Black Christmas Is Still The Perfect Slasher Template
Fifty-one years later, the holiday horror classic just got a huge upgrade.
Imagine, as a filmmaker, being able to brag about creating not one classic Christmas movie, but two must-watch holiday staples? That's Bob Clark's reality. A Christmas Story is the title most audiences associate with Clark, given how it marathons on syndication for 24 hours every December. But what about his knockout on the other side of the naughty or nice spectrum? Before Clark went on to direct Porky's, A Christmas Story, and Baby Geniuses, he helped popularize the slasher subgenre by introducing viewers to the snow-dusted impurity of 1974's Black Christmas.
Clark's ho-ho-horrific Canadian masterpiece isn't just the best Christmas-themed slasher; it's on the Mount Rushmore of classic slashers. What's achieved through noose-tight tension and unrelenting dread informs an entire subgenre of horror that, in turn, would misunderstand the strengths of Black Christmas and devolve into cheap sleaze. Clark's ability to sustain frigid suspense using perverse phone calls, voyeuristic peeping Toms (inspired by Peeping Tom), and the sorority slasher mold does not relent. Black Christmas is a horrific testament to fear and paranoia, before the slasher genre predominantly became male-gazey skin flicks and sloppy gore romps.
Fifty-one years after its release, Clark's repugnant festive terror is repackaged as a Limited Edition 4K Steelbook from Scream Factory. To be fair, it's more of a reskin; this is the same 4K upgrade released in 2022, now with a fancier hard shell and new artwork that pays homage to Billy's co-ed victims. But, for those who haven't upgraded their Black Christmas DVD yet or still don’t own a copy, there’s plenty of incentive. The current streaming version feels ripped straight from a VHS tape, while 2022's 4K remaster brings spectacular clarity to Clark's devious winter break from hell.
Black Christmas has been remade twice, neither of which surpasses the original. Glen Morgan's 2006 "Black X-Mas" loses the plot by valuing stomach-churning gore over a messy story about jaundice and incest, whereas Sophia Takal's 2019 Black Christmas does not survive Blumhouse's hack job to bring the originally R-rated project down to a more mass-marketable PG-13. It's a testament to Clark's vision and Roy Moore's sinister screenplay, which elevate the simplicity of sorority-house murder sprees by treating the surrounding drama with dignity. You also catch glimpses of Clark as a comedy director, the way he punches up Moore’s script with alleviating jokes and plays up yucks amidst this otherwise dagger-in-your-heart experience.
There's a sophistication to how Clark preys upon our fears. Black Christmas reminds us of how slashers once relied on sustainable tension built on breathless suspense, before trashterpieces like The Mutilator and Slaughter High became commonplace. Clark ensures the whodunit's mystery keeps us on edge, insists on making the sister Pi Kappa Sigma into more than corpse fodder, and holds the film's stashed away murderer — pervy psycho Billy — out of sight for the film's duration. It's hardly the bloodiest slasher you'll ever see, but that's not a detriment. What Billy's voice actor (Nick Mancuso) achieves by screeching the most perverted, bleach-your-mouth vulgarities into a phone is so indescribably frightening, even though he's entirely off-screen. Clark challenged himself to make a horror movie where the villain never reveals himself, and the result is elite levels of malevolence.
When watching Clark's Black Christmas, you won't have to be reminded to respect your elders. Imitators pale in comparison to the despicable frights of this timeless slasher stunner. An ensemble that includes Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, John Saxon, and Andrea Martin proves that there's no expiration date on quality horror storytelling, which Black Christmas carries by the sleighful.
How Was Black Christmas Received At The Time?
Margot Kidder and Olivia Hussey in Black Christmas.
1974 was a busy year for Bob Clark. Black Christmas wasn't his only release; in August, his Vietnam-era zombie flick Deathdream, aka Dead of Night, would see a modest run. Unfortunately, Black Christmas had a more challenging path to audiences. Despite becoming the third-highest-grossing Canadian film, its stateside rollout was marred by setbacks. It couldn't compete against The Godfather Part II in 1974. In 1975, its optimistic theatrical expansion for Halloween ended disappointingly with 58 locations cancelling their bookings. Warner Brothers tried, but Black Christmas earned more praise after theaters than during its meager rollout, which came in well under studio box-office predictions (some $5 million short of its $7 million estimate).
Early reviews were a mixed bag, including a 1.5-star pan by Gene Siskel, who scathes how Black Christmas "is notable only for indicating the kind of junk roles that talented actresses are forced to play in the movies." His longtime co-host and “rival,” Roger Ebert, was surprisingly more accepting in his positive-leaning review (despite Ebert's historic distaste for the slasher genre at large, dubbing them “Dead Teenager” films). "Black Christmas is no masterpiece, but it works very nicely as a thriller, and there's nothing quite like a hand leaping from the shadows to distract an audience from going out for more popcorn."
Why Is Black Christmas Important To See Now?
Black Christmas is the pinnacle of holiday-themed slashers.
There's a purity about Black Christmas that has not been replicated since the 1970s. It's obscene but not overwhelmingly unsightly. It’s leery and dreadful, yet effusively holly-jolly and intent on showing American college students as developed individuals. Contemporary slashers often favor one aspect — murders, scares, laughs, or mysteries — but Clark dutifully balances all aspects of the slasher formula. The comedic stylings of Marian Waldman's boozehound house mother, Mrs. Mac, juxtapose against the depraved ramblings of a sexually sadistic phone caller who is, only to our knowledge, hiding himself in the sorority's attic. Everything comes together in this perfect storm of dreary conditions, holiday malaise, and predatory hunting that couldn't be wound tighter thanks to Clark's oversight.
Black Christmas is sometimes left out of the O.G. slasher conversation, overshadowed by Michael Myers and Leatherface. It's a film that doesn't always get the recognition it deserves, yet has aged like a fine wine over the last half-century.
Black Christmas also takes risks in the 1970s that filmmakers today hardly dare. Olivia Hussey's tortured heroine, Jess, bravely advocates for abortion barely a year after Roe v. Wade passed into law. It's tremendously important not only because Jess' boyfriend Peter (Keir Dullea) becomes a red herring after reacting to her decision to abort with anger, but takes a stance for advocacy through cinema. It's a stern reminder that horror has always been political. And for the up-and-coming filmmakers out there, it's a reassurance that you can instill vital messaging in your horror flicks about college babes being offed by a murderer with a thousand creepy voices.
What New Features Does Black Christmas Have?
Since this is a repackage of the 2022 4K Collector’s Edition, you’re getting the same scan of the Original Camera Negative presented in Dolby Vision. It’s also got the same restoration of the Original Mono Track and 5.1 Mix restoration of the missing sound effects.
As for special features, it’s loaded with legacy commentaries, recorded panel discussions, and other goodies stuffed so tight your stocking is about to explode:
- Audio Commentary with Director Bob Clark
- Audio Commentary with Actors John Saxon and Keir Dullea
- Audio Commentary with Actor Nick Mancuso
- Audio Interview with Bob Clark
- 2022 Restoration of the 5.1 Audio, Restoring Missing Dialogue, Music and Sound Effects
- Audio Commentary with Billy (Actor Nick Mancuso)
- Audio Interview with Director Bob Clark
- Film and Furs: Remembering Black Christmas with Art Hindle
- Victims and Virgins: Remembering Black Christmas with Lynne Griffin
- Black Christmas Legacy
- 40th Anniversary Panel at FanExpo 2014 Featuring John Saxon, Art Hindle, Lynne Griffin & Nick Mancuso
- On Screen!: Black Christmas
- 12 Days of Black Christmas Documentary
- Black Christmas Revisited
- Archival Interviews with Olivia Hussey, Art Hindle, Margot Kidder, Bob Clark, & John Saxon
- Midnight Screening Q&A with Bob Clark, John Saxon and Carl Zittrer
- Two Scenes with a New Vocal Soundtrack
- Theatrical Trailers (English and French)
- TV Spots
- Radio Spots
- Alternative Title Sequences
- Still Gallery
- Original Script (BD-Rom)
These are also the same as the 2022 release, for the record. It’s a robust compilation of special features from Black Christmas physical releases over the years, but those who own the 2022 non-steelbook release won’t find much difference.
However, if you’ve been holding out to add this quintessential Christmas horror flick to your collection? There’s no better time to pull the trigger.
