If “Dexter” was a Hallmark movie, it would be “Silent Night, Deadly Night” (2025). The second reboot of the franchise with the same title asks an essential horror question: what if Santa Claus had an ax instead of coal? At eight years old, Billy Chapman (Logan Sawyer) witnessed Santa kill his parents. Now at twenty-seven years old, Billy Chapman (Rohan Campbell) has been on a ten-year killing streak for the holidays, but all he wants to do is find love. When he arrives in the town of Hatchet, he meets Pamela Sims (Ruby Modine), who helps her dad (David Lawrence Brown) run Ida’s Trinket Tree, the local Christmas ornament shop. Billy finds it challenging to kill and have a normal life even though Pamela is interested in a relationship. Can a person be good and do bad things?

I have either forgotten about or am unfamiliar with the original franchise, but now I want to check it out. “Silent Night, Deadly Night” belongs in the category of holiday movies with a horror twist, and it mostly works. As a horror movie, it would have worked better if it ditched the coyness, had a mostly linear narrative except for the flashback of the first kill, and ditched the ambiguity over Billy’s seasonal, homicidal job, especially since the film leans hard on Billy as the protagonist to shape the story with the killings as almost a jolt of adrenaline to not fall asleep during the romance parts. Except for “Love Hurts” (2025), horromcoms like “Heart Eyes” (2025), “Drop” (2025) and “Together” (2025) blend the genres together more seamlessly because the characters are stronger.

Campbell seems to be typecast as sympathetic serial killers from Corey, Michael Myers’ spiritual heir in “Halloween Ends” (2022), the most likeable of the worst reboot in the franchise, to serial killer adjacent as Ricky, the big haired, fatherless Ricky in “The Monkey” (2025). Billy is severely underwritten and introduced as a psycho lay about, the kind of guy that kills someone then stays to make a peanut butter sandwich. Showing his not so furtive glances at couples in love then Pamela is not as reassuring as “Silent Night, Deadly Night” frames it to be. At this point in the movie, there are no clues how he chooses his victims. If writer and director Mike P. Nelson had revealed Billy’s logic from the beginning and embraced the campier side of the film, it could have been more fun from the outset, and the characters could be put in more ridiculous scenarios. Campbell seems a little at sea here and almost lethargic. He seems to be grim and determined, but there is no sense of catharsis or satisfaction. After Billy finds his third victim, the movie gets stronger albeit predictable and pandering to a huge swath of audience members. Hint: it coincidentally shares some villains with similar holiday sensibilities and ideology as “One Battle After Another” (2025). Billy never becomes someone who is inherently interesting in a vacuum compared to someone like the killer in “Influencer” (2022).

It is not a coincidence that it is exactly at that point when “Silent Night, Deadly Night” finds it stride in revealing that Pamela and Billy are a match made in heaven. Unlike Billy, Pamela has no problem letting her violent freak flag fly openly and proudly. Modine seems to have more fun letting loose than Campbell. After you see Pamela in all her rage glory, it is a little disappointing to see her stifle it and become a damsel in distress until the denouement, which made it predictable. Imagine how off the hook bonkers it would be if her default setting was at a 10, and then she and Billy teamed up. If the tone of this movie was more consistent, it would be a lot campier.  If Nelson had gender bended the protagonist, and Modine was the star, this movie would have been a must-see film, but then it would not inherit the franchise fans and would have died on the vine as being too woke, which it is already getting and the reason why we cannot have nice things so no points should be deducted for the creative decision.

There is a serial kidnapper, emphasis on the kid, who wears a Santa mask. The supernatural aspect of “Silent Night, Deadly Night” elevates the overall story and makes it clever. It felt as if this aspect of the story could have been interwoven more thoroughly as a foil to Billy, and the kidnapper gets dispatched too quickly. Charlie (Mark Acheson) is the voice in Billy’s head, who is more right than not and offers instructions on who to kill and how to avoid danger. If you think there is going to be a mental health theme, there is not, and it is a bit of a relief to not have to get serious.

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I really loved the idea that is not explicitly stated: Billy is Santa in spirit. Kind of like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but instead of giving out presents, they kill the naughty to save the nice, and there can only be one. It felt as if the naughty were part of a conspiracy that included employees of Elroy’s Trees and law enforcement to kill children just as Billy had to kill someone on each day of Christmas. “Silent Night, Deadly Night” cared more about the humanity of the Chosen One than the lore, but it felt as if Nelson made that choice instead of refusing to flesh it out. It was obvious that he had a blind spot for Max Benedict (David Tomlinson) for that reason because of his involvement in this conspiracy. It felt as if Max had a similar gift and deliberately kept out of sight. Technically Christmas is a pagan holiday so there is so much potential to return to this world.

“Silent Night, Deadly Night” would have been stronger if it had initially depicted Billy as a supernatural vigilante from the outset instead of a psycho killer. If Nelson had showed what Billy could see, it sets a different tone. Imagine a movie where Billy and Pamela team up for longer than one kill, especially since the film wanted it to be romantic. Pamela is more dangerous because she has faith and is ready to kill anyone before she has proof.

That massacre at the Christmas party should have been more fun, but the camera work and editing are too choppy. When Charlie gets killed, it is hard to tell what happened because the close ups are too close. In the denouement, at least playing on a desktop, it was too dark. Long shots, less editing would make the effort more satisfying, but it is the thought that counts.

For a romance, the central couple do not spend enough time together, and for a horror, it never explores its concept’s furthest corners. “Silent Night, Deadly Night” still works for creating a fresh mythology without getting bogged down in the details. Every movie does not have to be the best movie ever to be entertaining. It could be better, but it could definitely be worse. Only pay matinee prices.