Bob Clark’s “Black Christmas” (1974) is a petrifyingly scary film, easily one of the all-time most unsettling to take place during the yuletide holiday season.
While not a hit upon release (it left a very small impression), it was among the first of the Canadian Tax Shelter films made, so called because a budget was established to help create a Canadian film scene and allow budgets for films with commercial potential.
“Black Christmas” and the early works of David Cronenberg were among the Canadian Tax Shelter films; while Cronenberg eventually broke through to widespread success and acclaim, neither his earliest works nor “Black Christmas” were hits in their day.
The film that wound up super-charging the Canadian film industry was none other than Ivan Reitman’s “Meatballs” (1979).
Decades later, not only does “Black Christmas” stand out for being one of Clark’s best two Yuletide films (more on that later), but it also influenced dozens of subsequent horror films.
Clark’s film opens on a beautiful shot of a cottage decked in Christmas lights on a snowy night. It looks like we’re in for a heartwarming family film, until the title font reminds us: this is a horror film.
We meet the lovely young members of a sorority – the central characters who stand out are Jess, played by Olivia Hussey (post- “Romeo & Juliet”) and Barb, played by a pre-Lois Lane Margot Kidder. While everyone in the bunch is buoyant and lively, ready to celebrate the holidays, a horrific phone call brings everyone to a cold silence.
Then some of the sorority members start to vanish.
Potential suspects arise, like Peter, played by a mop-haired, unrecognizable Keir Dullea (Dave Bowman from “2001: A Space Odyssey”) who plays Jess’ moody, controlling boyfriend and…wait…did you hear that? Is there someone up in the attic?
The point of view shots that establish the fractured mindset of “Billy” aren’t steady and establish a distorted perspective of life. The shock reveals are extremely effective but don’t come looking for gore and excess- despite the killer on the loose angle, Clark’s film is closer to Hitchcock than “Friday the 13th” (1980).
Cinematographer Reginald H. Morris (who later lensed subsequent Clark movies) displays some tour de force cinematography here. Remember, this is the early 1970s, with big, heavy cameras performing acrobatic feats, all to convey the visage of a broken mind.
Black Christmas – Italian Theatrical Poster
1974 / Canada / Bob Clark pic.twitter.com/aazboRaXDV
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“Black Christmas” plays on the overly familiar angle of a sorority of potential victims, but exploiting them isn’t what Clark does here, as the characters are beautiful, of course, but also strong-willed and intelligent. In addition to Hussey, Kidder, a pre-“SCTV” Andrea Martin (who is also in the dreadful 2006 remake) and the terrific Lynne Griffin (who is also a standout in the underrated 1983 horror cult film, “Curtains”).
Martin played a role that once belonged to Gilda Radner, who left the film to become a part of the original cast of “Saturday Night Live.”
Clark’s film, which is savage in small doses, and subtle and creative more often than not, is a masterpiece of mood, tension and suspense. I didn’t catch up with it until I was in college, where I watched it with a roommate (we were both horror movie aficionados), only to be rendered in stunned silence by the ending credits.
An aspect of “Black Christmas” that makes it unusual and classier than much of what followed: it doesn’t fetishize any of the murders. What occurs here is a tragedy. This is the rare horror film, then and now, that exudes a rare compassion for the victims.
John Saxon’s supporting role as a law figure would, oddly, become something of a horror movie staple, though Saxon, as evidenced by this and “A Nightmare on Elm St.” (1984) does the concerned cop better than anyone else.
The moments of humor are welcome (and mostly via a scene-stealing Kidder) but the tone is mostly serious and dread-inducing. A chilling crossroad is presented for Jess: she either has a violent, unstable boyfriend in Peter or, far worse, Peter and “Billy” are the same person.
Instead of presenting a definitive answer to that mystery, Clark ends things on a far more provocative, haunting note.
“Black Christmas” is, to state the obvious, a precursor to “Halloween” (1978), “When a Stranger Calls” (1979), “Silent Night, Deadly Night” (1984) and countless more. The alternate titles include “Silent Night, Evil Night” and “Stranger in the House.”
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Another, far more provocative factoid is that Clark declared that John Carpenter’s “Halloween” copied the blueprint of this movie (as stated in Richard Nowell’s exhaustive and excellent 2010 book, “Blood Money: A History of the First Teen Slasher Cycle”). Rather than pick sides or declare one superior over the other, the easy thing is to note how strong and stylish both are.
Noting the ways this influenced subsequent horror movies makes watching this a game for horror fans: with many scenes being from the perspective of “Billy,” and only a few chilling shots of his eye but his face covered, the mold was set for everyone ranging from Michael Myers to Jason Voorhees and on and on.
Whereas just about every horror film, Christmas-themed or otherwise, would sacrifice style and compassion for cheap thrills and gratuitous, well, everything, Clark’s film is still petrifying but also elegant.
This is a master class that manages to get under your skin.
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