Black Christmas (1974)

There is no need to discuss what a classic the original Black Christmas is. That has been done at length by reviewers for other releases. This review is specifically for the Black Christmas [Blu-ray] edition.

The transfer and sound are great. There are still some traces of foreign matter visible from the print used, but this is the nicest copy you'll probably ever see on a home edition. I believe it is the same transfer used for the Special Edition in 2006.

The features are identical to the Special Edition release:

12 Days of Black Christmas featurette

Midniht Q&A

Interviews ( Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, and Art Hindle)

'Uncovered' Sound scenes

My only complaint is the lack of subtitles or commentaries, and for that reason I only give 4 stars. Apparently space limitations were the problem on the Special Edition. That would not be a problem on blu ray. It seems the rights to the commentaries from the 2002 Collector's Edition are owned by another company so those were not available, but it seems that new actor commentaries might have been obtained for this edition.

Sadly, Bob Clark was killed by a drunk driver in 2007. For fans wanting the director's commentary, the collector's edition is the only option and will become increasingly harder to obtain.

If you have the Special Edition and an upconvert dvd player you might give this one a miss, as there are no new features to speak of. If you have a blu ray player and don't already own the special edition, the Blu-ray edition is the way to go. Of course, you can hold out for a "Definitive Edition". There's always next Christmas...

I am 35 years old and I remember when this first came out on HBO back in the early 80's. I believe I was either ten or eleven when I first saw it. My parents went to sleep right before it came on and I stayed up to watch it (which they wouldn't have let me in any way if they knew this movie!). This was the movie that put a deep dread AND fascination in me for horror movies and suspense/thrillers. It terrified me beyond words, yet as good horror movies do they take you for a ride that thrills you to your core. Man, I remember the unbelievable dread at the end of the movie and after it was over I remember saying to myself "That was the most scared I've ever been".

There have been times as an adult that took me back to the horror that this movie implanted in me as a child....One night, sleeping in my apartment alone, I was suddenly awoken by my door opening. I slept in almost complete darkness at the time. I jumped into the "fight or flight" mode and the flight took control...I screamed and screamed like a little girl throwing my pillow at the unseen attacker! I was able to turn on the lights and I came to find out that the wind (during the summer with windows open) was responsible for pushing my door open when it wasn't shut all the way. I woke up my neighbors with the screams and commotion I made and they called the cops thinking I was being murdered! LOL Man was I embarrassed! But after it was over I remembered that that fear I felt was so similar to the fear I first felt when I watched Black Christmas all those years before.

Another instance when, I was a teen, I remember watching a news broadcast which told of a stranger living in the basement of a family's house for several months before the family found out. I believe the man was insane and would come upstairs in the dead of night to sneak food and use the bathroom. Apparently he would go upstairs while everyone slept and watch them. He didn't hurt them, but MAN! That gave me the same creeps that this movie did. It made me search every square inch of my house, during the day with a shotgun! I guess it just goes to show that a truly good scary movie like this one can really get under your skin!

Some folks give this movie a four, three and even two star rating, which amazes me. There really is no film that compares with this one for the creepiness and dread. I think that the younger folks who are more used to the modern horror movies just can't appreciate, I believe, the genius of the suspense, dread and insane-ness of this movie. We will see the same reaction with the new re-make of this movie coming out in theaters this Christmas (2006). I've seen the few teasers and trailers for the new movie and it looks awful compared to the original. They have to include such gore and what I call "flesh shock" to try to make something out of the new movie which tells me that the terror isn't there. Movies like Black Christmas, Halloween and TCM never relied on blood or gore for its horror, and I believe movies that do, generally speaking, just aren't good horror movies. Its the psychological horror that counts, not the blood or gore.

If you are twenty five and younger, try watching this movie by yourself, alone in the dark of night. You'll then understand that feeling of deep dread and "creepiness" that will make you stop the movie, turn on all the lights and re-check the windows and doors and the closets and under the bed...and maybe even the attic if you have the strength to do so!

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We talked her into taking us to see this when it came out and she has never let us forget it. At the time, they even gave out little badges to the audience that said: It's Going to be a Black Christmas this Year. Wish I still had that!

Anyway one of the first, best slasher horror films ever. Halloween can say thanks. When a Stranger Calls can say thanks ... This is one scary flick. Sorority girls on campus over Christmas are, unknowingly, being slaughtered one at a time by a menancing stranger who will not stop calling their house.

Cast is fine re: suspects and gals in peril. Margot Kidder is very funny as the bad girl and the ending is, well, great! A classic.

Read Best Reviews of Black Christmas (1974) Here

Oh man, where do I start? This film is one of my favorite horror films. It has the right mixture of horror, suspense, and comedy. It also has small amounts of gore (well, by today's standards) which is a good thing to some viewers.

The plot of the film is simple. It takes place at a sorority house/boarding school around Christmas time. A crazed killer finds his way into the attic of the house and starts making obscene phone calls from the second phone line. Then, he starts offing the inhabitants of the house one by one. Olivia Hussey stars as the film's heroine and Keir Dullea co-stars as her misunderstood love interest... but Margot Kidder steals the show as Hussey's drunken, foul mouthed friend. A very young Andrea Martin (of SCTV fame) is also in the film.

This film inspired elements of the Scream movies, When A Stranger Calls, and countless others. I recommend it to anyone who loves a good scary movie.

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I saw this film when it first came out years ago. I have never forgotten it. In fact, whenever I discuss horror films with horror film fans, I need only describe the plotline about "the guy in the attic movie with Olivia Hussey" everyone knows exactly what film I am talking about. To a man or woman the response is the same "it scared the hell out of me".

Its' hard to believe that Bob Clark made this film as well as the Porky's trilogybut hey, comedy and horror both take talent.

Halloween, Friday the Thirteenth, Nightmare on Elmstreet,et al, all copy elements contained in this truly frightening film.

It takes place at a off-campus house over Christmas break. It involves a group of young college women who, unbeknownst to them, have a visitor. Thats all I'll say. I've never forgotten this film.

Even after buying the DVD (and its' great with lots of extras), and having Bob Clark explain exactly how he made this film, it still scares me. Hardly any blood or gore-just incredibly imaginative,intense, film making. Just try watching it alone.

As the saying goes "you won't sleep through it", in fact you might have a hard time ever sleeping again, at least in a house with a large attic in it.

The surprise ending still works. Oh yea, it still works-"Agnes, its' me, Billy"................................

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