Having already produced what is arguably the most potent horror film addressing the psychological effects of war in Dead of Night (Deathdream), Bob Clark created with Black Christmas what many consider to be the most influential and effective slasher film ever made. Clark’s steady direction, Roy Moore’s delicate balancing of humor and horror in his script, Reginald Morris’s patient camera movement throughout, and Margot Kidder’s performance culminate in a film which contains many ideas that are now so frequently emulated that they are considered genre clichés. However, for something to become a cliché, it must be repeated ad infinitum, which–if imitation is the highest form of flattery–Clark and Co. must be proud of their genre-defining work titled Black Christmas.
Set in the college town of Bedford, as the girls of a sorority house prepare to go their separate ways for the holidays, we watch as an ambiguous figure scales the trellis leading to the attic before Clare Harrison (Lynne Griffin) becomes his first victim. Obscene phone calls begin as Barbie “Barb” Coard (Margot Kidder, Superman), the sassy member of the house, attempts to ease her sisters’ minds by dismissing the caller and as yet another perverted, anonymous caller (she receives a couple of like calls per week on average). As concern begins to mount after Clare’s father arrives (James Edmond), having missed his departure time to return home with his daughter, the house mother, Mrs. Mac Henry (Marian Waldman), attempts to divert Mr. Harrison’s concerted attention, not only from his daughter’s whereabouts, but also away from the sexually-oriented furnishings in Clare’s room as Mac Henry perpetually nips from bottles she’s hidden throughout the house. After the ineffective, overburdened local police are aggravated enough by the members of the house to look into the girl’s disappearance–prompted by the irate appearance of Chris Hayden (Art Hindle), brother to the friend of the Lieutenant (John Saxon, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Tenebre)–other members of the house begin disappearing. The Lieutenant, after tracing the anonymous calls, instructs Sergeant Nash (Doug McGrath) to telephone the house. Nash informs Jessica Bradford (Olivia Hussey) that the calls are coming from within the residence. Chaos ensues in the form of a plot twist and a less-than-reassuring ending.
This is the second most famous slasher flick chronologically, following behind Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. More importantly, Black Christmas established many of the subgenre’s normative conventions, moreso than its predecessor. First, it juxtaposed the merriment of a holiday with murder (Silent Night, Deadly Night; Friday the 13th; Halloween; Christmas Evil; Jack Frost; I Know What You Did Last Summer; Gremlins; April Fool’s Day). Second, it was the first film to place the action inside a sorority house, thus utilizing the potential of numerous deaths in a group setting (verses strength in numbers due to the prowess of the antagonist) while capitalizing upon mass fear (Friday the 13th, Sleepaway Camp, Scream, Sorority House Massacre, The Slumber Party Massacre). Third, it was the first horror film of its ilk to depict the murder calling from inside the confines of the supposedly safe setting where the cast resides (When a Stranger Calls, Are You in the House Alone?). Fourth, it is one of the earliest works to promote the confusion (or illogic) of the female protagonist in her decision to move toward (upstairs) the danger (need I attempt a listing?). Fifth, the POV of the murder is projected throughout with an unstable camera in order to parallel the character’s mindset. This, along the holiday setting, are key components which John Carpenter would later implement in his masterpiece, Halloween (which was intended to be a sequel to Black Christmas in its initial stages).
With all the themes involved, Black Christmas does not suffer from a convoluted narrative because the story is masterfully paced as the various ideas are presented in a patient, revelatory manner, always keeping the viewer engaged. Tension is maintained by several subplots involving the strained relationships of the girls with their boyfriends atop the vulgarity, not of the killer when he’s making his calls, but by Barb as she quips (albeit comically) to Nash and drunkenly theorizes about her role in Clare’s disappearance to Mr. Harrison. Moore is very conscientious in regards to his insertion of humor in times when the plot must progress but would otherwise lag between privotal scenes. The viewer’s equilibrium is challenged throughout in Clark’s placing the killer in the cramped, cluttered, dark basement–further symbolizing the antagonist’s mentality–before returning to the brightly-lit openness of the sorority house below. Lastly, the obscene phone calls made by the killer are arguably the most eerie to date–not due to their content (laced with moans and animalistic cries) as much as by their tone (the killer changes his voice with each call).
Black Christmas is a landmark for horror in that it almost single-handedly established the boundaries and themes for the subgenre of the slasher. However, even though many of the ideas contained in Bob Clark’s masterpiece have been hashed and rehashed, the work still retains its artistic integrity, putting most every one of its imitators to shame.
For conversation purposes, Malcolm McDowell turned down the role of Peter as did Bette Davis for the part of Mrs. Mac Henry. Also, for you horror aficionados, Black Christmas was a huge influence (alongside Se7en) for James Wan’s Saw which, during the film, Wan makes several nods to Clark’s landmark production.
The Blu-ray disc was actually supervised by the creator of the website “Itsmebilly.com” Dan Duffin. The film is presented in Digitally re-mastered anamorphic Video & 5.1 Surround Stereo Audio. It also includes two original scenes with new vocal soundtracks, “The 12 Days of Christmas Documentary” with interviews with some of the cast of the film. A separate interview segment with Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder, and a Midnight Q & A session with John Saxon, Bob Clark and Carl Zitter, plus animated menus. It is pretty much the same features that appeared on the special edition DVD that came out a few years back. But for fans of the film, it’s well worth watching on blu-ray for the experience.
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
