Silent Night

"Surviving Christmas just got a little harder."

Director: Camille Griffin Year: 2021 Runtime: 92 min IMDb: ⭐ 5.9
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Synopsis

Nell, Simon, and their boy Art are ready to welcome friends and family for what promises to be a perfect Christmas gathering. Perfect except for one thing: everyone is going to die.

Married couple Nell and Simon host a yearly Christmas dinner at their country estate for their former school friends and their spouses. This Christmas is a special occasion with everyone dressing in formal wear and the children being allowed to swear. It is gradually revealed that because of an imminent environmental catastrophe in which a gigantic rolling poisonous gas cloud (which follows minutes after numerous smaller green tornadoes that are generally considered as heralds of the upcoming danger) is killing most life forms, the British government has issued suicide pills for a quick and easy death before the cloud hits Britain. The suicide pills were delivered to the entire population, except for the homeless and illegal migrants. Nell, Simon, and the rest of their friends have made a suicide pact to take the pills and give them to their children. However, while James agrees with his friends over the decision, his young wife Sophie has recently discovered she is pregnant and is still unsure whether to take the pill. There are several confrontations during the night: Kitty is given a doll that resembles her, and she hugs her father, but refuses to hug Sandra even though she begs her to; Art finds the act of gift giving ridiculous, so he lashes out at the adults and runs from the room; Sandra tells James she had loved him when they were in school and wondered why they never had sex; Tony gets visibly upset at her admission and claims he has never made a mistake, at which point Bella says they once had sex before he got together with Sandra; Alex feels left out during the festivities, which causes her to drink too much and pass out in her bed. Nell, Simon and their children video chat with Nell's mother, who is abroad, to say goodbye. She sees the gas coming, so hangs up and takes the pill. The conversation leaves their eldest, Art, distressed. He begins to speculate that the government and the scientists are wrong. Art approaches James and Sophie with his fears. Sophie then reveals to him that she is pregnant thus she does not want to take the pill. Art tells his parents he will not take the pill; this culminates in him running away after a discussion. Art soon discovers a family, including a baby, on the side of the road. They are dead, and there are several packs of the pill in the car. Shocked, Art begins to scream as the small green tornadoes twist around him; his screams allow Simon to find him and he carries him home. After returning home, the group realizes it is past midnight and time to take their pills. They divide into their separate rooms to say goodbye. Art passes out and Nell holds him, while Simon gives his children the pills. The boys ask for drinks to take the pills, so Simon gets them fizzy drinks. Meanwhile, James pressures Sophie to take the pill saying he will not unless she does too, and they eventually take them. Bella attempts to wake Alex to take her pill and makes her take it while she is very drunk, but she wakes and vomits the pill. Bella tells her they have five minutes and while in the kitchen they dance and Bella uses the diversion to stab Alex. Both die soon after. Tony, Kitty and Sandra all lie in a bed to await death when Kitty remembers her doll and runs to get it while Sandra again begs her for a hug. When Kitty returns, she sees her parents are dead and she crawls between them, finally hugging Sandra. Nell notices that Art has bled through his eyes, nose, and ears. Frightened, the whole family rapidly take their pills, and lie next to Art. The following morning, it is seen that everyone is dead. The final shot focuses on Art, who suddenly opens his eyes.

Summary adapted from TMDb and Wikipedia sources.

🎄 Holiday Cheer Breakdown

Content Warnings

⭐ IMDb Parents Guide 🛡️ Common Sense Media

a dog dies
spoiler No pets are seen.
someone is sexually assaulted
spoiler there is mention of a predatory relationship with a "Mr. Turner" when younger
an animal dies
spoiler No animals are seen dead or die on screen (except for a cooked chicken/turkey that is part of a Christmas meal).
a pet dies
spoiler No, but it is mentioned that all living creatures are killed by the poison
there's a dead animal
spoiler No animals die on screen, The family release their flock of chickens into the nearby countryside before an incoming toxic cloud that will kill everything arrives.
animals are abused
spoiler Chickens are thrown out in an attempt to set them free because "it would be better to let the foxes get them". One hits a window when the man tries to throw it into the air and tells it to fly. Clearly has no experience with chickens
an animal is abandoned
spoiler Domesticated chickens are released into the wild, in advance of an apocalyptic event. One is later seen wandering in the road.
a child is abandoned by a parent or guardian
Yes
someone leaves without saying goodbye
Yes
there's child abuse
spoiler A central conflict of the film is whether kids should have agency in this life or death situation.
there's abusive parents
Yes
the abused forgives their abuser
Yes
someone gets gaslighted
Yes
there's addiction
spoiler Mentions of alcohol addiction
alcohol abuse
spoiler Adult characters drink throughout, from glasses and straight from the bottle. "Don't approach anything without Prosecco. Cheers!" when going to talk to his highly emotional child.
someone uses drugs
spoiler The characters take a suicide pill that is designed to kill them painlessly before a giant toxic cloud can arrive, a few characters smoke a marijuana cigarette inside a greenhouse.
someone is drugged
Yes
there's eye mutilation
spoiler No, but there is bleeding from the eyes that could be disturbing for similar reasons
there's torture
spoiler You could argue that the plot itself psychologically tortures the characters. And SPOILER the son who doesn't take the pill goes through a lot of pain although no one is inflicting it on him intentionally.
there's finger/toe mutilation
spoiler A boy cuts his hand chopping carrots.
there's shaving/cutting
spoiler A boy accidentally cuts himself while chopping carrots.
someone struggles to breathe
Yes
hands are damaged
Yes
someone is stabbed
Yes
someone has a seizure
spoiler A character is seen convulsing after seemingly being poisoned.
Someone becomes unconscious
Yes
a kid dies
spoiler Children do die, one child appears to die but is actually alive.
a major character dies
Yes
someone dies
Yes
someone overdoses
spoiler SPOILER Most of the characters in this film die at the end by taking pills. I'm not completely sure if it counts as an overdose, as the pills are meant to kill them and they know this when they take them.
A child's dear toy is destroyed
spoiler A young boy is upset and smashes a wrapped present (said to contain a toy). We hear glass breaking type sound effects. Also some boys playfully shoot a toy weapon at a doll.
a parent dies
spoiler Multiple parents die after taking a suicide pact before they can be killed by giant cloud toxic cloud.
a family member dies
Yes
someone cheats
spoiler Nobody cheats on screen but there are multiple mentions about if past things are considered cheating
there are shower scenes
spoiler There is a bath scene with two twin boys in a bath together
someone vomits
spoiler One character drinks excessively and later vomits.
there's spitting
spoiler Two parents both spit on something to clean a child's wound.
someone has cancer
spoiler One character is a cancer doctor though and that's briefly discussed a few times
Someone attempts suicide
Yes
someone self harms
Yes
someone has an eating disorder
spoiler One woman talks about how she had anorexia (and wanted to have it). She is encouraged by her relative to do it again.
reality is unstable or unhinged
Yes
there's a claustrophobic scene
spoiler There's a conversation between three people in the front of a closed vehicle that's rather a tight squeeze.
there's dissociation, depersonalization, or derealization
Yes
someone has an anxiety attack
spoiler Characters are deeply distraught after seeing a car with a dead family in it including a child and infant. Breathing and calming techniques are used. Child screams for a while
someone has a meltdown
Yes
there's body dysmorphia
spoiler Lots of mentions of anorexia
someone dies by suicide
spoiler Multiple characters die as part of a suicide pact before they can be killed by a global catastrophe that is spreading across the Earth.
there's flashing lights or images
spoiler Fireworks
there are sudden loud noises
Yes
there is obscene language/gestures
Yes
there's screaming
Yes
someone miscarries
spoiler Indirectly. A character is pregnant and still chooses to take the life ending pill. It’s discussed a lot what the best thing for her to do is.
a pregnant person dies
spoiler A pregnant woman does die after being provided a suicide pill.
there is a baby or unborn child
spoiler A character is pregnant in the film.
an LGBT person dies
spoiler A same sex couple do die as part of a suicide pact with their group of friends before the end of the world can kill them.
the black guy dies first
spoiler *SPOILERS* Not first, but one of the two black characters suffers a painful death, as opposed to all the other (mainly white) characters. Since the film is primarily about seeing a painless way to die, the shocking nature of this one death may be upsetting.
there's fat jokes
Yes
there's a large age gap
spoiler In the past, a 15 years old girl had a relationship with a teacher.
religion is discussed
Yes
there is sexual content
Yes
there's anti-abortion themes
Yes
existentialism is debated
Yes
the ending is sad
spoiler Most of the character die from suicide, however one character that was believed to have died is actually alive.
a car crashes
spoiler A car is shown crashed that several dead people are in, apparently from the life ending pills
a car honks or tires screech
Yes
there's blood/gore
spoiler Also someone is stabbed and we see a little blood.

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