Review for…
BLACK CHRISTMAS- 1974

During the holidays, a sorority house full of young girls receive obscene and threatening phone calls from an unknown assailant. Once one of the girls disappears and the calls escalate, it’s discovered a psychotic killer is on the loose. The girls are dwindled down to one and in a then terrifying twist, it is discovered that the calls are coming from inside the house. After the last girl supposedly kills the “killer", a final shocker of a twist is revealed.

One of the greatest horror pictures ever made unjustly overshadowed by HALLOWEEN which came out four years later. After BLACK CHRISTMAS was a success in Canada, director Bob Clark was approached to do a sequel. The script was written but Clark passed on it. He gave it to a young John Carpenter and told him to do it. Carpenter in turn took the script and tweaked it slightly and what was originally to be BLACK CHRISTMAS 2 became HALLOWEEN.

Seeing the movie today it still retains its power to be as scary a horror movie as you’re ever likely to see. It was even cancelled from a Halloween showing on NBC for being too terrifying. For all its scenes of suspense and impending horror, there is no gore save for a brief bit of blood. It all owes to Clark’s masterful handling of the material that the film succeeds on many levels.

The music is VERY unsettling and creepy. Probably the single most nerve shattering aspect of the film are the sinister phone calls the girls receive. At first, the calls sound like simple pranks. They soon become very sexual and at times sound as if more than one person is on the phone. Through the calls, you learn clues about the killer and who he is and possibly, what his motivations may be. Another great touch is that aside from a shot of an eye through a cracked door, you never see the killer. In fact, by the end, you learn the killer is still on the loose in the attic after the cops have left the last survivor alone in the house sedated after her ordeal.

Amidst all the seriousness, there is a certain amount of humor that is quite hilarious. Whether it be dirty posters on the wall, the drunken house mother or the foul mouthed, free spirited and likewise drunken Barbara played perfectly by Margot Kidder. According to John Saxon who plays another cop role here, Margot was, in person, very much like the character she played in the film.

Saxon, whose credits span a couple hundred movies and TV shows, frequently played policemen during the 70s and 80s. He replaced another famous actor at the last minute whose name escapes me at the moment. Right after Saxon got off the plane in Canada, he began shooting his first scenes.

All the performances here are good especially Kidder. Several red herrings are thrown in for good measure. The film was a big hit in its native Canada but only a minor success in America where the film was perceived as too real. Several serial slayings were prominent in the news at the time and possibly kept audiences away. It was re-released on a few occassions here. It was known as SILENT NIGHT, EVIL NIGHT and A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE. The latter title is what I saw it under one evening on HBO years ago.

In 2004 pre-production began on a remake of BLACK CHRISTMAS which had original director Bob Clark on board as an Executive Producer. The film, which captured a nice moody atmosphere and had several nods to the original even having one of the sorority girls play the house mother in the remake. The gore is piled high in the ‘05 version and a seriously twisted mean streak is implemented for the new film. It’s okay but not a patch on the original.

Director Clark got his start directing several classic horror films all of which are set for remakes. His first, CHILDREN SHOULDN’T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS is a wonderfully macabre zombie picture with much spooky ambience and convincing zombie make-up by star Alan Ormsby. Next was DEATHDREAM, a take on the short story, ‘The Monkey’s Paw’. This spooktacularly creepy terror tale featured early work by a young Tom Savini. Clark would also direct one of the best remembered comedies of the 80s, PORKY’S which is also set for a remake by shock jock Howard Stern. But clark will forever be remembered for one film in particular, the delightfully personal movie A CHRISTMAS STORY. What other movie in history gets its own 24 hour marathon?

Sadly, Clark and his son would be killed in an auto accident earlier this year by a drunk driver. Whether or not the planned CHILDREN…remake will forge ahead is unknown. Hopefully not. One of Clark’s last interviews can be seen on the new DVD documentary GOING TO PIECES: THE RISE & FALL OF THE SLASHER FILM.