The Christmas Slasher Movie Controversy

I have been a fan of Christmas slasher films ever since I first saw Black Christmas (1974) and Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984). In 2024, slasher fans were delighted with the highly anticipated release of Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3 (2024). After experiencing this film in theaters and enjoying the film and the hype surrounding it, I began to observe the controversy that emerged surrounding its release. One image I saw featured a sign stating: “We protest the satanic Santa “Terrifier 3” movie showing here.” Apparently this image was of a Christian group protesting the release of the film. This public controversy surrounding Terrifier 3 (2024) really echoed the controversy surrounding Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) to me. It made me realize that Christmas slasher films will always have this public religious controversy attached to them which I actually think is beneficial for their reputation. The idea of a Christmas slasher film itself is already intended to be controversial so the public controversy will actually benefit a Christmas slasher film’s publicity and attract curiosity from a wider range of people than most ordinary slasher films do. What do you think about the controversy surrounding Terrifier 3 (2024) mirroring the controversy that surrounded Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) upon it’s initial release? Overall I think Terrifier 3 (2024) was an amazing entry in the franchise and also an amazing Christmas slasher film with themes of light and dark, good and evil, as well as angels and demons.