A sorority has a less than merry Christmas when a madman terrorizes them by making obscene, frightening phone calls in strange voices to their house. The sisters don't take the calls seriously until one of the housemates, Barb, goes missing. What they don't know is that she has been murdered inside the house and hidden in the attic. They also don't know that he is still in the house... and about to strike again!
Black Christmas is probably the first "proper", or "modern", slasher film. It preceded Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, even Halloween. It pioneered many of the cliche's that hold true to this day. In this sense, while it may seem pretty standard today, it was revolutionary for its time.
What's more, it's a great movie. It was made at a time before the seemingly unavoidable camp of later slasher films. Furthermore, it focuses much less on gore, and not at all on mass nudity and sexual content. Instead it focuses on suspense, creepy atmosphere, surprise, and a certain element of mystery around who the killer is; is it Peter, the abusive scum bag boyfriend, or someone else? In this sense it has much in common with proto-slasher films like Psycho and Dementia 13.
It may have been completely ignored when it was released originally in the 70's, but Black Christmas deserves some major cred as a creepy and suspenseful film which helped to launch an entirely new sub-genre of horror. In 2006 it finally got the recognition it deserved when it was honored in the timeless tradition of the remake. As with most remakes, it is unlikely to be as good. But stay tuned for a review of that in the future.
4.5 plastic cleaning bags out of 5
Rated 18A/R for violence, frightening scene, profanity.
Watch the Black Christmas trailer.
Share
No comments:
Post a Comment