“I think Ricky Caldwell might be more popular on Twitter than I would be.” An Interview with Cult Film Actor Eric Freeman, Star of SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT 2

The Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 movie poster hangs in cinema’s smallest, most selective museum. I share this sentiment with maximum sincerity. Earning a coveted spot alongside The Room, Troll 2, and Samurai Cop, Lee Harry’s film, even three decades after its release, connects audiences in a way that neither Ingmar Bergman nor Federico Fellini managed in their illustrious careers. In other words, gold award statues represent a certain measure of success, but symbols of prestige hold piddly clout against the sound a theater makes erupting with rapturous laughter. For this achievement, lead actor Eric Freeman deserves the lion’s share of credit.

I got to interview Mr. Freeman. But not about the performance that turned what could have been a mundane sequel into a deliciously hilarious black comedy. Instead, we discussed the new screenplay he wrote and what the future holds for the fan favorite character he brought to life.

Understanding the Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 Legend

Do you know Eric Freeman, the actor who delivered the frenetic-eyebrowed Ricky Caldwell performance? At first, you might not realize that you do.  

After protesters from the Parent Teacher Association got the first Santa slayer film pulled from theaters, the studio aimed to recut the original movie in hopes of recouping lost profits. While director Lee Harry spliced together much of the footage as a frame tale storytelling device, the narrative crux focuses on Ricky Caldwell, a psychiatric prison inmate under evaluation conducted by his thirteenth court-appointed doctor.

As Dr. Henry Bloom (James L. Newman) interviews Ricky, we learn the events that sparked a number of murderous rampages. In a manner befitting Hannibal Lecter, Ricky Caldwell classifies his kills as a form of public service, and indeed, he dispatches sexual assaulters, violent bookies, and child abusers. Of course, a group of police officers get snagged in the whirlwind of Caldwell’s unhinged rage. And there’s also the poor fellow who took out his trash at the wrong time.   

The truth: many, many people know Eric Freeman. Millions, in fact. The name may escape them, but his accidental catchphrase (“garbage day!”) has generated almost 8 million views at this point. In other words, if you don’t know the man, you might know the meme. The animated renditions, auto-tuned versions, and myriad other parodies of that moment add hundreds of thousands of additional plays, constituting a sizable chunk of YouTube’s advertising revenue. Boiled down to a 21-second clip, the sanitation exclamation epitomizes the memeification of our culture. But there’s so much more to the Silent Night, Deadly Night legend than a viral joke.

If that famous scene failed to spark delight for you, please check your pulse. Now add another hour and twenty nine minutes to that clip, and you have Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2, a cinematic experience teeming with a hefty sum of “garbage day moments” of equal or greater hilarity. The film went belly up at the box office, but gained a cult following as the VHS tape made its way to rental store shelves. In 2006, it went from movie to meme, ushering millions more onto the SNDN 2 train.  

Confessions of an Unprofessional Film Writer

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 lit up theater screens the night of April 10, 1987. On the same date in 2019, exactly 32 years after the film’s debut, I spoke one-on-one with Mr. Freeman. Always generous with fans of what he calls “that silly movie,” he likely would have agreed to an interview about life after starring in one of the finest b films in the history of celluloid itself. But I wanted to talk about the new script he wrote.

When I open the conversation with the serendipity of the date, he chuckles and says “Really? I had no idea. A Christmas horror movie in April? Well, no wonder it didn’t work well.” As I fumble with the recording software, we chit-chat about his cat and my dog, both of us pre-excusing the woofs and meows that might disrupt the interview.

In the film, he decapitates a nun with an ax and skewers a loan shark with an umbrella. But in real life, Freeman speaks softly, all patience and politeness, with zero pretension. His tone remains open and friendly, and even though we’ve spoken predominantly through email at this point, he isn’t shy to crack a joke about his past as a manic ax murderer who wears a Santa suit.

That laid-back, magnanimous attitude becomes immediately clear. After all, he donates copious amounts of his time to Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 fans: either taking pictures at horror film conventions or autographing movie memorabilia for a few dollars more than shipping costs. For writers, on the other hand, it seems he might hesitate. With a flag planted in both camps, I embody every facet of unprofessionalism. Between every word I utter, a guttural “um,” “uh,” or “yeah” squeezes its way in, and that’s because journalists are supposed to separate their fandom from their assignments.

I failed to stick to that code. After all, when we were sixteen, my friends and I counted how many times Freeman lifted his eyebrows. Before that information became available on the IMDB trivia section, we knew the answer. We sat with pen and paper and tallied each instance. He pivots those manicured caterpillars 130 times. 

Transcript: A Conversation with Eric Freeman  

The following showcases a condensed version of our discussion.   

I want to ask you about the new film you’ve written, which comes from a different angle than its predecessor. It’s not a horror movie so much as a gritty cat-and-mouse narrative. Without spoilers, how much can you tell us about the new script?

Eric Freeman: When people hear about the script, they’re under the impression that it’s going to start off right where Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 left off. Ricky will stand there, gun in hand, ready to blow someone away. But people change. I’ve changed. And I wanted this film to have texture and substance – that’s what’s most important to me. Heinous deaths are fun, and there’s plenty of that in the film, but you need substance.

Writing the screenplay, I veered away from the Caldwell character a little. I didn’t want another killer Santa movie. I aimed for this to be organic and totally without the supernatural elements. The audience needs to believe that these things could happen. It’s not like the horror or action movies where there’s a convoluted, otherworldly story that ties up neatly with a bow at the end. It’s life. It’s messy.

Readers of the script have pointed out the violence, specifically how much of it there is. And it’s true that there is some serious blood and guts, but I’ll remind them that in the first [Silent Night, Deadly Night] a girl gets impaled on a pair of deer antlers. I mean, I wanted to jam one more murder in there, but the story is chock full of mayhem at this point. Only a little bit of it happens when I’m wearing the Santa suit.  

What qualities are you looking for in a director for your screenplay?

Eric Freeman: I talked to Lee Harry early on. My first thought was that I’d sure like to get back together with him, and for many reasons, but understandably he felt hesitant. The more we talk, he might be game for the job now, but who knows?

There’s another director named Michael Ojeda who is really good at making action films. He did a movie a few years ago [Avenged] about a woman who returns from the dead to avenge her own murder. He made it for, I think, $750,000, and it was a great movie. I met Michael while working on the documentary [Finding Freeman]. He knows everything about the technical elements. He’s a very talented filmmaker, especially with action flicks and death scenes.   

Honestly – and I’ve thought about this for a long time now – I see the Ricky Caldwell character appearing in a David Lynch film.

Eric Freeman: [Laughs] Mulholland Drive. I liked that movie.

Oh, and there’s one more I’d love to see take on the script [for the Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 follow up] – Jackson Stuart. He’s a young director, very talented and hungry guy. He did a really cool film for a shoestring budget, and it earned a ton of awards. Beyond the Gates, it was called. The movie was an homage to 1980s horror and the VHS era. We never connected, but he read my script and liked it.

Really, if there are any filmmakers who remember Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2, and if they have fond memories of the campiness, they might be the best choice for the project.

I know people think the film is so bad that it’s good. But I can’t logically call it a bad film. It’s brought me so much joy over the years.

Eric Freeman: [Laughs] Well, there’s some silliness in there.

Films don’t happen with a snap of the fingers. What will it take to bring the new movie to theaters or streaming platforms? How can the Silent Night, Deadly Night fandom support the project?

You know, those YouTube snippets, people don’t realize that the “garbage day” scene comes from an actual movie. There are several people out there who think I’m dead, or still lost, or a gigolo in Thailand. I think if more people saw the whole film, not just that brief clip, there might be more investment in the idea of making another film.

But how do we get it going? Tough question. I’m anti-social-media guy, to be honest, and I didn’t want to pedal this film in that way. People have talked to me about crowdfunding, and to do that, I’m going to have to get out there on those digital channels. I think Ricky Caldwell might be more popular on Twitter than I would be. Maybe we’ll have an “ask Ricky” every week.

Scott Pearlman was going to use the Finding Freeman documentary to gear it up and create some buzz. If that documentary gets finished, we hope it’ll spark some interest with investors.

Do you attend screenings?

Eric Freeman: Around Christmas last year, I gave a talk at a screening at the Beverly [a cinema in Los Angeles]. Someone taped it, which I just saw recently. Audiences want to know about what it was like on set. For Silent Night, Deadly Night, I went in to audition for the role of cop number five, not the lead. I had been kicked in the teeth with rejection, but I just said “hey, I want this.” I was sick and tired of all the roles without dialogue, so I said something about wanting the lead as I was leaving the studio lot. It’s an unfair business, for sure, but you don’t want any regrets. I didn’t want to give up.

I’ll only ask one obligatory question. Movies connect people, especially cult sensations like Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2. For well over a decade, legions of fans pleaded to see you in another film. In fact, the initiative went far enough to spawn that Finding Freeman documentary. How does it feel knowing an entire movement rose up and organized to see more of your work?

Eric Freeman: It’s flattering. But the short answer is, I was scared. I know the performance, well, it was over exuberant. Out of all the work I did, this is the role that has gained the most attention. I guess that’s the truly freaky part of life. And truthfully, I think it’s so bad, it’s good. So I emerged with a lot of apprehension. If they remembered me for something, surely it wouldn’t be that role. It sounds strange, but “being dead” was the best thing that could have happened. A lot of people put forth a lot of effort to find me, and I’m reaping the benefits of their hard work. Their’s, not mine.

To be honest, I’m aware of the effort people put forth, and I know that’s how the legend built on itself. Like I said, being Rip Van Winkle is the best thing I could have done.  

And now you’re so generous with your time. With your fans, I mean.

Eric Freeman: Thank you for that. People are pretty closed off these days. We’re talking on the phone right now, you and I, and I doubt that happens much anymore. At the conventions, there are fans who travel from Los Angeles to Cincinnati to see me, and I tell them, “hey, I live in LA. Let’s have lunch!”. The fans, well, they’re just so decent. And when they’re going through a rough time, or not feeling well, they’re looking for an escape. It makes me feel better about this crazy movie I did.

Really, I never understood the garbage day scene, but people love it. They clap when they see it. I don’t know what it is. That scene exists in another world. I prefer other parts of that film.

How do you feel about releasing your film on streaming platforms? Would you release it on Netflix, Hulu, or Shudder?

Eric Freeman: I want it to reach an audience. Period. If I could get my way – if I’m able to keep the vision in tact, I mean – then streaming would be an option. I want the film to be serious, but fun and imaginative. But it’s still okay to laugh at it. 

I wrote a scene – I think you’ve read this part of the script – that takes place on a golf course. And you know what happens when the guy leaves on the gurney. I don’t want to spoil anything, but you know there’s a golf club sticking out of him. I imagine a theater of  people throwing their heads back and laughing at it.

The character reminds me of David Janssen from The Fugitive. He’s on the run. That kind of story makes sense for the small screen. Every actor and screenwriter is hawking their work at Netflix, and I’m not closed to that idea. A representative from Shout Factory, the company that produced the blu-ray of Silent Night, Deadly Night was talking to people over at Shudder. That platform, I’d love to have the movie find a home there. Thanks to all the people who saw the viral video, there’s a built-in audience for this script. But if the film is entertaining and fun, then you don’t need a built-in audience.

The 2018 blu-ray from Scream Factory should increase the size of the existing audience, you think?

Eric Freeman: I hope so. The extras on that release were really fun to do. I performed a “Ricky Today” segment, where I did a gag about what the Caldwell character is up to now. We only had a few minutes to capture that footage, and I’m not 20 anymore, but I still have the spirit of that guy.

He was fearless. That’s for sure. Thank you for your time, Eric. This has been an honor.

Eric Freeman: Yeah, it was fun. Listen, take care!

Final Thoughts: Movies Build Communities

The Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise spawned a number of sequels. The first film earned a spot in the history of cinema as an example of censorship and misplaced moral outrage. And the third installment introduced Laura Harring to a wider audience. After she appeared in that low budget horror film, she’d tackle an iconic role as Rita in David Lynch’s neo-noir Mulholland Drive. But, as the decades march forward, it’s the second chapter featuring that memorable Eric Freeman performance that lives on.

How many times did my college roommate and I cackle at the unalloyed silliness of that movie? How many times did I share that VHS tape with the frayed, peeling cover with someone else, insisting that they give me their thoughts the very next day? Truth be told, I lost count.

Movies build communities, especially films pinned with the title of “so bad, it’s good.” Audiences marvel at the scene in Days of Heaven when Terrence Malick shows the locust swarm with a closeup that lets us see their serrated legs. In Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, movie-goers get starry-eyed when the ape uses one bone to shatter the remaining skeleton of an animal carcass. But how do those experiences compare to the simple and powerful joy of laughing in tandem with other people?  We’re talking about different planes of experience. In this way, Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 exists on another planet, a world of delightful absurdity that’s more than worth your time to visit.

Film Inquiry would like to thank Eric Freeman for taking the time to speak with us!

If you’ve seen the film, wouldn’t it be nice to see what Ricky Caldwell is up to these days?  Let us know in the comments below!