Plagued by dirty phone calls, a houseful of rowdy sorority girls barks back at the perpetrator and prepares for the holiday break, unaware that a psychotic killer looms in the attic. When one sister goes missing, local police don't give the case much thought until it's almost too late.

Written and directed by Bob Clark (who would, amusingly, go on to direct the perennial holiday classic _A Christmas Story_ almost a decade later), _Black Christmas_ is an efficient, low budget proto-slasher with a nice blend of character moments, tension-breaking humor and moody suspense. Rather than observing in fist-balled terror from a distance, the audience takes a direct, active role in the murders thanks to an persistent hand-held, killer's-eye perspective during the bloodiest scenes. While an obvious gimmick, this approach does add a unique dimension to the screen and lends the killings an intimate, face-to-face quality that feels different to its many peers and imitators.

The cast is surprisingly human and relatable for the genre, from the most experienced players (Margot Kidder as a wise-cracking, foul-mouthed lush) to the relative rookies (first-timer Lynne Griffin, whose last suffocated gasp is pictured on all the promo materials), and tackles a number of social taboos between all the stabbings. The creepy phone calls still hold their own, too, a powerful reminder of just how invasive and personal an intimidating voice could feel in the days before voicemail or caller ID.

***Historical slasher with John Saxon, Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder***

It’s the Christmas season at a sorority house in the Northeast wherein an ambiguous psycho hiding in the attic makes crank calls to the girls and slays them one-by-one. John Saxon plays the local detective.

“Black Christmas” (1974) obviously influenced “Halloween” (1978), e.g. the closet scene, but was influenced itself by psycho slasher flicks like “Psycho” (1960), “Dementia 13” (1963) and “Silent Night, Bloody Night” (1972).

Honestly, the 2006 remake has a more absorbing story which, to me, is the best indicator of a quality movie. This version is dull by comparison, particularly the first half, but it picks up steam in the second. And the open-ended climax is interesting.

But I strongly prefer the female cast in the remake; they're just all-around superior IMHO. Of course Olivia Hussey is attractive in this rendition, albeit cold, and Lynne Griffin as Clare is winsome, although her part is small. Andrea Martin (Phyl) comes across as a shorter version of Cher with short, curly hair. Unfortunately, Margot Kidder as Barb is one of the most obnoxious characters in cinema, a real turn-off (so is Mrs. Mac, but less so). Thankfully, Barb's only prominent through the first half.

The film runs 1 hour, 38 minutes, and was shot in Toronto.

GRADE: C+/B-

"Agnes, it's me Billy... Agnes, Agnes don't, don't tell what we did Agnes."

Chills down my spine.

There’s something about horror movies set around Christmas that makes the magical season feel so unholy, yet still calming. In ‘Black Christmas’, whenever it’s night-time in the movie, there’s nothing but complete blackness that makes everything from inside the house or outside feel so closed off in a claustrophobic nightmare.

One of the most effective and chilling slasher movies of the 70’s that actually scared me. Before John Carpenter's 1978 ‘Halloween’, there was ‘Black Christmas’, and before there was Jamie Lee Curtis, there was Olivia Hussey, the originally scream queen. Both movies are remarkably similar: set at a particular time of year and feature a killer with serious breathing problems and has a slow build-up that gives the audience enough time for us to care for the characters. Am glad this is getting some recognition in recent years.

The camera work and POV shots combined with the shadows made much of the movie so disturbing but also memorable. Major praise must go director Bob Clark for pulling all of this off. However, I still can’t believe he made this, since Bob Clark has the strangest career of any director out there.

The soundtrack is both eerie and atmospheric. Listening to it was honestly so uncomfortable. Guys, I can’t emphasis this enough, this movie is so freaking creepy, and funny enough, I didn’t expect it to be.

I think what makes this movie so effective is that the victims aren't being pursued by some kind of masked killer; in reality, it's just some guy lurking in the shadows that could be anyone. Also, it's not as if the killer is following the characters everywhere, they go; he's in the house the entire time and we the audience know that right from the beginning. A very Hitchcockian move.

Overall rating: I can’t recommend it enough. A solid Christmas movie wrapped up in terror.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays everyone! Stay safe and healthy.

Black Christmas decorates traditional festivities with blood, suffocation and disturbing phone calls. Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas! And have a slashin’ good time! The slasher sub-genre was most proficient during the mid-to-late 70s, with ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, ‘Halloween’ and a plethora of spicy Argento features to add a worldly aesthetic. However, one film that innovated the tropes and traits commonly found in the aforementioned titles, was Bob Clark’s Black Christmas. A horror “slasher” (if you can classify it as that...) where an anonymous serial killer remains secluded in a sorority house, gradually picking off the girls one by one. Just in time for Santa to come down that warmly lit chimney and deliver them coffins wrapped up in cute little bows.

To say that Black Christmas was revolutionary and a blooded sprout for the blossoming sub-genre to come, would be an understatement. A nameless unknown killer that exhumes mental instability? Check. An expendable cast of characters that stupidly investigate ominous sounds by themselves? Check. Excruciating tension with every camera movement? Absolutely! Surprisingly, now that I’ve witnessed various films during the conception of a horror movement, it’s incredibly easy to see how influential Black Christmas is. Not for its innovative concept, as other simpler thrillers utilise slashing techniques with efficiency (‘Psycho’), but rather for its technical proficiency.

Clark’s direction, whilst unpolished, is solid throughout. Taut camera pans to explore the darkened hallways of the sorority house. Minimal sound editing to heighten the suspense. Excellent use of shadows to illustrate the antagonist’s anonymity. Sublime POV perspective to place the viewer in the shoes of the killer. And a ramped up conclusive act that will have anyone watching perched on the edge of their seats eagerly anticipating to unwrap the plot twist, even if that narrative turn was predictable from the offset. The camera can be visible on specific occasions, mostly through reflections in picture frames as it glides through hallways. Emphasising that unrefined quality of Clark’s novice-like direction. It does give the feature some flavour, perhaps not the jolly festivities one was yearning for. More egg nog than champagne.

Yet what really injected some holiday spirit into the story, were the characters. Uniquely all acquiring a distinguishable personality that made them different and relatable. The shady drunk friend or the intellectual gal who has all the common sense (that is until she goes wandering by herself...!). The point is, they were all memorable, and that’s a rare achievement in slashers. The second act, where the campus police become involved, does stagnate the overall pace with minimal storytelling momentum. Fortunately the third act immediately picks it back up for an explosive bauble of...slashing.

So despite the lack of actual slashing, overall unrefined quality and inconsistent pacing, it’s an extremely enjoyable horror flick that takes a gentle holiday season and turns it into a crazy murder-sesh. Perhaps my new annual Christmas film? We’ll see...! I am sadistic after all!

Black Christmas is what happens when a director decides to make a slasher but also decides to make a good movie.

Each character has a purpose. By that, I don't mean simply to drive the plot along. Each character is a person, and they each have their own unique personalities and motivations. Barb isn't just the drunk and morally abrasive stereotype; she's driven by her jealousy and likely by issues from her childhood. Each character feels about as deep as her, at the least.

The only character who isn't fully explained is Billy, and that's for the best. Billy isn't a character we want explained, and it only drives the horror deeper that he isn't.

This should be on every horror fan's Christmas playlist.