Few horror films are as inseparable from their controversy as Silent Night, Deadly Night. Released in 1984 and directed by Charles E. Sellier Jr., the film arrived at the height of the slasher boom, a time when audiences were already divided over violence, morality, and the influence of movies on youth. What made this one different wasn’t just the bloodshed, but the audacity of its premise: Santa Claus as a murderer. For some, it was exploitation. For others, it was a dark fa