The director of A Christmas Story brings you a dark holiday treat.
In Black Christmas, sorority house Pi Kappa Sigma begins receiving disturbing, obscene phone calls. As the sorority sisters begin to drop one by one, the race is on to find the killer and stop him before he strikes again. The standouts in the cast are Olivia Hussey as Jess Bradford (aka Juliet in Romeo and Juliet), John Saxon as Lt. Kenneth Fuller (who also starred in A Nightmare on Elm Street), Margot Kidder as Barb Coard (She also played Lois Lane in the Superman films), and Nick Mancuso as Billy.
Jess is our heroine. She is a kind, caring girl who is going through some tough times. She genuinely cares about her other sorority sisters. Olivia Hussey is gorgeous as hell in the film, and plays her role incredibly well. We root for Jess, and worry about the increasing danger she finds herself in. Lt. Kenneth Fuller is the head cop who investigates the murders and phone calls. John Saxon is incredible here, and manages to give off an air of authority while still showing that he can be gentle and soft when he needs to be. He's certainly better here than he was in Nightmare on Elm Street. Barb is an alcohol guzzling, foul-mouthed, fierce girl who isn't afraid of much. Margot Kidder is very memorable and likable in the role, and she gets one of the best on-screen deaths in film history.
The killer in Black Christmas is Billy. As voiced by Nick Mancuso, he emerges as one of the most memorable, most interesting killers in cinema. We are given sparse information about Billy, we never get a clear look at him, and we never find out his identity. That said, going by the obscene phone calls he continually makes throughout the film (which are unforgettable and chilling), it's not too hard to piece together somewhat of a disturbing backstory for the character. Nick Mancuso is incredibly effective, and makes for one helluva talented voice actor (The multiple phone calls in the film were actually made using the voices of Nick Mancuso, Bob Clark, and various other performers).
Black Christmas is directed by Bob Clark, and written by A. Roy Moore. Some parts definitely feel like Bob Clark, as the film is filled with black humor (jn fact, the first act or so plays almost like a black comedy). The humor is entertaining, but can be distracting and feel misplaced. There's an alcoholic, funny house mother (Mrs Machenry, as played by Marian Waldman) as well as an inept cop (Nash, as played by Doug McGrath. He gets one of the best phone calls in cinema history, and is quite memorable because of it). Another downside is that the kills aren't all that graphic, with the money shots occurring off-camera. Luckily, this leaves most of the "good stuff" to your imagination, and what the mind imagines/conjures up is often far more horrifying than anything we could ever see on camera.
That said, the script is pretty strong (and sparse) and the directing is top-notch. The score by Carl Zittrer is haunting and effective (and subtle too). It's mostly played on the piano, but is guaranteed to make your hair stand on end at times. The cinematography by Reginald H. Morris is impressive as well. The whole film feels like it's set on a quiet, dark, snowy Christmas night. The characters feel like they are completely alone and unprotected, and the atmosphere is tense, thick, and rich.
Surprisingly, Black Christmas also plays host to some feminist themes, although it never hammers you over the head with them. As the film progresses onwards, we find out that Jess has been impregnated by her boyfriend Peter (Keir Dullea), and wants to get an abortion. Peter is not the best boyfriend as he expects Jess to marry him (out of nowhere), and insists that Jess is going to keep the baby despite her convictions otherwise. Black Christmas is not just about a crazed killer, but is also about women's rights and who has ownership over a woman's body. Considering that the film came out in 1974, it seems that the decision to include these themes was likely a ballsy choice.
Black Christmas, while darkly comic at moments, is more-so incredibly dark and disturbing. Billy is a creepy, scary character. We see through his eyes a good deal of the time, and he seems to always be just at the peripheral of the camera lens.You definitely feel his presence throughout the film. Black Christmas' ending is also downright haunting, ambiguous, and memorable. Black Christmas is certainly one of the darkest Christmas movies you can see (and one of the most influential and beloved horror films as well). It's sure to send a wintry chill down your spine.
5 STARS
FUN FACT: This film is the progenitor of the "The calls are coming from inside the house/the killer is inside the house" trope.
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