Black Christmas (1974) Movie Review - The Greatest Christmas Horror Ever?
Welcome to Knockout Horror and Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it. Happy Holidays to those of you who are celebrating other events this December. It’s Christmas Day and officially the end of our Awful Advent 25 Days of Christmas Horror feature. It’s been a cool month with a ton of excellent horror movies and some absolutely shite ones too. We are wrapping things up with one of the best Christmas horror movies of all time – Bob Clark’s Black Christmas from 1974.
Obviously there could have been a few movies in this spot. Gremlins would have been a good shout. Rare Exports obviously fits the bill pretty well. Personally, however, this is my favourite Christmas horror movie of all time. I absolutely love Black Christmas so it seemed obvious to me. We reviewed the sub-par Glen Morgan 2006 remake earlier in the month. We followed that up with the awful Sophia Takal 2019 version a few days later. It’s about time we actually looked at a decent version of Black Christmas.
The story follows a house full of sorority sisters being stalked by an unknown assailant. After weeks of disturbing phone calls. Things begin to get really serious after a murder occurs in the local area and one of the girls goes missing. Little to the women realise, the killer may be much closer than they think.
Nowhere is Safe
Written by Roy Moore. Black Christmas is a progenitor of the slasher genre and one of the most notable horror movies to take place, largely, inside the confines of one house. The sorority house that the movie is set in seems, initially, to be quite large. A big open plan living space. A large attic. Many bedrooms and bathrooms. It seems spacious and accommodating. As the girls suddenly fall victim to an unknown killer, however, the walls begin to close in. It suddenly feels much smaller and much less safe.
The fact that someone could be killing people in their home is terrifying. This is the place that people are supposed to feel the most safe. The women should be secure inside their home but they are not. This creates a palpable sense of tension. While the viewer is fully aware of what is happening, the women are totally oblivious. It a fascinating dichotomy and works perfectly.
Black Christmas feels quite different to other slashers. It is tremendously self contained and, chronologically, very tight. Murders have taken place outside of the sorority house. The women are aware of this and groups of people are searching the streets. They are told to stay in and lock the doors and windows. Little do they know that they are trapping themselves in with the killer. It’s incredibly suspenseful stuff and tense throughout.
The Original Proto-Slasher
Written with the urban legend of The Babysitter and The Man Upstairs in mind. Black Christmas was a slasher movie before slasher movies really existed. The entire genre owes a lot to the way Clark set the formula. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre preceded Black Christmas by a few months. A few other Christmas themed movies perhaps lay claim to the first slasher accolade, as well. Not forgetting films that skirted the lines over the decades before. But while not being the first movie that one could describe as a slasher. Black Christmas was, perhaps, the most influential.
Indeed, it was this movie that inspired the themes found in Halloween. Halloween was considered as the benchmark for Slasher horror. It was Black Christmas, however, that defined the genre four years earlier. Movies that followed copied Clark’s method while expanding on the blood letting. A killer stalking unsuspecting victims with a focus on tension and kill count. It is no surprise that the Golden Age of Slashers was only a short while later.
Black Christmas actually stood above some of its later contemporaries. Featuring a complicated lead protagonist, this movie would buck the trends that would follow. It did not present us with a virginal young woman among a group of sexually active people. Jess is a complex character; she is pregnant but does not wish to keep the baby. Offering up studies of feminism, abortion rights and alcohol abuse. This was a movie that aspired to more than it may initially seem. The fact that subsequent slashers quickly devolved into tropes is disappointing. The genre left behind its socially aware trappings almost instantly. Still, the influence of Black Christmas remained and the slasher genre was truly born.
Excellent Acting
This was a fantastic cast at the time and there isn’t a single weak link in the movie. Our main protagonist, Jess, is played by Olivia Hussey. She does a great job as the glue that connects everything together. Managing to display a dynamic range of emotions. Her part in the movie’s final stanza is particularly powerful. Special mention goes to her reaction to the classic Black Christmas Revelation. Margot Kidder is brilliant as the sharp witted drunkard Barb. Her tipsy mocking of the police man at the station is absolutely hilarious. Not to mention her side splitting line regarding the Moaner. It’s just The Tabernacle Mormon Choir making their annual obscene phone call. Horror gold!
Marian Waldman, as Mrs. Mac, might be the star of the show. Although quite a small part. Her quiet disdain for the girls in the house is hilarious. Mrs. Mac is an alcoholic and has bottles sequestered in various parts of the house. Her moments stealthily retrieving these are always comical. We can’t forget her referring to Claude the cat as a “little prick”. It might be one of my favourite horror movie lines of all time. Andrea Martin is great as the level headed Phyl. She also shares decent chemistry with Olivia Hussey. The late John Saxon, as Lt. Fuller, is excellent. His role is somewhat understated but really helps to add weight to later scenes. All in all, it is a great cast and they do a bang up job.
Slow and Tense
Black Christmas is not a movie for someone seeking brutal kills and lots of blood. Black Christmas aims to unsettle the viewer. It doesn’t relish in its murders and doesn’t feature much action or a fast pace. In this respect, it is something of an anti-slasher. Naturally, some of the scenes are quite disturbing. The visuals on display, in parts, are extremely macabre. One shot, in particular, was extremely shocking and controversial for the time.
Later slasher movies would adopt a different approach to Black Christmas. The desire to unsettle the viewer took a back seat to creative kills. The villains were now the most developed characters. Almost designed with merchandise in mind. They wore masks, had iconic weaponry, and were instantly recognisable. The killer crouching in the shadows was pushed to the side. This new group of bad guys confronted victims up close. Always visible, even when hidden in the shadows. They were larger than life and almost the entire focus of the movie. Black Christmas takes a completely different approach. This is a slow paced horror movie that wants to bake the viewer in suspense.
A Divisive Ending
The ending of Black Christmas is bound to split viewer’s opinions. It is one of those movies that could be described as leaving a bit of a question mark. While it is made fairly clear what happened. The lack of a satisfying resolution will likely put some people off. The film goes out of its way to throw in some red herrings. The interesting thing here is that the red herrings are for the characters, not the viewer. We see the film from the killer’s perspective in many scenes. We know what is going on. The women in the house, however, do not. The police have a suspect and said suspect has something of a motive to harm Jess, at least. This plays into the ending of the film.
Black Christmas stays true to its desire to unnerve and unsettle, even in the end. This is never a movie aiming to entertain with guts and blood. Most of the kills take place off screen. It is a slasher, yes, but it is a slasher designed to make the viewer fear for the victims. Clark doesn’t indulge in the character’s murders. It is never gratuitous. Expecting a gratuitous ending may have been wishful thinking. Still, that is just the type of movie this is. If you enjoy seeing lots of action and a lot of kills. Black Christmas may not be for you. For other horror fans, however, it is essential viewing.
Should You Watch Black Christmas?
Any one who claims to be a fan of horror or slasher movies should definitely watch Black Christmas. This is where it all started and still stands up today as, not just, a great Christmas horror but also as a brilliant slasher. Tense, compelling, expertly paced. This is one of my all time favourite horror movies and essential viewing for all horror fans.
Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight
Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.
A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.
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