Black Christmas

Black Christmas

Starring Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, John Saxon

Directed by Bob Clark

The Story:
During Christmas break, the girls of a sorority house are hounded by perverted calls, and soon they begin disappearing.  At first, the police aren't interested, but when a search party results in the discovery of a dead girl, the town goes into a tailspin, and the girls are in fear for their lives, not knowing that the killer is living among them, hiding in the attic, waiting for the perfect time to strike.

The Synopsis:
Back in 1974, the term "slasher flick" wasn't really used.  Films like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "Psycho," "A Bay of Blood" and "Peeping Tom" were the only real slasher films out there, but after "Black Christmas," the subgenre took off thanks in part to John Carpenter's "Halloween," a film that wouldn't have existed if not for "Black Christmas."  That's because Carpenter was originally going to pen "Halloween" as a direct sequel to "Black Christmas" before creating his own masterpiece - so without this little slasher film, we would never have Michael Myers, and maybe not even Jason Voorhees or Freddy Krueger.  In short, without "Black Christmas," the horror genre would've been totally transformed.

When it was first released, the film was met with harsh criticism and typical poor reviews from critics who never understand horror.  Now, however, the film has attained cult classic status due to its extremely unnerving story, excellent directing and acting, eerie music, and focusing on a fear that everyone encounters at one point or another.

That fear is the fear of being watched by an unseen person.  The killer is not fully fleshed out like they are nowadays at the start (the opening scene is him sneaking into the sorority house and hiding in the attic, all from a first-person point of view, a tactic Carpenter would re-create with his opening scene in "Halloween"), and this gives a classic crime thriller theme to the film as well: who is the real killer?  Is it the boyfriend of one of the girls?  A former jilted lover?  A janitor?  A police officer? The butler?  We don't know - and neither does the girls.  The killer sits and waits, watches with patient persistence until, like a cunning lion - leaps on his unsuspecting prey.  When one of the girls sees the man hiding in a closet, we only see a crazed eye staring down at her, a scene that's particularly unnerving.  This killer isn't a ghost, an unstoppable force of nature, or a supernatural superhuman: the killer is just a man, who preys on the weak and unsuspecting, the man who watches from afar.  For anyone - male or female - that's a particularly unnerving prospect.

The acting, especially for a horror film, is rather on point.  Olivia Hussey gives birth to a classic female heroine in Jess, a no-nonsense girl with a firm head on her shoulders and her own independent nature.  Margot Kidder plays the floozy, drunk girl with dark humor and wit, and the other girls also give their own unique characteristics on their characters - before they die.  When she auditioned for a role later, Hussey met Steve Martin, who told her "Black Christmas" was one of his favorite films.  Elvis Presley watched the film every year during Christmas.  There's no doubt the film has had a cultural impact (in fact, it's the first horror film to revolve around a holiday, followed by "Halloween," "My Bloody Valentine," "Mother's Day," and "Silent Night, Deadly Night"), and that's in no small part due to the fantastic acting.

The visuals and music are terrifying as well.  It's always intriguing to see the parallels of Christmastime (with the beautiful lights, colorful wreaths and lovely Christmas trees) with the terror of true horror (one of the first victims had a plastic bag wrapped around her face, and she's placed in a rocking chair in the attic facing the window where she remains for the remainder of the film).  It's these two distinctively different opposites that add to the fear and dread, because you're not supposed to be thinking of such things during one of the most wonderful times of the year.  The music is classic in terms of terrifying notes and rhythms, further adding to the sense of dread throughout.

The Summary:
A little film that could, "Black Christmas" set the stage for the future of horror, giving birth to several iconic villains and solidifying itself as a cult classic due to its unnerving story, fantastic acting, and scary music.

The Score: A