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