| Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation | |
|---|---|
 Home video poster | |
| Directed by | Brian Yuzna |
| Screenplay by | Woody Keith |
| Story by |
|
| Produced by | Richard N. Gladstein |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Philip Holahan |
| Edited by | Peter Teschner |
| Music by | Richard Band |
Production company | Silent Films |
| Distributed by | LIVE Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation[a] is a 1990 American supernatural horror film directed by Brian Yuzna, written by Yuzna, Woody Keith, and Arthur Gorson, and starring Maud Adams, Tommy Hinkley, Allyce Beasley, Clint Howard and Neith Hunter. It focuses on a Los Angeles newspaper reporter who, while investigating the unexplained death of a woman, becomes entangled with a coven of Lilith-worshipping witches who are preparing her for a ritual on Christmas Eve. The fourth installment in the Silent Night, Deadly Night film series, it bears no resemblance to the previous films, as it drops the storyline of the Billy Chapman and Ricky Caldwell characters entirely (despite featuring a killer named Ricky).
The film was developed from a screenplay by Keith, which was reshaped by Yuzna after he was hired to direct the film. Yuzna incorporated additional elements such as the coven's focus on Lilith, as well as many of the insect creatures and visual references to Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis. Principal photography occurred in Los Angeles in the spring of 1990, with the elaborate special effects crafted by Screaming Mad George.
Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation was released directly-to-video in the United States by LIVE Entertainment on November 21, 1990. In the United Kingdom, it was released under the alternative title Bugs. It is followed by Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (1991).
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).