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Aka: Blind Terror
Director: Monte Hellman
Writers: Carlos Lazlo  & Arthur Gorson
Cast---
Richard Beymer ...  Dr. Newbury
Bill Moseley ...  Richard 'Ricky' Caldwell
Samantha Scully ...  Laura Anderson
Eric DaRe ...  Chris Anderson (as Eric Da Re)
Laura Harring ...  Jerri (as Laura Herring)
Elizabeth Hoffman ...  Granny
Robert Culp ...  Lt. Connely

Runtime: 90 min
SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT III: BETTER WATCH OUT! (1989)

Directed by genre icon Monte Hellman (who produced Reservoir Dog, besides directing films with titles
like Cockfighter, Shatter, and Back Door To Hell that weren't pornos), this third entry in the series serves
as a direct sequel of the first film. The twist here is a re-invention of our psycho Santa Ricky. If you
remember, he was shot to death in the first film, but now he is alive and well...okay, maybe not "well", but
he's alive and in a coma!

The doctors have managed to save Ricky Caldwell's life by reconstructing his brain (funny, I didn't know
being shot in the chest affected your brain) and replacing the top of his head with a glass dome, some
purple juice, and some small do-dads with green lights in the back. This super scientific breakthrough
was used on Ricky because...well, because they really wanted him to come back. Anyway, Dr. Newbury
is in charge of Ricky and he is using Laura, a blind psychic girl, to tap into Ricky's coma brain and...well,
I don't know what he really wants her to do, but she goes into his dreams and awakens him, forging a
mental link between them. Laura leaves with her 80s rocker brother Chris and his silly stewardess
girlfriend Jerri (played by sultry Laura Harring from Mulholland Drive) to go visit her Granny in the middle
of nowhere, but Ricky decides he can't live without her.

The first person Ricky kills is, appropriately enough, a drunken Santa, but instead of dressing up as the
jolly old soul, he just wanders away, eschewing his killer Santa persona. Ricky leaves a small trail of
bodies and ends up arriving at Granny's before Laura and the gang do (which makes absolutely no
sense because he left later, but I digress). Ricky kills Granny when she tries to give him a present (and
when did she have time to buy extra presents for crazy people with glass scalps?) and hides until Laura,
Chris and Jerri show up. Back in town, Lt. Connely (played by badass Robert Culp from The Greatest
American Hero and I Spy) is put on the trail of the missing serial killer and soon enough it becomes
obvious that Ricky is chasing Laura thanks to a security camera tape of him whispering her name before
he killed the old bitch nurse on duty. Connely and Dr. Newbury team up to hunt Ricky down before
anymore bodies surface.

Back at the cabin, Laura and the gang find it strange that their dear old Granny has gone missing. Jerri
decides to show us her boobs and takes a bubble bath with Chris, who's own boobs resemble Bigfoot's.
Laura spends the time walking around, acting blind and looking vulnerable as Ricky makes his move.
The last act of the film is just about what you'd expect. Ricky attacks and people die. Soon, Ricky and
Laura must square off and solve their lover's spat. But will Lt. Connely arrive in time? Will Dr. Newbury
manage to convince Ricky to stop killing and love the bomb (get it?)? I think you guys should be able to
figure out the answers if you've seen enough of these types of movies.

As a sequel, I like the fact that they try to re-brand Ricky with the cool glass skull cap, but since they
never continued with Ricky in the later sequels, this just feels like a missed opportunity. I forgot to
mention that Ricky was played by none other than Bill Moseley, who must have a fetish for chopped tops
because this is his second horror movie character with an exposed skull. His first, of course, being Chop
Top in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. Robert Culp, a man I respect, does his damnedest to act and he is
the only one that comes off natural and makes the awful dialog actually work. As for the rest of the cast,
the lights are on but no one is home if you know what I mean.

I would imagine the bad press behind the first film was responsible for the dumbing-down and sanitizing
of this film. I figure that is why Ricky doesn't don a Santa getup. This is a disappointment as a slasher
film because most of the kills (about 95% of them) are done off screen. Does it make it scarier? No, it
makes it boring to watch because then we have to fill time with stupid Laura looking blind and her
dumb-as-rocks brother walking around. The end is as slow as the rest of the film, and the actor's
amateurish reactions don't help matters, either. The film is a true sequel, and becomes the last time the
Silent series featured its trademark killer. From here on out, it's crazy town with some vague Christmas
references. As for this one, it's not as bad as part 2. It's watchable, but by no means good. Part 1 is still
the best of the best.



                                                                                                        - Jose Prendes
BLOOD
Silent Night, Deadly Night III: Better Watch Out! (1989)
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