Rohan Campbell – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: We have always wished for silent nights in favour of vampire activity.

Vampire Bat: Vampires have always hoped for silence to keep on hunting, that too in a flash.

Vampire Owl: For vegetarian vampires, we do hunt really well.

Vampire Bat: We have hunted evil better these days.

Vampire Owl: Yet, humans consider us to be evil.

Vampire Bat: There will never be bigger evil than humans. Their evil returns every time and rises like a phoenix.

Vampire Owl: Well, we are yet to find a good human during our visits to their lands.

Vampire Bat: But serial killers are too easy to find, especially on the 11th day of terror. We are watching them at all times.

Vampire Owl: They call these people psychos, but this cruelty comes natural to them.

Vampire Bat: There are always much bigger modes of cruelty among humans. Just make a call on the vampire phone.

[Gets some tacos and three cups of taro tea].

What is the movie about? :: On a Christmas evening, a child is seen traveling by car with his parents from his grandfather’s place and their vehicle is seen as stopping on a remote road. A man dressed as Santa Claus arrives in another car and murders Billy’s parents in front of him. The killer, who is also stabbed, is revealed to be Charlie (Mark Acheson). As the child comes into physical contact with Charlie, an electrical surge appears to pass between them, and there seems to be something which has passed on from the dying killer. As the child grows up, known to the society as Billy Chapman (Rohan Campbell), he is seen as taking over the duty of committing murders while wearing the costume of Santa Claus during the Christmas season. The idea goes like this – during each Christmas, he begins hearing Charlie’s voice urging him to punish people who have been evil, and from then he would need to commit a murder for each day leading up to Christmas. There will be no failure to follow this particular procedure.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: After committing a quick murder at a motel, Billy escapes from the scene to avoid suspicion and arrives in the town of Hackett. There he becomes instantly interested in the beautiful, but angry lady of the town Pamela Sims (Ruby Modine) and her father Dean Sims (Lawrence Brown) who runs a gift shop. He gets a job in the same shop, and gets closer to Pamela, finally beginning an intimate relationship. But he never really losses his skill in murders as new victims is found and killed without remorse. A local police officer and Pamela’s abusive ex-boyfriend Max Benedict (David Tomlinson) is not happy about Billy being around her, and also develops suspicions about the new person moving into the town after which too many murders happen at the same place. But it is revealed that there is some other series of incidents happening in the same area, with little kids going missing one after another. There is a suspected abductor referred to as “the Snatcher”, but it is to be seen how the incidents go on as Christmas gets closer.

The defence of Silent Night, Deadly Night :: The slasher horror mode activated very quickly with this one, not really wasting that much time. The protagonist here is a tragic anti-hero who is forced to go through what he does, rather than the usual supernatural or psychotic villain, and that surely brings a change from the usual. There is time spent in exploring his trauma and motivations, which makes the character more relatable. To add to it the same, there is a mythology, supernatural elements and mystery involving missing children. The horror effects work well with the blood and gore, as one would expect from a slasher horror movie, and deaths become natural part of the film with ease. The killing are also justified for a change, instead of making the whole thing random or a case of revenge like some other flicks. The holiday mood can also be felt with the Christmas elements around, and the ending nicely supports a sequel which could have further variety with the kind of serial killer it develops with the finish.

The claws of flaw :: Silent Night, Deadly Night feels absurd even for a slasher horror movie with its content which does not innovate, or chooses not to bring some nice creative elements. There were many moments which it could have made more interesting, especially by adding usual elements of the genre which have been going through a classic path for a very long time. The question about what special elements this one brings or what it brings as part of the genre, would need better answers here. There is also a certain amount of extra complication that comes with some of these additions here, and the background tale with the mythology is not that much thought about. There is the slow pace and drag that comes in between, and the romance is also not going too deep, and never being emotional enough. The strange ideas are not that much explored, and we feel the need during regular intervals. Many viewers could feel that there is something missing around here, as the movie seems to just go on as it wishes to, and thinks not that much about connections.

The performers of the soul :: Rohan Campbell makes the main character memorable, and worth being the Christmas killer that we would need to follow. There is something more than a serial killer or a murderous psychopath about him, as more aspects of the character are nicely shown by him. A man with a deeply damaged childhood and never-ending emotional conflicts also with the trauma and violent impulses, remains safe in his hands while going through vulnerability and terrifying menace. Ruby Modine makes her character interesting, and there is something about the same all the time, and might have even more to contribute later in a possible sequel – there is a lot that a scream queen in a slasher can do. There are violence and darkness in her, which she manages to display with a charming ease. Her scenes bring some of the most emotionally grounded moments to the movie, and elevate the whole thing. Mark Acheson has a more unusual role, but contributes nicely to the film’s dark and supernatural elements.

How it finishes :: This serves as the second remake of the 1984 film with the same name, after the 2012 reimagining of the same. The audience who enjoys traditional slashers focused mainly on the brutal kills and other elements may find the added mythology and the strange emotional storytelling distracting, as deviation from the usual ideas is surely present here. This is not your classic old slasher of nostalgia and memories for sure. But those who are willing to accept its strange mix of genres are likely to find a surprisingly engaging work with a divergence. Despite not sticking to a classic tradition, it remains a solid Christmas horror film that will probably appeal most to a certain kind of audience. One would guess that making it interesting for all kinds of viewers was never really the idea with this one. Still, we are having the slashers in this world which is going after nonsense because it pretends to be funny, and that much is hope with feathers. Something more sinister might still be coming in a sequel.

Release date: 12th December 2025
Running time: 96 minutes
Directed by: Mike P Nelson
Starring: Rohan Campbell, Ruby Modine, David Lawrence Brown, David Tomlinson, Mark Acheson

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Vampire Owl: Is this a movie about the vampire monkey in Amazon Prime Video?

Vampire Bat: You know that there is no real vampire monkey.

Vampire Owl: Why would monkeys be out of the equation?

Vampire Bat: Because there have been no vampires among them.

Vampire Owl: I believe that I had seen one during the last war.

Vampire Bat: That was a zombie monkey with some real bad teeth.

Vampire Owl: But he looked like a classic vampire.

Vampire Bat: That was before him losing those teeth.

Vampire Owl: So, they are all restricted to the zombie area?

Vampire Bat: Yes, zombies have almost everything, even the most impossible ones.

[Gets a paneer fried rice and three cups of Ooty tea].

What is the movie about? :: In 1999, Captain Petey Shelburn (Adam Scott) tries to take a wind-up drum-playing toy monkey to an antiques shop, but the toy plays a drum, triggering a chain reaction that ends with a harpoon gun brutally the shop owner, and after attempts to destroy the toy, it is seen that the captain disappears without trace. It is seen that after making an impact in the life of Hal Shelburn and Bill Shelburn (Theo James in a double role) during the childhood, and causing the death of their mother Lois Shelburn (Tatiana Maslany) and babysitter Annie Wilkes (Danica Dreyer) in the childhood leading to their disposal of the doll, it seems to come back after a very long time. It was something which they had from their father, and now Hal gets the call of Bill regarding the same at a time when he is separated from his wife, and is almost losing the custody of their only son Petey Shelburn (Colin O’Brien) much to the dismay of both the father and the child. They decide to go a final trip together for a week, as they are going to be cut down from each other.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: After the death of his aunt Ida Zimmer (Sarah Levy), with whom the twin brothers were staying post the demise of their mother, he is forced to go to her home and see if there is the monkey doll in that house. He realizes that his aunt had also gone through a brutal death, like all the deaths which the money doll had caused. He also realizes that there have been many other brutal deaths in the area, and some of them seemed to have caused with no real reason at all. He understands the seriousness of the situation and tries to keep his son away, but Petey only gets further mad that he was not told that his father had a twin brother. Hal was always considered to be a single child by him and his mother, and despite having asked about the family tree, nothing was told at all. Barbara (Tess Degenstein), a real estate agent who guides them with further process is also brutally killed as a shotgun falls down, and this leaves them caught in the village pending enquiry from the police department. What would this mean to the twins, and what is happening with that missing doll?

The defence of The Monkey :: The story about a supernaturally affected or cursed toy monkey causing deaths is rather unusual compared to the usual, and also memorable for the image of that particular toy. The mixture of violent horror scenes with dark humour makes an impact, even when they come out of nowhere and disappears without trace. It can be said that the inventive and twisted death sequences combine different elements very well. As much as it is an adaptation of the short story by Stephen King, it also reminds us of the story, “The Monkey’s Paw” by W. W. Jacobs, which became part of the Mahatma Gandhi University of Kottayam syllabus as part of the common English paper. The movie has included its own elements, developing the short story, and the emotional side becomes good as it gets towards the end, and the final scenes are quite memorable with a pale horseman and the school bus. The monkey imagery remains effective as we keep seeing it in a dual mode, with the side of horror taking the front seat. This also gives the feeling that we have the kind of supernatural from where there is no escape.

The claws of flaw :: The movie keeps losing strength in between, as it seems to focus on the main characters while seemingly avoiding most of the other things including the supporting characters who have also affected this particular world. There seems to be the feeling that the movie might not be that appealing to the audience of this part of the world, as its focus on the supernatural and its origins, as well as journey is rather less developed compared to the effect that it creates. Taken right out of Stephen King’s short story with the same name, this could have surely done better with ease, and that was one base material which could have gone many ways, and supported a lot of further extension on the way. The seriousness of the original movie is lost in some of the humour which is used here, and when absurdity comes in front of horror with that comic side, the supernatural power is often lost in the silliness – being dumb is surely not always welcome. When there is too much focus on brutality and comedy by losing the original horror power, the overall strength is surely lost, and the slow pacing in between and the lack of power with emotions also struggle.

The performers of the soul :: The movie has some strength with its leading cast, even though it never really feels like a performance-oriented movie. The focus is more on the image of the monkey and the deaths, with focus more on the terror that it creates on the characters as much as it does on the regular audience who finds the shock. In between, the characters have to work with some dark humour and the emotional effect, both of which never really have a permanent effect here – it does not stay with us for that long, and it is evident from the fact that not many recommendations of this particular horror movie came into the groups of horror genre admirers that we know from around this side of movie love. Theo James is here in the lead, and as he remains the one who makes the impact in two characters, the others are of not much of a relevance here. The different modes of humour and fear are pretty much safe with him, while Christian Convery who plays the younger versions follows well. Colin O’Brien is the next one to be relevant and the character is also blended in well enough.

How it finishes :: The movie had immense potential, which is never really used, but remains a nice mysterious horror movie with a seemingly invincible killer toy at the centre, and some humour that works well. But coming out of a very serious and terrifying short story, this one loss some charm in the form of dark humour and gory scenes which turn not that scary in the process. One has to wonder why humour has to come in along with absurd deaths instead of following the Final Destination mode, which would have given this better strength. But there is fun for sure, and one cannot easily doubt that here. But we keep wondering how this movie could have been better, while enjoying the same, especially because you see how interesting scenes of childhood and later pass on without expanding the same, from those bullying moments to the later rural scenes. Maybe, we can hope for a better sequel, with a classic developed story from this one with less humour, making the world more serious as much as emotional.

Release date: 21st February 2025
Running time: 98 minutes
Directed by: Osgood Perkins
Starring: Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Christian Convery, Colin O’Brien, Rohan Campbell, Sarah Levy, Adam Scott, Elijah Wood