Black Christmas [IMPORT]

Rating:
Summary: Black Christmas, 30 years later....
Review: Few people have heard of this film, compared to the large numbers who made "Halloween" a smash hit in 1978.

"Black Christmas", as has often been noted, is the founder of the stalker/slasher/sorority killer/obscene phone call/etc. horror film.

It does not fail to deliver, even thirty years later.

First off, and to my knowledge not noted previously, "Black Christmas" is a social commentary on the abortion issue, legalized in the US only a year before the film was released.

The film isn't pro- or anti- abortion: it simply raises the thesis that legalizing abortion might open new cans of worms. Olivia Hussey...lovely as always...wants an abortion, and Keir Dullea, her erstwhile boyfriend, doesn't want her to have it.

Margot Kidder is hilarious. John Saxon, as always, is a competent actor.

The finest scene in the film is Kidder's murder, choreographed to the little dears singing "O Come All Ye Faithful". That scene trumps anything in Carpenter.

"Black Christmas" was out of print for years...scandalously. Be sure to get the DVD with the extras.

Rating:
Summary: Better Than Halloween
Review: BLACK CHRISTMAS is one of the best of the horror genre and HALLOWEEN, although a great film itself, borrows much from this film - John Carpenter was friends with Bob Clark and even had asked Clark if he was going to do a sequel. Bob Clark, director of the excellent CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS and DEATHDREAM, told Carpenter that he was not going to do a sequel, but, if he was, it would be called HALLOWEEN. Carpenter's opening is very similar in style to Clark's opening, as if the killer POV camera work and the killer lurking out of the frame. Olivia Hussey is not the virginal heroine (her character is pregnant and determined to abort the baby) and a lot of film books and reviews incorrectly identify Keir Dullea as the killer when he is obviously not. I have heard complaints regarding the ending and the unknown identity of the killer because most viewers have been conditioned to have everything explained to them & tied up in a neat little package, a la the ending of PSYCHO, but that only makes the film more unique. It was one of the first and the acting is superb for this type of effort. In a fair world it would be every bit as popular as HALLOWEEN, but given the amount of posts for this film, it shows that BLACK CHRISTMAS is very much appreciated by horror fans. I read an interview with Bob Clark on FANGORIA'S web site that a remake of BLACK CHRISTMAS is in the works, as well as a remake of DEATHDREAM and either a remake or sequel to CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS. Another great Bob Clark film worth checking out is MURDER BY DECREE, in which Sherlock Holmes takes on the Jack the Ripper slayings. It's a shame that Clark turned his back on the horror genre after BLACK CHRISTMAS and directed crap like the PORKY'S movies and LOOSE CANNONS. If he would have kept his hand at horror, I predict that he would have been one of the biggest names in the field today.

Rating:
Summary: scary movie
Review: this is a good movie. And some parts are very scary.

and like the other ratings said the acting is very good and the movie will keep you guessing.

Rating:
Summary: Should Get It's Due Credit
Review: Before Halloween or Friday The 13th there was Black Christmas. Black Christmas wasn't the first slasher flick(we have Mario Bava to thank for that, or even Hitchcock if you really wanna trace it back), but it's one of the best. Why? For starters, we're not dealing with the horny teen cliche. The character development in this is actually quite good with interesting characters. There's plot and story going on around the killings. Many people found this boring, but to me it's realistic. The phone tracing, the neighborhood watch, it all made it seem real. What else? The killer. Find me another killer like this one and I'll eat my hat. The phone calls he makes are MESSED UP and extremely disturbing. It sounds like three people screaming at each other, and the conversation is bizarre coz it deals with a "Billy", "Agnus" and assorted names that are made so creepy coz they're never fully explained. You never see the killer-only his eye in one particularly terrifying shot. He whispers and .....I can't explain it all-just see it. Starring the man who never ages, John Saxon, an extremely attractive Olivia Hussey and a very sexy Margot Kidder. Directed by Bob Clark, who ironically gave us a more appreciated christmas movie a few years later with A Christmas Story.

Rating:
Summary: This movie is a HOOT!
Review: This movie was both scarey and hilarious, I love the house mother, she just made the movie! And bravo to Margot Kidder! I really wanted to keep this in my collection but had to sell it, it would be a fantastic addition to your horror DVD's! I could not find the movie to rent anywhere, it is worth buying new or used.

Rating:
Summary: Go Margot Kidder!
Review: The script here is pretty run-of-the-mill, killer in the sorority house film. There's nothing surprising in the script, and this would be a monumentally dull film, if it weren't for the superior acting.

The acting here is so good, you pay rapt attention to a film that would otherwise put you to sleep. Here is a house full of college girls, and one character could easily blur into another, but the great actresses here present fully developed characters from the first line.

Olivia Hussey plays everyone's friend; her character is not quirky, or really very interesting, yet Hussey manages to present a dull character in an interesting way, a difficult thing. Margot Kidder is especially notable here: she steals every scene she's in, and turns this film into a personal triumph. In fact, you may find yourself rewinding and replaying the first scene she's in over and over just to enjoy her brilliant presentation. Without her, this would be just a three star film.

It's too bad there are so many films like this, making the plot predictable. I'd like to toss out the other dead sorority girl films, and let this one stand as the most worthwhile in the genre.

Rating:
Summary: Eerie and Well Executed
Review: This film really stands the test of time. Kidder, Hussey and saxon turn in top notch performances and the voice on the other end of the phoen will absolutely send chills down your spine. rarely does a scary film effect me, but I caught this for the 1st time late one night a few years ago and really had a hard time going to sleep. The highlight of the film has to be the lush for a den mother and Claude the cat.

Rating:
Summary: What a horror - I warn you!!!!
Review: In the summer of 1981 (at the frightfull age of 8), the Luxurama theatre in Wittebome, Cape Town ran a double feature. The films screened were The Cannonball Run (with Burt Reynolds and Roger Moore)and Black Christmas. The latter played first, and I was scared sh*tless from the start. Having seen When a Stranger calls the previous year, I could almost marry the 2 films together. The legacy about 70's horrors was it's haunting film scores. Lalo Schifrin did a brilliant job on Amityville Horror, as did John Carpenter with the Halloween movies. My memories of the film brings me back to the girl with the clingwrap plastic over her face in the rocking chair - also the hook coming through the attic door and pulling the victim up at the throat (The only scene to top this one was in Friday the 13th part 2 when, the guy does a handstand up the staircase and ol' Jason axes him between the nuts!!!!!). The attic door in our house was in the bathroom - damn I was scared to splash with the door locked. I'm hoping to get my hands on a DVD copy soon. But first, The Wild Geese and the Kentucky Fried movie must fall on my lap!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Scary and Creepy?
Review: Am I missing out? I think I have the same DVD that everyone else has. Covers sure are decieving these days. This movie was far from "scary as hell". Only a short list of 70's horror is considered great, and this is not one of them. I guess I am the only one that picked up this DVD and was greatly disappointed. It got such great reviews, as you can see here, but I was the least bit scared. I actually laughed through out pretty much of the film. I must admit though, that ending was a good one. I wasn't expecting it. All in all though, if you score it cheap, like I did. I picked this baby up at a Flea-Market for $5, then the loss isnt that great. Lastly, I guess this movie is loved for its cinemegraphic style, and the boundaries it seem to break for a 70's movie. I like vulgarity of it, also.

Rating:
Summary: Chills Aplenty
Review: There are a large number of horror films relying on graphic violence and cheap thrills in order to lure in viewers such as myself, and then there are films like Bob Clark's 1974 psychological tour de force "Black Christmas." Foregoing hockey masked serial killers or shambling, meat eating zombies, Canadian director Clark rivets the viewer to the screen with this crackling tale about a college sorority house and a demented psychotic relentlessly hunting its denizens down. The director of this film has often moved freely amongst different film genres during his career, from bawdy comedy (Porky's) to Sherlock Holmes (Murder by Decree) to super intelligent infants (Baby Geniuses). We should all thank the horror gods that he made this film, however, because "Black Christmas" might just rank as one of the creepiest pictures ever made. After viewing this blockbuster, it quickly became apparent that many subsequent films cribbed shamelessly from Clark's objet d'art. If you haven't done so already, you need to hustle out and pick up a copy of this one soon.

"Black Christmas" takes place, predictably, around the Christmas season in a sorority house at a large university. The girls at the house all have their own nasty little secrets, little vices both major and minor that eventually emerge as the evening's madness progresses. The only hint of potential trouble at the start is a weird phone call the girls get from some guy screeching and squawking like a madman, which doesn't really concern them all that much because this guy has called before. The phone call did disturb me because it is as eerie as you could possibly imagine. Subsequent phone calls, where this guy screeches out a woman's name that the film never elaborates on adds additional chills. Who is this guy and what does he want from these young women? Sorority sister Claire is the first girl to go missing, causing her father to arrive on the scene and setting into motion a chain of events that rapidly claims the lives of several principal characters. The cops enter into the picture, and soon place a tap on that pesky phone in an effort to understand what's going on at the house. You can take it from here, but I will say the best thing about watching this movie on a DVD is that it lays to rest once and for all who it is making those crazy phone calls. If you have a pause or slow button on your remote, you can see the murderer's face. Moreover, the disc provides information about an alternate ending that leaves no doubt as to the killer's identity. The sound of a ringing phone over the closing credits was a nice touch.

"Black Christmas" does an excellent job establishing its characters. The primary sorority girl is Jessica Bradford, played by the delightfully beautiful Olivia Hussey, who soon reveals an unfortunate secret involving her temperamental yet musically gifted boyfriend Peter Smythe (Keir Dullea). Jessica's sorority sisters consist of Barb, a wonderfully foul-mouthed alcoholic played by Margot Kidder at the height of her beauty and SCTV member Andrea Martin as the homely looking Phyllis, a no nonsense young lady who can put even the obnoxious Barb in her place with a mere word. The sorority house also has a landlady of sorts, Mrs. MacHenry, a closet drinker with a flip attitude. John Saxon makes an eventual appearance as a cop, and Art Hindle appears as the boyfriend of quickly disappearing sorority sister Claire. There are quite a few recognizable faces in this film, which gives the movie a sort of instant familiarity. All of the actors do a great job here, with Kidder and the lady who plays MacHenry turning in the best performances. Clark works wonders with this stellar cast, often illuminating a specific character trait by relying upon a quick look or a single word. Watch the scene where a drunken Barb receives a brow beating from Phyllis as proof of the director's ability to sketch out his characters.

What I appreciated most about "Black Christmas" was the pervasive atmosphere of impending doom wending its way through the film. Six years before Stanley Kubrick used extended camera shots of the creepy interior of the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining," Clark accomplished the same effect in "Black Christmas." Those lingering shots of the empty hallways and staircases inside the sorority house instill a deeply disturbing sense that something ominous is just around the corner. Moreover, Clark made his film about as bloodless as possible, a rare occurrence in what is essentially a stalk and slash picture. Murders rarely appear in gory detail, but instead show up through quick editing cuts and by implication. Perhaps a rather tame film in terms of gore and an effort to slow down the pace in order to increase the suspense might not appeal to many modern horror fans, but I will take a film like "Black Christmas" over your typical slasher movie any day.

There are two DVD versions of this film floating around on the market right now, and unfortunately I watched the one with little in the way of extras. Make sure to look for the one with commentary tracks from Clark and Saxon on it. "Black Christmas" is a classic, although generally forgotten, horror film that belongs in the collection of every serious fan of the cinematic macabre. Besides, even if you don't appreciate the film, you can still learn the proper way to give a cop your new telephone area code!