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

Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! (1989)

**SPOILERS**

Sorry I've been absent for a while, but I've been busy job hunting, and it's a time consuming pain in the ass. Coming back with some more reviews, so be on the lookout!

Six years after the events of Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2, Ricky Caldwell (Bill Moseley) is still in a coma. Ricky was presumed dead after the gunshot wounds, but Dr. Newbury (Richard Beymer) surgically reconstructed Ricky’s deformed brain. Dr. Newbury and his assistant revived basic functions with a machine attached to Ricky’s head, but Newbury wanted more.

Dr. Newbury developed an obsession for Ricky, so in an attempt to bring him back to the real world, Dr. Newbury began conducting a series of experiments with a psychic. With the help of some persistent goading from Dr. Newbury, Laura Anderson (Samantha Scully), a blind clairvoyant,  reluctantly uses her powers to form a connection with the comatose Ricky. Laura is frightened by Ricky’s childhood memories, and after a series of lifelike nightmares, where Ricky hunts Laura as his primary victim, Laura contemplates leaving  Dr. Newbury’s mission to study Ricky.

On Christmas Eve, Laura, her brother Chris (Eric Da Re), and his new girlfriend, Jerri (Laura Harring) take the annual trip to their grandmother’s house for Christmas Day. Meanwhile, Ricky is taunted by the hospital’s sleazy Santa Claus. Santa triggers a reaction from Ricky, and once Ricky awakes from his coma, he brutally murders the Santa Claus. In the lobby, Ricky notices the receptionist’s red flower pin, steals her letter opener, and Ricky uses the letter opener to murder the receptionist. Eventually, Ricky hitchhikes a ride, but the driver shows Ricky his hand knitted red Christmas sweater. After murdering the driver and stealing his clothes, Ricky decides to pay a visit to Laura’s grandmother.

Laura is still haunted by Ricky’s childhood memories, and during Dr. Newbury’s experiments, Laura unknowingly developed a telekinetic connection with Ricky. Dr. Newbury teams up with Lt. Connely (Robert Culp) to stop Ricky, but Newbury will do everything in his power to take Ricky alive. Laura, Chris, and Jerri arrive at Granny Anderson’s (Elizabeth Hoffman) house, but Granny’s unusual  disappearance creates an unsettling Christmas Eve atmosphere. Ricky is waiting for the right moment, and things take a turn for the worst, when Chris’ red jeep disappears……..  

Technically, Ricky is the main character in this film, but the story revolves around Laura, and I give the nod to Scully for the best performance in this film. Scully showcases her eardrum, shattering shrieking skills throughout this film, and she’s believable as the sympathetic victim. Moseley is mostly known for his role in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and more recently, Texas Chainsaw 3D. Also, Moseley worked with Rob Zombie in the past (House Of 1,000 Corpses & The Devil’s Rejects). The replacement Mother Superior in Part 2 annoys me, but Ricky is brain-dead in this film, so you can’t expect any familiar characteristics from Billy’s brother here. Moseley’s dialogue is mostly limited to slow whispers of “Laura,” and it might work for some people, but I can’t buy into Moseley’s silent and zombified deadly killer act. It’s not his fault, though. I blame that fucking ridiculous contraption on the top of his head. Ricky’s brain machine is so cartoonish, and it looks like something out of a bad sci-fi movie. Here take a look:

                               


You won’t see much of her, but Elizabeth Hoffman is spot on as Granny Anderson, and Laura Harring is okay as Jerri. Eric Da Re is just there, and I guess they wanted someone, who embodied the look of an 80’s rock star. Dr. Newbury is a douchebag. A creepy douchebag, but he’s still a douchebag. Plus, Beymer’s pompous “I’m studying Ricky for the good of mankind!” shtick brings too many unintentional laughs out of me. And Robert Culp’s lighthearted approach towards the hard ass cop persona is enjoyable.

Better Watch Out! is the first serious film in the Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise. No corny one-liners, or over the top characters, and the hammy 80’s slasher routine is toned down. Also, Better Watch Out! is the first Silent Night film to drop the killer Santa Claus theme.

I appreciate the effort for change here. The telekinetic connection storyline with Laura and Ricky is something different, BUT the execution in this film is just horrible. During the trip to Granny’s house, Connely and Dr. Newbury go back and forth during a series of annoying arguments about morals and science. I can’t comprehend the point of the “Ricky’s  future” duel between Newbury and Connely. Connely obviously won’t respect Newbury’s opinions, and Newbury is too smug and eccentric, so it’s hard to take him seriously.

Laura has psychic powers. I get that, but Part 3 dropped the ball, because Laura NEVER uses her psychic powers to thwart Ricky’s attacks, or defeat him. In fact, Laura unknowingly gave away Granny’s location, as Ricky listened to Laura’s directions to the house. And during the final confrontation with Ricky, Laura has visions of Granny urging her to use the psychic powers to defeat Ricky. Instead, Laura spends time listening to Ricky’s movements, and destroying the only light bulb in the basement to “even” the odds? And as Ricky is trying to choke Jerri to death, Laura just stands there, and accepts the inevitable?

I understand the dynamic of Ricky searching for Laura, because during his coma, Laura was the only person from the outside, who tried to bond with him. Although, you won’t see the long awaited one on one confrontation between Laura and Ricky until the very end. And everything leading up to the final showdown might put you to sleep. After Laura’s first interaction with Ricky in a nightmare, Better Watch Out! slowly goes through the motions. It’s an unbearable bore-fest, and the underwhelming climax doesn’t help anything.

When Laura, Chris, and Jerri arrive at Granny’s place, the house is empty, and Granny is missing. Laura shows concern, but instead of launching an immediate search party, Chris decides to spend time with Jerri instead. Apparently, making out with and taking a bath with Jerri is more important than your grandmother’s safety? Okay then. Chris is a clueless doofus, and of course, when he finally decides to do something about Granny’s mysterious disappearance, it’s too late. Ugh,  I always dread watching the fiasco at Granny’s house, easily the most mind-numbingly stupid series of events in this film.

Why is Ricky indestructible in this film? All of the sudden Ricky is capable of walking through windows and doors? How? While Ricky chokes Jerri, Chris stabs him with a knife. The knife goes through his arm, Ricky just pulls it out, and continues his pursuit of Laura like nothing happened? Seriously?

The violence and gore in this film is laughable. The splatters of blood in the opening nightmare sequence resemble cheap red paint, and I have the same feelings for Laura’s vision of the receptionist’s death. And I always laugh at Dr. Newbury’s “tragic” death scene…….that shouldn’t happen.

FINALLY they dropped the “attempted rapes trigger a tirade” bullshit in this film, and they used clips from Part I again, but they didn’t show any scenes in their entirety, which is a good thing. They also maintained continuity for Ricky’s character, because red and Santa Claus trigger Ricky’s killer instincts. Still, Part 3 is a pretty lousy film. Every time I decide to watch Part 3, it takes me at least a week or more to finish the entire thing, because I can’t sit through this tedious mess in one viewing. The sub-plot featuring the friction between Laura and Jerri is good for a few laughs, and Laura’s insults are hilarious. But overall, Better Watch Out! fails to meet the very low standards of straight-to-video horror. Better Watch Out! tries to be a “smart” slasher flick, but the end result is a pretentious bore with a convoluted and senseless story.

Final Rating: 2/10

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987)

**This review contains spoilers**

Following the events of Silent Night, Deadly Night, Billy Chapman is dead after taking a series of gunshots to the back at St. Mary‘s Orphanage. But the sight of his dead brother’s body was too much handle, so as a child, Ricky issued a deadly warning to Mother Superior by placing her on his “naughty” list.

Billy failed in his mission to kill Mother Superior, but Billy’s attack forced the closure of St. Mary’s Orphanage. Bound to a wheelchair, Mother Superior (Jean Miller) is retired and recovering from a stroke, and with the help of Sister Mary (Nadya Wynd), Ricky found a foster family. The Rosenbergs embraced Ricky as their own child, but Ricky still experienced flashbacks from his traumatic childhood.

Heartbroken over his stepfather’s death as a teenager, Ricky tries to fight through the depression, but after witnessing an attempted rape, Ricky embarks on a brutal killing spree. But Ricky runs out of luck after murdering his girlfriend Jennifer (Elizabeth Kaitan), her ex-boyfriend Chip (Ken Weichert), and other innocent  bystanders. During the standoff with the police, Ricky tries to commit suicide, but he runs out of bullets.

As an eighteen year-old man, Ricky’s (Eric Freeman) last name is changed to Caldwell, and he’s a patient at a mental hospital. One day, Ricky receives a tape recorded evaluation from Dr. Henry Bloom (James L. Newman). Ricky already angered other psychiatrists, so after failing numerous evaluations, Dr. Bloom becomes Ricky’s last chance to avoid a trip to the electric chair. But as Ricky recalls his troubled childhood and murders as a teenager, Dr. Bloom slowly shows signs of fear after each story. Ricky takes advantage of Dr. Bloom’s fear, murders him, and Ricky escapes the hospital.

Ricky finds a Salvation Army-like Santa Claus, murders him, steals his suit, and Ricky plans to follow in his brother’s footsteps. Picking up where Billy left off, Ricky plans to take his axe to the retired Mother Superior’s home, and finish his brother’s mission.

Eric Freeman’s Ricky is more devious than Robert Brian Wilson’s Billy. Billy was someone, who snapped, AND he showed remorse during his final moments. Billy’s innocence was believable, because his character was victimized and tormented, but Ricky’s a different story. Mother Superior was nice to Ricky. Ricky had a girlfriend, who cared about him, and The Rosenbergs loved him as a child and a teenager. But Ricky chose his path as a sadistic asshole. He enjoyed killing people, and he embraced the murdering psycho inside of him. With all that said, I enjoyed Eric Freeman’s Ricky more than Wilson’s Billy. Yes, Freeman is hammy, but his dark side is more creepy, in a comical way of course.

Also, they added another layer to the Chapman Brother’s traumatic triggers here. In Part I, Billy’s flashbacks from St. Mary’s Orphanage and his parent’s murders trigger his killing sprees. In Part II, Ricky’s rage is triggered by flashbacks from the same events, but the color red and nuns also play an important factor in causing his tirades.

Unfortunately, my praises for this film stop with Freeman. Kaitan is just eye candy, and Newman is solid enough, but the constant flashbacks (more on that later) kill any chances of momentum for his character. Sister Mary is a caring character, but she can’t measure up to Gilmer McComrik’s Sister Margaret.

And they changed the actress, who portrayed Mother Superior! Miller’s crabby and feeble old lady act is painful to watch. Yes, I understand Mother Superior had a stroke, but Lilyan Chauvin was irreplaceable, because she MADE the Mother Superior character. They tried to use the stroke, and awful, distracting deformed skin make-up to justify  Mother Superior’s new personality, but fuck, if they couldn’t get Chauvin to reprise her role, then they should’ve  just killed off the Mother Superior character altogether. Superior is the main target for Billy and Ricky. She’s the reason why they went on the killing sprees in the first place. You can’t use an underwhelming replacement for such an important character, and try to pass her off as the same person in the original. Superior ‘87 is a major problem, and I usually cringe or face palm before her first appearance, because Superior’s presence just KILLS the final climax in this film.

Flashbacks are okay, if you just use a few CLIPS here and there, but Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 literally replays entire scenes from the original. As Ricky retells his story to Dr. Bloom, the story shifts back to Part I, showing select scenes in their entirety (Santa murdering Billy & Ricky’s parents, Billy’s tirades, Billy’s abuse at the orphanage, the ending, etc.). This style of storytelling is just lazy, and it kills all of the momentum for the present story. Yeah, they play flashback footage from the present storyline, but you won’t see it until the forty minute mark. And everything feels so rushed and underdeveloped, when they finally make the transition to Ricky’s escape at the very end. It feels like you’re watching two movies in one, and the constant back and forth shifts to present and past straggle into a giant clustered mess.

I try to stay in suspension of disbelief mode for movies, but Silent Night Part 2 pushes everything too far. SOMEHOW Ricky has vivid memories of his parent’s deaths? Really? How? He was a baby when it all happened. Plus, Ricky was strapped to seat in the car as a baby, and the Santa murdered his mother outside, so he couldn’t see anything. Ricky explains how Billy told him the story of his parent’s murders, but still, I have a hard time buying into an eighteen year-old vividly remembering a tragedy as an infant. They tried to recreate the “flashbacks trigger a tirade” effect with Ricky, but Ricky recalling the tragedies from his childhood was just too far fetched for my taste.

Also, before he reaches the age of eighteen, Ricky is strolling through the woods one day, and he accidentally witnesses a couple having a picnic. The boyfriend tries to rape his girlfriend, but Ricky jumps inside his red jeep, and he runs him over, killing the boyfriend. Umm, why was this necessary? Did they really have to stretch things so far to include a random attempted rape scene to maintain continuity from the first film?

So Ricky EASILY kills Dr. Bloom, and escapes the mental hospital? Umm, if killing psychiatrists and strolling out of the mental hospital is SO easy, then why didn’t Ricky kill one of the psychiatrists before Bloom? I’m suppose to believe Ricky just decided to kill the last psychiatrist out of the blue? No. Just no. 

Ruining the big climax/final showdown with a replacement Mother Superior was bad enough, and Superior’s decapitation just made everything worse. Ricky chops off her head with an axe, but when the cops and Sister Mary arrive at her house, Superior’s body is still in the wheelchair……until Sister Mary’s slight touch causes her head to fall off. AND when the head falls off, you can clearly see signs of a prosthetic dummy head. Ugh, I always roll my eyes at this moment. Unbelievable, just unfuckingbelievable.

Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 is mostly remembered for Ricky’s famous “GARBAGE DAY!” outburst during the wild killing spree towards the end. It’s become a popular and well-known meme over the years, and here’s a pic:

                                

But Part 2 is still a terrible film. Freeman’s nutty raging lunatic act is hilarious, but in good conscience, I can’t give this film a positive score. I just can’t.

Final Rating: 2/10