Black Christmas | DVD Review

In 1974, the modern concept of slasher films had not yet been born. Tobe Hooper’s classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was on the way to breaking every boundary the industry had ever known, and Halloween had yet to escape the boundaries of the classic monster tale, but the true standard in slasher flicks was set to splatter the screen. Black Christmas set the mark for the flow of slasher flicks that was to follow. Now 33 years later, Glen Morgan (Final Destination 1 & 3, Willard) brings the gruesome tale back to life in both an R-Rated and Unrated edition of his retelling of the classic tale. Black Christmas is a slasher fans dream, a must have collectors of the genre. Morgan’s imaginative reworking will leave you screaming, squirming and begging for more. Black Christmas is a creative, mind-twisting “slay” ride that pays homage to the greats that sprouted from the 1974 original.

Black Christmas gives us the typical sorority-house massacre concept as a group of sorority sisters, snowed in over the holiday break, tries desperately to survive the night. An ominous snowstorm blows in, isolating them. At the same time, a killer–who in this version escapes from a mental institution to return to his former family home–breaks into the attic and begins making terrifying phone calls to the girls (led by Kate Cassidy, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Lacey Chabert) before killing them off one by one. SCTV veteran Andrea Martin, who portrayed a victim in the original, returns as Ms. Mac, the housemother. While the 1974 original left the identity of the killer a mystery, this time around we are introduced to Billy, identity of the killer a mystery, this time around we are introduced to Billy, a sickly and tortured soul who has escaped from the local mental institution to return to his childhood home, now the sorority house.

The original Black Christmas, directed by Bob Clark (who later went on to direct another classic, 1984’s A Christmas Story), became a cult classic and enjoyed a rebirth with the start of the video era. His stylistic approach, innovative camera angles and careful, but minimalist use of gore, became trademarks of the more well known classics to follow, the likes of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, and When a Stranger Calls all utilize creative functions pioneered by Clark in his film. Morgan pays homage to the director not only by utilizing the techniques and trademarks Clark set into motion, but also with a discreet, but recognizable prop piece. Morgan also delves deeper into his own trademark character study (Willard), not only creating the monster left out of the original, but giving him a disturbing back story that neatly packages the gist of the film.

Morgan’s decision not to do a cookie cutter remake of a previous film was a daring move for the struggling director. Despite critical acclaim, his last project Willard failed to garner audience attention and became a box office bomb. Passing on his artistic notions, Black Christmas is created for the masses. The gore and violence is blended appropriately and timely, the insidious placement and then discarding of standard horror ploys (the killer calling from inside the house, the mental hospital escape, etc.) allows the audience to let down its guard, to wonder where the film is going, only to be blasted with twists that jerk them from complacency with whiplash speed. Morgan understands the horror genre, and the artistic aspects, well enough to create a classic in its own right.

The film’s release in both rated and unrated versions allows for audience variability as well, true connoisseurs of grisly gore will salivate at the Unrated version, while those who prefer a strictly psychological thriller will enjoy the R-Rated version. Both editions of the DVD contain more than an hour of incredible extras including two featurettes What Have You Done?: The Remaking of Black Christmas, an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the production, and May All Your Christmases Be Black: A Filmmaker’s Journey, which is a unique perspective into the process, mindset, and intent of Morgan and his team. The featurettes goes far beyond the standard directorial interview with Morgan freely offering his perspectives, hopes, and frustrations with the film and his career. The DVD also contains three intriguing alternate endings and seven deleted scenes.

Black Christmas grants new life to the old-school horror flick, retells a classic story with a new twist, splattering the new millennium with its best taste of gore yet. Morgan scores a blow straight to the jugular as he honors the past and paves the road to the future with visions of icicles and eyeballs.

Movie rating – 3

Disc Rating – 3.5