Silent Night, Zombie Night

Name: Silent Night, Zombie Night
Released: 2009
Duration: 83 min

11/100Festive FactorWhy it scores 11 ↓

Not BBFC rated83 min
Horror

Zombies overrun Los Angeles a week before Christmas, and the holiday barely gets a look in: a few lights and…

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Explore this film 4 sections

The CineClaus Christmas score

Festive Factor

A different kind of Christmas.

Two paper elves inspect a miniature apartment block with lit balconies and a barricaded window. A red hat lies on its pavement, with long figure shadows across the workbench. — A little magic in the making.

Five ingredients make the Festive Factor.
Open an ingredient to find out more.

Christmas in the storySet dressing.5/30

What we ask: Take Christmas out. Does the plot survive? Worth up to 30 of the 100 points.

A world dressed for ChristmasVisibly Christmas for a scene or two.0/20

What we ask: How much of the running time is visibly Christmas? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

The little seasonal details2 of the 10 kinds of Christmas icon we count turn up on screen.3/15

What we ask: How many kinds of Christmas icon turn up on screen: trees, lights, snow, carols and the rest? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

A Christmas heartHow far the ending rests on goodwill, family and belief: not at all.0/20

What we ask: Does the ending depend on what Christmas means: goodwill, family, redemption, belief? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

A returning traditionNiche at Christmas (under 25,000).3/15

What we ask: Is it actually watched at Christmas in the UK? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

24/100

Cosiness Rating Rating

Cool in tone. Grim. A bleak ending.

How we score →

What do these scores mean?

Festive Factor measures how Christmassy a film is. Five ingredients add up to 100: story (30), setting (20), seasonal details (15), emotional heart (20) and returning tradition (15).

Cosiness is a separate score for warmth of tone, sense of safety, visual comfort, a reassuring ending and how easily you can settle into it.

How the Festive Factor works →

The story

About Silent Night, Zombie Night

A week before Christmas, a virus turns a city's people into the walking dead. Police officer Frank Talbot and his partner and best friend Nash hole up in Nash's apartment, where they are joined by Frank's wife Sarah, who was about to leave him and has feelings for Nash. With the undead outside, the three are trapped with a triangle none of them can walk away from. A low-budget zombie siege with more relationship drama than tinsel.

The CineClaus verdict

Zombies overrun Los Angeles a week before Christmas, and the holiday barely gets a look in: a few lights and one undead Santa, under bright sunshine. What the film actually wants to talk about is a marriage falling apart in a barricaded flat, and that melodrama drags.

The practical gore is better than the budget suggests, and Jack Forcinito keeps things lively. The festive title is doing most of the Christmas work, so save it for a late-night horror slot rather than the December rota.

The family desk

Can the kids watch?

Not BBFC rated

Our take: not for children: gory zombie attacks, people eaten on screen and a good deal of adult relationship drama.

Content advice & accessibility

Not BBFC rated: The BBFC has no classification for this film, so it has no UK certificate. Our age guidance above is editorial, not an official rating.