10 Smartest Decisions In Slasher Horror Movie History

10. Giving The Correct Answer - Silent Night, Deadly Night

Sometimes the smartest thing you can do in a horror movie is to simply tell some murderous killer whatever they want to hear.

In 1984's Silent Night, Deadly Night, Billy Chapman's strict orphanage upbringing eventually results in him leading with a firm hand when it comes to punishment in later life. All of this capitulates on one Christmas Eve when Billy, decked out as Santa Claus for his boss, snaps and goes on a murder spree.

Like so many films of the time, a hefty body count is amassed in timely fashion, yet there is one brief moment of hesitation during Billy's bloodthirsty rampage. That hesitation comes when, after having killed the babysitter and her boyfriend, Santa Billy encounters a young girl.

Taking a moment, Billy asks the girl whether she's been naughty or nice.

After Cindy proclaims that she's been nice, she's gifted with a bloody knife as Santa Claus goes on his way. Should she had opted to admit to being naughty, Santa would've clearly handed out the strictest punishment possible to Cindy.

Showing that he'd think nothing of killing a child, it's only minutes later that we see Billy decapitate a young bully - because bulling is clearly naughty and totally not nice.

Authored by Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

First Posted On: 23rd Sep 2020

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