Review: Black Christmas (1974)

Sorority house is inundated with creepy phone calls from a sicko who then starts bumping people off for three days, starting from Christmas Eve onwards. Olivia Hussey is our virtuous (but surprisingly not virginal, she’s newly pregnant) leading lady, John Saxon is the investigating cop, Margot Kidder is a boozy, foul-mouthed lush sorority sister, Marion Waldman is the Shelley Winters-esque house mother, Keir Dullea is Hussey’s volatile musician boyfriend, Art Hindle plays another boyfriend of one of the sorority sisters, Douglas McGrath is a clueless desk cop, and a young Andrea Martin plays one of the sorority sisters.

 

This effective, somewhat underappreciated 1974 Bob Clark film (the late director of such varying titles as “A Christmas Story”, “Deathdream”, “Loose Cannons”, and “Porky’s”) is one of the originators of the slasher pic, being made several years before the much more popular John Carpenter flick “Halloween”, the film many credit to having started the subgenre (not to mention “When A Stranger Calls”, which is said to be a rip-off of this film). It certainly deserves to be mentioned alongside “Psycho”, “Peeping Tom”, and Mario Bava’s “A Bay of Blood” in regards to its pre-slasher roots, pretty good company to be in.

 

The film’s central mystery is both intriguing and creepy (there are several credible suspects), with the killer being a true whack job. The film has numerous unsettling moments, especially the truly bizarre phone calls- said to include the voice of a young Nick Mancuso which are sometimes unbearable to endure. They’re creepy and disgusting, and unlike anything you’ve heard before or since. They’re not exactly otherworldly, but they’re not particularly identifiable, either. Also, the film uses a similar killer POV device to “Halloween”, albeit a less fluid use of camera (“Peeping Tom”, I believe is the only other film of a similar type prior, to use this POV device). I particularly liked one innovative shot seen through a plastic clothing bag, too. The house itself here is a character and quite clearly one of the most genuinely creepy houses in all of cinema. It also makes creepy use of a choir version of ‘Silent Night’ at the outset. It’s one of the few films where a drab look actually enhances the film, as this is a seriously bleak-looking film. It sets the right tone from the get-go in that respect. Without giving away what is in my view one of the best endings to any movie ever, the ending is indeed the film’s show-stopper. It’s a quietly creepy moment that hasn’t been equalled since as far as I’m concerned. Scary, devastating, cruel, and funny all at the same time. Actually, the film’s tagline is great too: ‘If This Movie Doesn’t Make Your Skin Crawl- It’s on Too Tight!’.

 

The acting is a tad uneven, with Keir Dullea being well-cast as a temperamental musician, but living up to at least the first part of his last name. He’s a bit dull. Kidder, Waldman, and McGrath are great comic relief (Kidder, especially seems to be having fun), and both Saxon and Hussey (as an actress, she’s a little mousy and snooty for my tastes but it fits the character here) do credible work, too. Saxon in particular deserves credit for stepping in at (almost literally) the last moment to replace veteran character actor Edmond O’Brien, who was starting to get ravaged by Alzheimer’s at the time, unfortunately.

 

Having said a lot of positive things about the film, the one thing that prevents this often unsettling Canadian flick from being in the same league as “Halloween”, is that it is overall not really a horror film per se. This is more of a killer-thriller and a very effective one indeed, although it may be a bit slow for some. And remember, when Hussey does the one thing McGrath (and probably everyone watching the film) tells her not to do, just remember that this film came before the slasher movie cycle. Is it better than “Halloween”? No, but it’s not really a slasher film overall, and yet is just about the only other film even remotely like it, to give “Halloween” a run for its money. Well, not really. “Halloween” made more money, but you know what I mean. At any rate, I cannot believe that Carpenter hadn’t already seen this film before making “Halloween”. Not calling him a plagiarist, but I can’t imagine him not knowing about this film. I also have to say that the film has a drought of likeable characters. If I rag on modern horror films (including the remake of this film, actually) for containing horrible characters you can’t relate to, I need to do the same here. It’s a bit hard to want to root for anyone here, admittedly.

 

Bob Clark may be the “Porky’s” guy, but here he goes out of his own skin as a filmmaker. That’s what happens when you want to make a good impression, can’t rely on a big budget, and have absolutely nothing to lose. The screenplay by Roy Moore has a nice morbid sense of humour, too (though I’ve read that the humour came from Clark himself, having re-written half of the script himself), I particularly love that the body in the rocking chair stays up there throughout the whole thing unnoticed. Some might argue that the film’s big twist towards the end doesn’t make much logical sense, but I really only noticed it on my third viewing, so what does that tell you? Shut up, I’m not an idiot. That’s not what it tells you at all. Top-notch cinematography by Reginald Morris (“A Christmas Story”, “Porky’s”), with the POV stuff the handiwork of camera operator Burt Dunk.

 

This is easily one of the ten scariest movies ever made, possibly even top five. It’s not a great film, but it’s a good movie with a great ending and a genuinely unsettling villain.

 

Rating: B