_**Santa with an ax …and a flamethrower**_

When a series of shocking murders occur on Christmas Eve in a town in Wisconsin, the Deputy (Jaime King) and Sheriff (Malcolm McDowell) must track down the culprit, hopefully before the big parade.

"Silent Night" (2012) is the sixth and most recent installment in the “Silent Night, Deadly Night” series that started in 1984. Unlike the original infamous flick, this one came and went without any outrage. Debuting 28 years after the original (and 21 years after the previous installment) it’s fittingly an all-around improvement.

This is not a remake, as some have believed, despite two scenes being homages to the original film. It’s a completely different story, completely different characters and completely different location. There’s also a link to the real-life Covina Massacre, which took place on Christmas Eve in 2008 wherein 45-year-old Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, dressed as Santa, killed 9 people by gunshot or arson at a holiday party in a Los Angeles suburb.

All the staples you would want in a slasher are present: a mysterious masked killer; brutal killings; a compelling story; a sympathetic female protagonist, i.e. the “final girl”; black humor that goes over the heads of some viewers; and stunning women (e.g. Courtney-Jane White, with a nod to Cortney Palm).

It doesn’t reinvent the wheel; it just does what it does well, including being noticeably better than the original. Not to mention it features powerhouse Malcolm McDowell.

The film runs 1 hour, 34 minutes, and was shot in Selkirk & Stonewall, Manitoba, just north of Winnipeg.

GRADE: B+