Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987)

Film and Plot Synopsis

The sequel picks up years after the events of the first film. The 18-year-old brother of the first film’s killer, Ricky Caldwell, is being held in a mental hospital after committing several murders. Ricky tells the story of his life to a psychiatrist, Dr. Henry Bloom, which includes retelling the events of the first film and detailing the murders that led up to his incarceration. However, underlying all his frustration and murderous rage is the one person who Ricky blames for everything negative in his life, the strict disciplinary nun Mother Superior, the woman who drove Ricky’s brother to homicide.

‘Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2’ Movie Summary

Picking up years after the events in the first film, 18-year-old Ricky Caldwell (Eric Freeman) is being held in a mental hospital. The younger brother of Billy Caldwell (Robert Brian Wilson), the killer in the first film, Ricky has been sentenced to the mental hospital for life after his conviction for a series of murders that he committed. On Christmas Eve, Ricky is being interviewed by psychiatrist Dr. Henry Bloom (James L. Newman). Ricky is disinterested in being interviewed, but ultimately, he starts to detail the events of the murders committed by his brother Billy through a series of flashbacks. The flashbacks also detail the deaths of Ricky and Billy’s parents and their time growing up afterwards in the orphanage. Ricky discusses how both he and his brother where “taught” by the abusive and sadistic Mother Superior (Lilyan Chauvin). Ricky also tells Dr. Bloom about how he witnessed Billy’s death when he came to the orphanage to kill Mother Superior.

Ricky then goes further to describe his life after his brother’s death. Ricky recounts how he was adopted and given a good upbringing. However, his underlying trauma from the previous events in his life went untreated. Ricky’s adoptive family, the Rosenburgs, are a Jewish family that does not celebrate Christmas. One of the friendly nuns from the orphanage, Sister Mary (Nadya Wynd), keeps in touch with the Rosenburgs and tells them to keep an eye on Ricky. Nevertheless, throughout his childhood Ricky remains traumatized by nuns and the color red.

You tend to get paranoid when everyone around you gets dead. Ricky Caldwell (Eric Freeman)

Years later, Ricky’s adoptive father, Morty (Michael Combatti), dies. Ricky is disturbed by his adoptive father’s death and begins to show some behaviors like his brother Billy. Ricky commits his first murder at the age of fifteen and successfully gets away with it. After high school graduation, Ricky kills a loan shark in an alleyway with an umbrella and once again gets away with it. A chance for a seemingly normal life appears for Ricky when he starts dating a young girl named Jennifer Statson (Elizabeth Kaitan).

Back in the present, Ricky tells Dr. Bloom that his times with Jennifer were the happiest of his life although he is initially hesitant to talk about the relationship. Dr. Bloom begins to realize that Ricky’s homicidal rages are usually triggered by the color red. Ricky’s continues with his story and tells the psychiatrist about an encounter with Jennifer’s ex-boyfriend Chip (Ken Weichert). During the argument, Ricky kills Chip by electrocuting him with jumper cables while Jennifer watches. Jennifer yells at Ricky after the murder and tells Ricky that she hates him.

Angered, Ricky uses a car antenna to strangle Jennifer to death. A security guard (Kenneth McCabe) sees the two murders and tries to stop Ricky. Ricky grabs the security guard’s gun and shoots him in the head. Ricky takes the gun and goes on a shooting spree, killing three additional people. Ricky gets into a standoff with police. He attempts to commit suicide, but his gun is out of bullets. The police arrest Ricky and he is sent to the mental hospital.

The film returns to the present day. Having completed his story, Ricky kills Dr. Bloom and escapes from the mental hospital. Ricky quickly kills a Salvation Army Santa and steals his costume. Ricky’s goal is to complete his brother’s quest, to kill Mother Superior. The elderly and scarred Mother Superior lives alone in her own home. Ricky shows up and chops open the door with an axe and chases the elderly nun around her house. Ricky decapitates Mother Superior and stages the body to make it look like her head is still attached. When the police and Sister Mary arrive, the head falls off and Ricky jumps out and tries to attack Sister Mary and the police. Ricky is shot and presumedly killed. Sister Mary falls unconscious. When she is awakened, she sees Mother Superior’s severed head and screams in terror. Ricky’s eyes open at the sound of the scream and he smiles, indicating that he survived the multiple gunshot wounds.

Additional Film Information

• Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 at IMDb
• Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 at Wikipedia
• Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 at Rotten Tomatoes