10 Horror Movies That Lose You In The First 60 Seconds

8. Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2

Urban Legends: Bloody Mary
Silent Night Releasing Corporation

Yes, yes, Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is famed for spawning the "Garbage Day!" meme that does the rounds every few months on social media, but the sequel hugely pissed off audiences when it was released in 1987.

If you'd not seen Silent Night, Deadly Night, this follow-up may just about work as a standalone feature. For those who did see the original '84 picture, though, Part 2 was a proper head-scratching affair.

Why was the '87 follow-up such a turnoff for horror hounds? Why, that's because it becomes clear in the opening minutes that Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is a retelling of the first film. And not just a case of fresh characters experiencing a similar fate as those in the original SNDN movie, but Part 2 literally spends a good 40 minutes or so replaying the actual footage of Silent Night, Deadly Night.

Once you realise what's happening, Part 2 becomes unwatchable, at least for those 40-ish minutes.

The reason (see: lazy, cheap excuse) for why Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 is framed in such a way, is the film features Ricky, the younger brother of the first movie's killer. Locked up in a mental asylum, he retells what happened to his brother... before obvs ending the film by going on his own bloody rampage.

Senior Writer
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 dayjob, 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, Jamie Hayer, 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.