Black Christmas (Special Edition)
by Bob Clark
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: John Saxon, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, Marian Waldman, Olivia HusseyDirector: Bob Clark
Brand: Koch International
Cinematographer: Reginald H. Morris
Producer: Bob Clark
Editor: Stan Cole
Producer: Findlay Quinn
Producer: Gerry Arbeid
Producer: Richard Schouten
Writer: Roy Moore
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Silent, Special Edition, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 98 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-12-05
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Somerville House
Product features:
- The few remaining residents of a Canadian sorority house are celebrating the onset of Christmas vacation when a thirteen year-old girl is found dead in the park. Soon, it is discovered that one of the sorority sisters is missing, which triggers a terrifying chain of murders within the house. Director Bob Clark's (PORKY'S, A CHRISTMAS STORY) tense, effective film is a precursor to the slash
Movie Reviews of Black Christmas (Special Edition)
Movie Review: One of the greatest Horror films of all-time.
Summary: 5 Stars
In 1974, a little know Canadian slasher film was born by the name of "Black Christmas". To say that "Black Christmas" is a slasher is true, but it is much more than a slasher. Quite simply, "Black Christmas" is one of the best horror movies ever produced. The fact that "Black Christmas" was made before "Halloween" and "When A Stranger Calls", films clearly influenced by "Black Christmas, says a lot for what this film had to offer the genre. Perhaps what I liked best about it was the darkness surrounding the action of the film. Hell, even the Christmas tree in this movie looked spooky. Surprisingly enough, "Black Christmas" was not that well-received when it first came out although that may very well be because this movie came out around Christmas time. Unfortunately, not everyone is like me because most people do not consider "Black Christmas" a good Christmas movie, probably because of the subject matter involved. Clearly, they do not know what they're missing, but "Black Christmas" remains miles behind "It's A Wonderful Life", "A Christmas Carol" and even "Die Hard" in the race for best Christmas movie. Making Christmas scary is a pretty neat trick in my book, and I give "Black Christmas" loads of credit for that.
"Black Christmas" is about a sorority house that gets calls from a psychotic and very deranged man. I do not want to give too much away, but suffice it to say that people start dying and the sorority house girls really have no idea about the kind of danger they are in. The creators of "Black Christmas" used, for the time period, unique and brilliant camera work as the camera actually follows the killer at times, especially in the beginning. What this does is create discomfort in the audience because while the audience knows a killer is approaching, the characters in the movie do not, and this causes the increased tension in the audience and consequently produces horror. John Carpenter used this idea brilliantly and to perfection in "Halloween" with Michael Myers, but "Black Christmas" pulled it off first. Carpenter just developed and perfected the tactic and technique in "Halloween" with Michael Myers popping up all over the place unbeknownst to the characters on screen and scaring the hell out of the audience. However, "Black Christmas" deserves the credit for introducing this concept to the genre.
I really love the way the creators of this film produced a very scary atmosphere in this film most appropriate for a horror movie. The music used to produce the appropriate mood of horror was used sparingly but brilliantly to get the maximum effect, and the steps the creators of this flick took to escalate the tension and suspense in the audience with each scene involving the killer carefully and meticulously builds suspense and terror which allows the audience to experience horror to the maximum extent. The creators of "Black Christmas", for the most part, knew exactly when to show things and when to let the audience's imagination take over, although it could be argued that some of the kills that took place offscreen could have been shown in place of some of the crude humor scenes involving Barbs, the sorority house mother (who wasn't even a main character really) and the stupid police officer. However, there is a delicate balance of knowing what to show involving the killer and what not to show, and the creators of this flick deserve the benefit of the doubt here because the movie is so good although this issue does provide a good topic of debate. Notwithstanding this issue, this particular technique of carefully showing the killer and the death scenes creates an escalating sense of fear and discomfort in the audience that is most unsettling throughout the movie. The setting in "Black Christmas" is perfect for a horror film, as well as use of the attic scenes to accentuate the terror associated with this film, not to even mention how cold it obviously was during the filming of this movie. Hell, I had to build a fire just to keep warm while watching it! I highly recommend a fire on a cold night with this film with the lights off near Christmas no less while watching it...this really adds to the effect you get with this film.
Perhaps overlooked the most in "Black Christmas" is the power of the killer in the movie. Many of my reviews examine the killer or villain in a horror movie, and in my analysis, I point out many times that, with very few exceptions if any, you really cannot have a good horror movie without a horrifying killer or villain. This is a flaw in many horror movies, but not in "Black Christmas". In fact, the killer in "Black Christmas" is absolutely horrifying to the audience because the audience is able to see firsthand how psychotic the killer actually is. The phone calls that the killer makes are really brilliantly done. To analyze the killer psychologically would be some task, but suffice it to say, the killer in "Black Christmas" probably suffers from a variety of mental and emotional problems.
Even the lay person can see the intricacy of the killer's dark psychological state by the many different voices and things that the killer says on the phone to the sorority house girls. Barbara, played well by Margot Kidder, shouts a few insults back as the killer, but you don't mess with someone like this guy because he's the real deal when it comes to horror movie killers. I mean the harrowing sounds and different voices this guy exhibits throughout the film were really creative, effective at producing horror and very realistic. Little things like that go a long way towards making a film scary as opposed to just disturbing/shock horror that you see so much in today's so-called horror films. Needless to say, the "Black Christmas" killer has it all folks. He's psychotic, deranged, evil, obviously very dangerous, strong, dark, and best of all, there is so much we do not know about him. This is the source of a great deal of the horror that "Black Christmas" is able to produce.
The audience never really gets a look at the killer in this movie, but we do see his rage, evidence of his psychosis, and the horror associated with such a person. "Black Christmas" does this brilliantly. The mystery behind the killer, not just the identity of the killer which helps create a suspenseful film in "Black Christmas" as to whether the killer is one of the characters on screen, but also the element of the unknown, evil and the darkness of the killer's mind produces an incredible sense of horror in the audience. The fact that there appears to be no motive for the killings even amplifies the audience's fear and discomfort with the killer in "Black Christmas".
Not to be overlooked is the situational horror of the sorority house girls. The audience knows that they are in incredible danger, but, as I said, the main character(s) does not realize this until the very end. Crucial to the success of any horror movie is the audience's ability to be able to empathize with the victims and the characters on the screen, and while some of the characters are not the most likeable in the world, the characters appear genuine because of the good acting in the movie including Margot Kidder and Olivia Hussey. Therefore, the audience is able to step into the shoes of the characters on the screen and feel their horror as the killer imposes his will upon them
Although the pros of this films significantly outweigh the cons of this films by a longshot, criticisms of the film while minimal are not entirely insignificant. Indeed, while "Black Christmas" contains some of the finest horror ever reduced to film, the creators of the film curiously created some vulgar humor that seemed out of place in the middle of the horror film and caused the film to lag a bit. This humor was provided via the contributions of Barbs (or Barbara played by Margot Kidder) and the sorority house mother although certainly not to the extent to dilute any of the horror so clearly evident in the film, but it does seem misplaced and disjointed when coupled with the horror scenes. I think it causes a lull in the movie to a certain extent. Perhaps this could be viewed as comic relief or even character development, but I think that is weak if that is the case. More than likely, it was more filler space than anything, and I believe this time could have been used more efficiently and effectively to produce an even higher effect of horror in the audience. Again, I do not believe this takes away from the film because of the film's ability to drive home horror to the audience in such a brutal fashion, but one has to wonder what could have been if this time had been used more productively.
Notwithstanding the misplaced humor scenes which probably do not even effect most viewers because of the clear evidence of unadulterated horror in this film, "Black Christmas" leads to an absolutely terrifying climax that is exceptionally well-done. However, "Black Christmas" is unique and the ending is not what you would expect out of a slasher flick. In fact, many people raised hell about the ending to this movie, but I loved it! Sure, it leaves a lot of unanswered questions, but perhaps that is part of the beauty of "Black Christmas". Besides, the ending also leaves the audience with a cold feeling, a feeling of horror which is, after all, what horror movies are supposed to do. "Black Christmas" is one of the few gems I have run across in my search for horror movies that I would refer to as a diamond in the rough or a hidden gem because not many people knew about this movie before the remake came out. Incidentally, I would advise staying away from the remake which was largely ineffective at producing any horror (review coming soon) and certainly incapable of producing the same effect as the original classic. Five (5) STARS for "Black Christmas" which garners HorrorMan's highest possible rating as one of the greatest horror movies of all-time!
Summary of Black Christmas (Special Edition)
An ill-fated houseful of sorority sisters are stalked by a psychopath during the christmas season. Studio: Koch International Release Date: 12/30/2008 Starring: Olivia Hussey Margot Kidder Run time: 98 minutesSimilar DVD Movies
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