Every Halloween, I’m going to review a classic horror film I haven’t seen before. This year, it’s the original Black Christmas. (It’s being remade in December by Blumhouse.)
Black Christmas is one of the first slasher films. It paved the way for flicks like Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Sleepaway Camp. It waa made for a meager budget of $620,000 and at times it shows.
The movie moves kind of slowly until after the second kill. The killer’s POV tantrum got to me.
Part of the fun of the movie is its subversiveness. Settting a horror film at Christmas time. Having a cursing Santa Claus. Juxtaposing a murder with a scene of kids singing carols.
What makes the film creepy is that we can sometimes see the killer’s POV but we never see the killer himself. He talks in three distinct creepy voices including one of a child.
The movie features performances by a scenery-chewing Margot Kidder and a young Andrea Martin (sadly in a non-comedic role).
I found the movie a little slow compared to today’s faster paced horror films. However, it does have a decent twist ending. If you’re curious about the roots of the slasher film genre or just want to brush up before the remake, you should give it a shot.
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