I watched this film during the holiday season a few years back, and have come to the conclusion that "Black Christmas" is a neglected classic, and (in my opinion) is the first and best slasher film ever made. Guaranteed, fans of John Carpenter's "Halloween" will love this film, some may find they love it even more than "Halloween". And even though I thought I'd never say that, after viewing "Black Christmas" a few times, I found myself enjoying it much more.
"Black Christmas" starts off with a Christmas party at a sorority house. While the festivities are taking place, a stranger is breaking into the attic upstairs, while the unknowing sorority sisters are enjoying themselves. The phone rings, and we are introduced to Jessica (Olivia Hussey), our main character. A strange person on the phone makes obscene comments, speaking in different voices while the sorority sisters listen in disgust. As the sisters flood out, all leaving to visit family and friends and whatnot, only a few are left at the sorority house, among them are - Jessica, Barb (Margot Kidder), and Phyl (Andrea Martin). Clare (Lynne Griffin), a fellow sorority sister, has gone missing, and Clare's father comes to investigate along with the help of law enforcement and her friends. The strange phone calls continue, and get more and more disturbing as time goes by, until Jessica is forced to call the police. Could it be her boyfriend, Peter (Keir Dullea), playing some sort of sick joke? Or is someone watching the helpless girls from within the house? As the holiday nears, the psychotic killer sets in motion his bloody agenda, while the local police try and track him down before more murders are committed.
Before Bob Clark went on to direct the family holiday classic "A Christmas Story", he took a darker look at the holiday season with this hidden gem. "Black Christmas" is a masterpiece horror film, and surprisingly predates the classics by many years, such as "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th", which get most of the credit for "creating" the slasher genre, when in fact this little Canadian chiller started it all. The plot was very original at the time, and contains some very scary moments - the scenes in the attic with the killer are among the scariest and strangest scenes I've ever watched, and the phone calls are flat out bizarre. The movie reeks a very dark, foreboding atmosphere (despite it taking place during the holidays) that never lets up throughout the film's entirety, as it slowly builds suspense before reaching the climax. It takes place during Christmastime, which honestly doesn't matter to the plot (it could've taken place at any time of the year), but the fact that it's set during such a joyous, festive season gives it a little more of a sinister quality, and makes it a perfect holiday horror movie.
The acting in this film was excellent. Olivia Hussey is our lead, and she plays her character with vulnerability and innocence, putting the audience on her side the whole way. Margot Kidder plays the loudmouth, drunk sorority girl, and is also excellent in her performance, being a boisterous yet a likable character at the same time. Her character is probably the most memorable of the bunch. Andrea Martin plays Phyl, the quiet but friendly girl, and is also very good in her role. And Keir Dullea plays Jess's suspicious boyfriend well - the audience isn't sure if they should consider him a suspect or not, and he plays that perfectly. The rest of the cast includes numerous Canadian performers, all whom turn in convincing performances. There is even a little comedy thrown into the mix, an example being the alcoholic sorority housemother, Mrs. Mac., and her witty one-liners. The humor is subtle and is easily overlooked by the movie's grim demeanor, but it's in there for sure. The movie also contains some very creative death scenes (especially Barb's glass unicorn death, and the plastic attack in the closet), but even though these are present, it's really not a gory film, we mostly see the aftermath. The deaths aren't very bloody, tending to rely much more on sound, which is equally effective.
One of the major things I admire about this movie is that the audience never knows who the killer is - he's kept a mystery, even at the shocking conclusion - the audience ever really gets a resolution and we aren't given any answers, something that I find to be very effective. I like the fact that we are given so little information on the villain, because it makes his presence much more terrifying. The tricky camera-work prevents us from ever seeing his face, in fact all we really see is his body shape, hair style, and his hands. We hear his voice though, as he harasses the sorority girls over the phone, muttering vulgar and disturbing phrases and making death threats (which were very well done, I might add). Even scarier, is the fact that he's hiding in the attic the entire time. This movie completely shatters the idea of feeling safe in your home... you can lock your doors and windows, but what if the killer is already inside the house, and you just don't know about it? Very scary concept.
To sum things up, "Black Christmas" is an overlooked classic that deserves so much more recognition than it's gotten over the years - I'm sure any horror fan would love to find it in their stocking. Hopefully the upcoming remake will gain the original film some long-deserved attention. "Black Christmas" is the ultimate holiday-horror film for fans of the genre, and is the best slasher movie ever as far as I'm concerned. An underrated masterpiece. 10/10.
"Black Christmas" starts off with a Christmas party at a sorority house. While the festivities are taking place, a stranger is breaking into the attic upstairs, while the unknowing sorority sisters are enjoying themselves. The phone rings, and we are introduced to Jessica (Olivia Hussey), our main character. A strange person on the phone makes obscene comments, speaking in different voices while the sorority sisters listen in disgust. As the sisters flood out, all leaving to visit family and friends and whatnot, only a few are left at the sorority house, among them are - Jessica, Barb (Margot Kidder), and Phyl (Andrea Martin). Clare (Lynne Griffin), a fellow sorority sister, has gone missing, and Clare's father comes to investigate along with the help of law enforcement and her friends. The strange phone calls continue, and get more and more disturbing as time goes by, until Jessica is forced to call the police. Could it be her boyfriend, Peter (Keir Dullea), playing some sort of sick joke? Or is someone watching the helpless girls from within the house? As the holiday nears, the psychotic killer sets in motion his bloody agenda, while the local police try and track him down before more murders are committed.
Before Bob Clark went on to direct the family holiday classic "A Christmas Story", he took a darker look at the holiday season with this hidden gem. "Black Christmas" is a masterpiece horror film, and surprisingly predates the classics by many years, such as "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th", which get most of the credit for "creating" the slasher genre, when in fact this little Canadian chiller started it all. The plot was very original at the time, and contains some very scary moments - the scenes in the attic with the killer are among the scariest and strangest scenes I've ever watched, and the phone calls are flat out bizarre. The movie reeks a very dark, foreboding atmosphere (despite it taking place during the holidays) that never lets up throughout the film's entirety, as it slowly builds suspense before reaching the climax. It takes place during Christmastime, which honestly doesn't matter to the plot (it could've taken place at any time of the year), but the fact that it's set during such a joyous, festive season gives it a little more of a sinister quality, and makes it a perfect holiday horror movie.
The acting in this film was excellent. Olivia Hussey is our lead, and she plays her character with vulnerability and innocence, putting the audience on her side the whole way. Margot Kidder plays the loudmouth, drunk sorority girl, and is also excellent in her performance, being a boisterous yet a likable character at the same time. Her character is probably the most memorable of the bunch. Andrea Martin plays Phyl, the quiet but friendly girl, and is also very good in her role. And Keir Dullea plays Jess's suspicious boyfriend well - the audience isn't sure if they should consider him a suspect or not, and he plays that perfectly. The rest of the cast includes numerous Canadian performers, all whom turn in convincing performances. There is even a little comedy thrown into the mix, an example being the alcoholic sorority housemother, Mrs. Mac., and her witty one-liners. The humor is subtle and is easily overlooked by the movie's grim demeanor, but it's in there for sure. The movie also contains some very creative death scenes (especially Barb's glass unicorn death, and the plastic attack in the closet), but even though these are present, it's really not a gory film, we mostly see the aftermath. The deaths aren't very bloody, tending to rely much more on sound, which is equally effective.
One of the major things I admire about this movie is that the audience never knows who the killer is - he's kept a mystery, even at the shocking conclusion - the audience ever really gets a resolution and we aren't given any answers, something that I find to be very effective. I like the fact that we are given so little information on the villain, because it makes his presence much more terrifying. The tricky camera-work prevents us from ever seeing his face, in fact all we really see is his body shape, hair style, and his hands. We hear his voice though, as he harasses the sorority girls over the phone, muttering vulgar and disturbing phrases and making death threats (which were very well done, I might add). Even scarier, is the fact that he's hiding in the attic the entire time. This movie completely shatters the idea of feeling safe in your home... you can lock your doors and windows, but what if the killer is already inside the house, and you just don't know about it? Very scary concept.
To sum things up, "Black Christmas" is an overlooked classic that deserves so much more recognition than it's gotten over the years - I'm sure any horror fan would love to find it in their stocking. Hopefully the upcoming remake will gain the original film some long-deserved attention. "Black Christmas" is the ultimate holiday-horror film for fans of the genre, and is the best slasher movie ever as far as I'm concerned. An underrated masterpiece. 10/10.