Black Christmas

If Black Christmas gets anything right, it's the colorful Christmas inspired lighting and photography. It's hard not to feel a little festive as the camera moves in and around the hallways of this sorority house covered with all sorts of colored lights as jaunty Christmas music plays in the distant background. It's only a shame this well crafted atmosphere isn't in service of a better movie.

Black Christmas is a remake of the 1974 film of the same name that involves a psychotic killer sneaking into the attic of a sorority house over Christmas break and tormenting the inhabitants with obscene and terrifying phone calls before killing them one by one. This is, more or less, the same set up for this film except, where the original featured a cast of interesting and well developed (certainly by slasher standards) characters, this film features an attractive group of young women who mostly look so much alike that you can't remember who's dead and who's not.

The killer, Billy, is unwisely brought out of the shadows and given a full sob story about an abusive mother who loved his sister more than she loved him, which caused him to go on a homicidal rampage many years prior. For some reason, he has a thing for plastic bags and ripping eyes out so, if you're into that, you're in luck - that's how he dispatches of pretty much every character in the film except for one death where a stray shard of ice does the dirty work for him.

It's hard to figure out what the creators of this film had in mind. It's long been rumored to have had serious studio interference, but the tone is all over the place. Is this supposed to be quite so campy? In the end, it doesn't work as a slice of slasher cheese, a full blown comedy, or a serious horror film.

Black Christmas (2006) uncut U.S. version

*** (out of 4)

Incredibly violent and rather trashy remake of Bob Clark's 1974 classic does what any remake should do; it offers us something new. The basic storyline is still in place but this remake goes for a totally different approach to the subject matter and with all the insane violence in this film it's really no wonder there was so much protest when this was released last Christmas. The story is pretty simply as a group of college girls are in their house and are eventually picked off one by one. There's no doubt that the 1974 version is a better made movie that features better director and better acting but style is not what this remake went for. Instead of style and atmosphere this remake gives us non-stop violence, which is so gory and over the top that you can help enjoy it on that level. Yes, there are many plot holes here as new characters are introduced by for a slasher film this pretty much delivers all the goods. The one interesting change to this film is that we see flashbacks of what happened to the killer when he was a child. At first I didn't know what these scenes were trying to do but they add to a few plot twists that make them worth watching. There are several references to the first film including the rocking chair and the attic as well as references to various other early slashers. The film also takes a very strong hatred feel towards religion and Christmas as there are several scenes talking bad about the two and other scenes where statues of Jesus are shown falling and various other things. I'm not sure how much of the violence made it into the theatrical version but this uncut version is pretty damn brutal with some incredibly graphic violence (including some to kids) and a sexual situation that I won't spoil since it's part of a plot change. Again, if you want a classy horror film then stick with the original. If you just want an old fashioned slasher with a pinch of a Euro giallo then this film is right up your alley.

In this mid 2000's remake of Bob Clark's classic Black Christmas, we get an in depth look at Billy and Agnes and follow their murderous holiday massacre at a sorority house.

The film opens with a sorority sister upstairs at the house wrapping presents. In a homage to the original film, she is murdered with a plastic bag over her face by an unseen assailant. We then learn that Billy Linz is locked away in a mental institution for murders he committed in the sorority house years prior, before it was owned by the local university. The backstory told is that in the 70's, his mother was a murderous abusive woman who sexually assaults him leading to her getting pregnant with his child - Agnes. Billy takes revenge on her by killing her and also taking Agnes' eye.

Fast forward to present time which we see Billy escaping the psych ward and heads to the sorority house. Agnes is already in the attic and the two reunite to murder the house filled with sorority sisters. With an intense snowstorm brewing, and roads closed, the murderers start knocking people off one by one. It'll be up to the remaining ladies to bring an end to their reign of holiday terror.

This version of Black Christmas uses a ton of comedic dialogue in the script, and a lot of it works! The sorority girls are constantly snarking at each other or making some sort of quick witted quip about something. The gore is intense, in almost an extremely unpleasant way to sit through. There is mostly eye gouging and eye stabbing death scenes, which make me cringe. The original didn't rely on blood at all to tell an effective creepy story, and this one didn't either in my opinion.

Black Christmas gives us a mid 2000's ensemble cast, with high end stars at the time like Katie Cassidy, Mary Winstead, and Lacey Chabert. The acting was very good and a main reason why I enjoyed the movie. A standout was Crystal Lowe who was tasked with pretty much taking over the constantly drunk Barb character played by Margot Kidder in the original movie. Andrea Martin is back as well, this time playing the house mother. Her version of Mrs. Mack isn't as intoxicated or crude, but necessary nonetheless. It was nice to see her again.

I give this remake a lot of credit because of how hard it tries. Glen Morgan wanted to try and stick to some themes and iconic moments done by Clark in the 1974 entry. Yes, it wasn't nearly as effective but the try is there. This is why I prefer this remake to the latest 2019 instalment which is just name only. This remake isn't nearly as tense or terrifying as the 1974 masterpiece. Instead of shadows and a dramatic musical score, we get a ton of gore and the same nutcracker song playing in the background.

Overall, I have to say I enjoy this movie and it's a traditional watch around the holidays. It's humorous at times with characters that are well written for and does try and answer some questions from the original movie, continuing with the Billy/Agnes storyline.

7/10

I had very high expectations for this film. I thought that this might be the one "Re-make" that is the exception because of the involvement of the original film maker, Bob Clark, serving as assistant producer. BOY was I wrong!!! There are some exceptional murder sequences in this flick but that is not enough. Once again, as is the case in so many "Re-makes" the storyline has been almost completely changed! The producers do not seem to realize the elements that made the original film scary in the first place which are now missing! Such as the fact that, in the original you were never quite sure who the killer was and they never revealed it. Now not only do they reveal it, but they add an entire background that is so laughably unbelievable that it dilutes the film's ability to frighten the viewer. The over-the-top gore sequences alone do not make for a frightening movie and the "twist" ending is quite laughable! What they add to the ending of this movie is utterly ridiculous and absolutely unnecessary! Aside from exceptional gore effects, the only other saving grace is the presence of Andrea Martin from the original film as Mrs. Mack but they should have really tried harder to make the characters from the original more like those in the original...and the phone calls, a crucial element to the terrifying experience of the original, are absolutely laughable! Skip this one and watch the original.

Whoa. This is one of the gnarliest, nastiest, most gratuitous displays of violence I have ever seen! And I loved every minute of it! Going into this I was expecting very little due to the piss poor ratings, but the original is one of my favorite slashers of all time so I had to watch it. They absolutely nailed the Christmas vibe with the glowing lights, the booze, and the constant downpour of fake snow. As messed up as it is, I've always found the houses in both movies to be very cozy/comforting. The mid 2000's are on full display here as the blood and guts are amped up to highest degree. This movie has some of the most brutal, bloodiest, gruesome deaths put to screen. Unfortunately the ambiguity element is absent from this version and everyone involved knows who's on the other end of the killings. Did the backstory of billy need to be explained? Did he need to be yellow? Can we chill on the eye gouging? No, but I thought they did a decent job for what they were working with. From a film standpoint there are obvious gripes, but from a slasher perspective what's not to love?!