. But as always, the villain makes one crucial mistake at the end:

                                

Still, Julie Carmen's smooth and confident portrayal of Regine is so fun to watch. Regine was a sultry seductress, who forced Charley to eat out of the palm of her hand, and until her last moments, she salivated in the thought of taking Charley as her eternal slave. Julie Carmen had some BIG shoes to fill as the primary antagonist in the Fright Night sequel, but Carmen stepped up to the challenge, and she nailed the Regine character.

Follow this link to read my spoiler review for Fright Night 2! http://mitchmacready.blogspot.com/2013/07/fright-night-part-ii-1988.html