Rating: 
Summary: Clearly not the best horror film ever!
Review: I just watched this film for the first time after buying a used video from Amazon.com. I have never heard of the film before, so I came to it w/o bias or expectation. Black Christmas is a mixed horror film. It succeeds in certain areas, but fails miserably in others. It's success rest soley in the creepy phone caller and the phone calls themselves. They are genuinely creepy. It's other success rests in the performance of Olivia Hussey. The main failures come from the other characters, actors, the production values, and the writing. Margo Kidder, although a very capable actor, plays a very annoying character that is so overbearing and stupid that it detracts from the suspense of the film. Also, the house mom, although played well, is too comedic, and breaks the mood, and she's feautured too much in the film. Also, even though it's Christmas, you'd really never know it from the movie, except for the caroling scene. I'm sure this film had a limited budget, but it could have been a much better film with better production and better writing. But having said that, I would still recommend the film. Unlike most reviews, I'm a tough critic. This film clearly isn't worthy of 5 stars, but it is worth a look.
Rating: 
Summary: Quite geniunely scary at times
Review: I first heard of this movie from Deron Miller of CKY's top ten horror movie list. Since this film happened to hold the top position, I figured it must be some kind of cinematic gem at the least. I was mostly correct. It is very good, but quite slow. I love that John Saxon, who is undoubtedly the best actor to ever play a cop in a horror movie ever, was in it. I was also glad that Margot Kidder, who I absolutely loved in Amityville Horror, was in it. I had never heard of Olivia Hussey before, but I was definitely impressed with her performance in this movie. I'm very surprised they haven't made a sequel yet, because the end is very open for a sequel. The most truly scary moments of this movie were the phone calls. I had all the lights turned off and I was sitting on my floor when I was watching. When the phone calls came on, I had to get up on my bed. I think the reason for these being so scary is best summed up by a quote from the late Howard Philips Lovecraft. He said "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." When the calls were taking place, they were so bizarre that they were very scary. If you're a fan of horror movies and of being scared, you should watch this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good scare-fest
Review: I am a huge fan of good scary movies,and this is a pretty good one.One of the first "slasher on the loose"movies,I think. Atmospheric,well-acted,touches of humor..just enough gore to creep you out,but not gross you out,and that's is a big difference!
If you like slasher movies,you will no doubt enjoy this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Christmas is coming early this year. And it's murder.
Review: I was suprised by this movie. I am not a horror movie fanatic, but I have seen quite a few of them, and I had never heard of this one. After reading the reviews here, I decided to check it out. I was suprised in that I thought it would be more graphic than it was, but instead I found it was quite suspensful and disturbing. The movie involved a psychotic killer stalking a sorority house (sounds cliche, but this came out in 1974) and attempts to track him down. The movie does show it's age in the way the phone company and police try to track down the mysterious caller, as it seems so archaic in this time of caller ID and such. I don't want to give anything away, but if you like suspense and tension over gore and the cheap 'pop-out' scares, then you should get this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Who's Billy anyway?
Review: It's not the masterpiece that most fans claim it to be, but this film is an effective little shocker with striking imagery, some genuinely chilling scares, and a to die for performance from Margot Kidder as a hard drinking, tough talking sorority sister. The flaws of the film include a very slow (at times almost glacial) pace, some poor editing, and a few lapses in logic - the climax is quite spooky, but offers no real explination and leaves the viewer with more questions than answers. All in all it's better than most of the so-called horror movies churned out today but it could have been more satisfying and scary.
Rating: 
Summary: disapointment, save your money.
Review: I rented this because of the great reviews, boy I wish I had not wasted my money on this unscary, long, dull, predictable movie. Some reveiwers said this was one of the scariest movies they had seen?????Give me a break! There are some nursery rhymes that are more frightening than this. Margot Kidder is just annoying and I was so glad when she was killed.
Rating:
Summary: BILLI, BILLI.....BILLI BILLI !!!!
Review: man, that was the creepiest phone call i ever heard. i remember i went to see this movie with my cousins, and we were all so freaked out after. as soons as we get home, our phone rings, and our cousin is fooling around crank calling us like the guy in this movie, totally freaked us out, 5 stars on this side !
Rating:
Summary: Unsettling, this movie will creep you out!
Review: Black Christmas is the essential must-have for horror movie fans. I didn't realize that this film basically started the whole genre, pre-dating much of the well-known horror "There's a killer on the loose" classics. This movie will get under your skin, primarily due to all those psychotic phone calls. After having watched it, I can easily say that no other film of this type has left such a creepy impression on me. I wouldn't watch this film at night before going to bed, nightmares would be a given.
Mind you, if you need blood and guts a'plenty, slashin' to and fro, then this movie may not be the one for you. Still, the insane, madman psycho in this will make you want to sleep with the lights on for a few weeks and double lock your doors. The film moves along well, with not a high count of murders occurring that frequently either. But those crazy phone calls just keep on coming. All the more to set you on your very last nerve. You'll be very surprised by the ending, it left me with just one question - what ever happened to Claude the cat??
The picture and sound quality is excellent on this DVD version and comes with a special features section. However, the documentary with two stars from the film gets a little too silly if you ask me. Also included is commentary from director Bob Clark and actor John Saxon, but it is pretty much a rehash of what's already been spoken of in the documentary.
This version is a bit pricey, so if you don't want to shell out the extra money, then buy the 25th Anniversary DVD - Black Christmas will not disappoint.
Rating:
Summary: Great DVD release of this horror classic
Review: This new DVD edition is so much better than the older 25th Anniversary DVD. It is now presented in Widescreen and with a new Dolby 2.0 audio mix, and the old original Mono audio mix for the diehard fans out there. The picture, while not perfect, is quite good for an older movie such as this. I don't believe it is presented in Anamorphic format, but that is only a minor complaint.The DVD also features Interviews, Alternate credit openings, Trailers, TV spots, Radio spots, Still gallery, etc... There are two full-length commentaries, the first is with director Bob Clark and the second is with actors John Saxon and Keir Dullea. Both commentaries provide some interesting tidbits. Another thing to mention is that the cover is reversible to either the new red/black artwork, or you can flip it over to display the original artwork. There is also a hidden easter egg which allows you to pop the disc into a DVD-ROM drive and access the bonus full script and various press releases. I won't give away exactly how you can find the easter egg, but it's not very difficult to locate! If you are a fan Black Christmas then you need this edition, take a pass on the cheaper 25th anniversary DVD. It's a little more expensive but is well worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Very freaky movie
Review: This movie still freaks me out whenever I see it. Very well done and very creepy. Performances are wonderful and very believable.... Margot Kidder & Olivia Hussey are excellent in this film. Whenever the phone rang I jumped and I actually caught myself putting my hands up to close my ears when psychopath was on the line. This movie is very disturbing and very believable.
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