Silent Night (2021)
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2025-09 to 2026-08
A group of friends gather for a final Christmas dinner as an impending environmental catastrophe threatens to wipe out humanity.
The story
Married couple Nell and Simon host a yearly Christmas dinner at their country estate for their former school friends and their spouses. The gathering is a special occasion where everyone dresses in formal wear. However, the celebration is overshadowed by an imminent environmental catastrophe involving a poisonous gas cloud. The British government has issued suicide pills to the population to provide a quick death before the gas arrives. The group of friends has made a suicide pact to take the pills together, though some members remain conflicted about the decision as the deadline approaches.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Nell and Simon host a Christmas dinner for friends and spouses at their country estate. A poisonous gas cloud is approaching, and the government has distributed suicide pills. The group has agreed to take the pills together, but some, like Sophie, are hesitant due to a secret pregnancy. Throughout the night, tensions rise as friends confront one another about past relationships and the impending end. Art, a child, becomes distressed by the situation and eventually runs away, only to be found by Simon after encountering a scene of death outside. As midnight approaches, the group retreats to separate rooms to take their pills. Amidst the chaos, Bella stabs Alex after a confrontation. In the final moments, the group prepares for the end. The next morning, everyone is found dead, but the film ends with Art suddenly opening his eyes.
- First release year
- 2021
- Runtime (minutes)
- 92
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Camille Griffin
- Writers
- Camille Griffin · writer
- Cast and characters
- Keira Knightley; Matthew Goode; Roman Griffin Davis; Annabelle Wallis; Lily-Rose Depp; Sope Dirisu; Kirby Howell-Baptiste; Lucy Punch; Rufus Jones; Davida McKenzie
- Genres
- apocalyptic; black comedy
- Themes
- mortality; friendship; sacrifice
- Tone and mood
- dark; tense
- Setting
- A country estate in Britain during a Christmas night before an apocalypse.
- Premise and plot tags
- apocalyptic; black comedy; Christmas; survival
- Reception
- The film received mixed or average reviews from critics.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 52 · scale: 100 · review count: 22
- Production trivia
- It was the directorial debut of Camille Griffin.; The score was composed by Lorne Balfe.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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