Noted as one of the first slasher films of the horror genre, Black Christmas still ranks as one of the scariest movies of all times and is further regarded as the inspiration for movie classics Halloween and Friday the 13th. Inspired by a string of murders that occurred in Quebec, Black Christmas is also based on the babysitter caller urban legend. Written by A. Roy Moore and directed by Bob Clark, Black Christmas stars Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, and John Saxon.
It’s Christmas time at the local sorority house. The movie opens the night before many of the students are to leave for the holiday and they are having a party. Outside, we watch from a distorted point of view as someone lurks outside the windows and then climbs the trellis to the attic room of the house. Inside, the phone rings and the girls receive yet another crank call from “the moaner.” This time Barb, played by Margot Kidder, has had enough and talks back to the caller on the other end trying to make light of the situation and making crude jokes about the call. Before the crank caller hangs up, he states very calmly “I’m going to kill you.”
The party is over and everyone either leaves or heads to bed. Clare heads upstairs before everyone else to finish packing as she is set to leave first thing in the morning. She finds their house mother’s cat in her room and within a few minutes, hears him crying from her closet. While calling the cat’s name she walks into the closet and is the first victim from our killer as he wraps a dry cleaner’s plastic bag over her head and suffocates her to death. The killer then takes Clare’s body to the attic where he sits her in a rocking chair by the window.
The fun doesn’t stop here. The phone calls become increasingly more bizarre as the killer becomes unhinged. Tensions are high in the sorority house for the few girls who remain as they try to find the missing Clare. The police become involved as they search for Clare and try to trace the obscene calls. The violence escalates and the murder count increases as this tense thriller comes to an end as Jess is left alone in the house with the killer. Yet even as the credits roll, we are still left with the mystery unsolved…
I have not seen the remake of this film that was released in 2006. I’m not sure that I ever will because the original was done perfectly and still stands as an effective thriller to this date. Sure, technology has improved and the younger generation may roll their eyes at the rotary phone and the work involved to actually trap and trace a call, but the suspense and the actual creepiness of the caller is enough to make the small hairs at the nape of your neck stand on end. If you have ever received an obscene phone call at 3am while alone in the house then I think you will understand why this movie is added to the 31 Days of Horror.
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