Black Christmas

I watched a movie called Black Christmas (also released as Silent Night, Evil Night and Stranger in the House), directed by Bob Clark, released in 1974. It stars Margot Kidder, John Saxon, Olivia Hussy, Andrea Martin, Keir Dullea, Marian Waldman. The story is about a group of sorority sisters who are going on Christmas vacation but end up getting killed one by one in their sorority house by a stalking murderer. This movie has the distinction for being the first “slasher” movie of its time, apparently predating Halloween and Friday the 13^th. I don’t know about any of that though, it’s just what I read and it seems dubious when you think about other films that came before it such as Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock or even The Spiral Staircase, directed by  Robert Siodmak, released in 1946. Though to be fair, “slasher” films are a totally different genre. I will say however that the acting is superb. Kier Dullea is very at home being kind of a weird boyfriend to Olivia Hussy’s character; Margot Kidder is amazing at being a total bitch who is obsessed with booze and sex and John Saxon plays it cool with his portrayal of the detective. The direction is exception, especially the camera work by Albert J. Dunk, using the first person perspective of the killer, which is reminiscent of The Spiral Staircase or even Italian Giallo/Horror films of the 1970s, adds much more to the character than being some creeping terror with a knife. In fact, the killer uses objects that are around such as cellophane and a glass unicorn head decoration. There is a subplot of calls that the girls keep getting through the entire film and apparently they have been getting them before the Christmas holiday. They don’t think anything of it until the first girl goes missing. Like I said, it has a very Giallo/ Italian Horror quality to it as well which is interesting, as it holds the suspense for the audience and also the lighting is sparse giving it spaces of darkness that make you tense as scenes unfold.
To modern horror audiences, it can be boring though to its credit, it doesn’t establish a lot of backstory, as with some grindhouse movies like this, you just take it as it is and there is action right away. It also doesn’t have a lot of excessive talking that makes you hate the characters with later films in this “slasher” genre. You feel genuinely bad for these girls because they aren’t really deserving of any of this, even Margot Kidder’s character, Barb.
This movie also has the distinction for being directed and produced by someone who directed another Christmas classic most audiences are familiar with.  There was a remake in 2006 that Bob Clark also produced, which I haven’t seen, has more gore and a little more backstory. I think this one stands on its own for being a horror film that is set against a backdrop of a festive holiday such as Christmas. If you haven’t seen it, I suggest you do, if only to see what the director is capable of with two kinds of Christmas movies.