Michael_Elliott Silent Night, Deadly Night 4 (1990)* 1/2 (out of 4) A woman puts herself on fire and jumps from the roof of a building and the next day a reporter (Neith Hunter) tries to figure out why. The woman begins to investigate the neighborhood and soon meets a store owner who might be hiding a few secrets about the dead woman as well as a secret cult. Those wanting to see a killer Santa Claus are going to be disappointed because the fat man doesn't make an appearance here except for a brief clip from the previous movie. Director Yunza put his name on two film series from the 80s with this one and of course the much better RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 3. This film here isn't awful but there's simply nothing here we haven't seen before and in the end the thing is just too weak to be entertaining. The screenplay makes a fatal mistake in letting the viewers be a lot smarter than our female lead. Pretty much we have this woman getting in over her head and the viewer must sit back and watch her do one dumb thing after another. The problem with this is that she does the dumbest things possible and yet she keeps doing them over and over. A long running plot device has her eating a "berry", which of course turns out to be something from the cult. After eating this thing she eventually begins to see various bugs running around and starts to puke them up as well. It gets rather annoying because as a reporter you'd expect her to have a brain but she continues to do one dumb thing after another. The screenplay also features some fairly weak dialogue and various situations that simply go no where and this includes all the stuff dealing with the boyfriend who doesn't treat the reporter good enough. Those wanting nudity will get a little. Those wanting violence will get a little but not much. There's some minor gore but not enough to keep those wanting all the red stuff entertained. The film contains a lot of bug stuff so those creeped out by the critters running around will probably find this stuff effective. You also have a large creature that seems to have been inspired by the monster in William Castle's THE TINGLER. Hunter isn't too bad in the film as she at least keeps you interested in the character. The rest of the supporting cast are decent at best and this includes Clint Howard playing the typical psycho you'd expect him to be playing outside of his brother's films. SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT 4 stays away from the controversy of the previous film and I can respect the filmmakers for trying to do something new with the series but in the end it's just something we've seen countless times before. If you're going to do a movie about a woman getting involved with witches then you need to try something fresher than what's here.

Dagon First, let me start off by saying that as an avid horror fan, I can appreciate the vision of most movies - good or bad. I've seen my share of both over the years and I'm sure you have too. Occasionally, there is always a title that creeps up on you, leaving you scratching your head. "What did I just watch?" you might ask yourself. Imagine that little scenario, but multiply its impact ten fold and you've found yourself laying in a pool of confusion, as the end credits play, with an image of Initiation: Silent Night Deadly Night 4 projecting through your television.One of the biggest observations that goes without saying is the most obvious one...what does this, in any way, have anything to do with the Silent Night, Deadly Night series. I was forewarned that this title would be irrelevant to the first three titles. Arguably, I could sit here and say a movie like Friday the 13th Part VII is irrelevant...I could bring up the fact that many titles in the Children of the Corn lineup are questionable in terms of content. However, none of these can light a candle to the sheer audacity that Silent Night, Deadly Night 4 has. The main difference is that in the previously mentioned titles, the storyline (although far gone and nonsensical by that point) is still left somewhat intact. The current fan-base is still expecting a revival of their favorite character or plot line. Initiation, on the other hand, goes off running in some odd direction with the attention span of an ADD-stricken grade-schooler.I feel very cheated on account of this movie. For the record, I admire Brian Yuzna for his contributions on the Re-Animator series, Dagon, Faust, Necronomicon, and Return of the Living Dead III. I even enjoyed his directorial debut on the 1989 title, "Society." I can see that his personal tastes played a huge part in the outcome of this movie. I found that the creature effects involving many of the insects were very much akin to his style (I was reminded of the third story in Necronomicon, and some scenes from Society, for example).To be fair, I don't have many complaints about the acting or the amount of gore that I've learned to appreciate. The lead female character is believable to a degree, and Clint Howard delivers a decent performance as well, but the acting in general isn't too thought provoking. To elaborate on my previous point concerning relevance, the actors present in the earlier films were not here to reprise their roles - and why should they when there is absolutely no mention of them? I would have been more pleased if Yuzna decided to somehow include Billy or Ricky (the two murderers that took part in 1-3)...and to admit that preference is humiliating.In conclusion, it baffles me beyond the scope of any human being's imagination to consider this movie brilliant or fun. The fact that this film tacks on the Silent Night, Deadly Night moniker on the end of the title is pitiful; I absolutely refuse to label it as an "original horror movie twist about Christmas." For my own personal records that I keep offline, this has to be the second worst horror movie contained within a series, only slightly falling below the Howling III...an abomination so horrendous that the cast and crew responsbile should be tarred and feathered. So here's to another hand-drawn "tick" added to the very vast wall of horror for completion purposes. If you're a glutton for punishment and a masochist, throw this one in and lay back. Don't be surprised if you wake up in another state surrounded by bottles of alcohol and an empty container of pills - it wasn't the movie's fault.

Cristi_Ciopron When I was 14 I went through a phase when I needed to watch as many horror flicks as possible.Initiation: Silent Night, Deadly Night 4 (1990),with Allyce Beasley,was one of them.I have read almost all of the comments here, and I find them all pretty accurate--even if severely divergent. The votes are very polarized--like the appreciations in the comments. Both the positions are true. On one hand, the movie is a mess, junk out of junk, utter garbage;on the other, it is,on the very contrary,quite fascinating and involving.It made a strong impression on me:it was the ultimate apotheosis of the loathsome,the heights of the hideousness, with the ugliest means: an overflowing of disgust, the trepidation of the hideous; and the lowest level of the horror,as well.When I have seen it, I was very repulsed by the numberless cockroaches and creeping creatures--and by Mme. Beasley (whom I knew already from the Willis TV series) as well.The polar assessments are equally justified.The film has this uncanny atmosphere, obtained with the most brutal and gross means. For the adolescent I was, this played quite effective.

willywants A female reporter investigates the death of a woman who, on fire, leapt off of a building to her death. Her investigation leads her to discover the existence of a strange cult dedicated Egyptian god Isis--and the cult wants her as its new queen. While the plot is virtually unrelated to the first 3 films, SNDN4 is a surprisingly effective gross-out thriller. There are a few scares and gruesome moments here and there and the visual effects are terrific and, as we've come to expect from Screaming mad George, different. Both The script and acting are unimaginative but it's good horror fun from the Yuzna team that we've all come to love and it makes a great holiday family......err, horror film. My rating for "Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation"-8/10.