Burn up any evidence with a nice cozy fire and relax with this double dose of yuletide jeer! Season's Screamings!
Black Christmas (1974)
Just in time for the holidays! This slasher film from the Great White North
predated all the American classics like Halloween,
Friday the 13th and all
their imitators. This seminal flick is
underrated, overlooked and one of the best!
It might even be one of my favorite horror movies period. I’m a huge fan of merging beauty with tragedy
and what better way to take a festive time like Christmas and involve murders
in a sorority house? A title like Black Christmas is awesome in that it
simplistically signifies the juxtaposition of the macabre and majestic. One of the first serious film analyses I
wrote in college in the early 2000s was for this movie. (Sorry, I don’t have a copy of that. You’ll have to contact my Film History
teacher, if he even still has it). I was
initially turned onto this movie years ago when I read Phil Anselmo (Pantera,
Down, Superjoint Ritual and many other side projects) mention this was one of
his favorite horror movies. I rented it
on VHS (well that should tell you how long ago that was), fell in love at first
sight and loved it since. Amazing how
hard it was to trace a phone call just 40 years ago! The ambiguity of the killer’s identity and
his various POV shots add to the overall effectiveness. Additional applause for never having any
sequels like so many other iconic slasher films. Be sure to kick back this holiday season with
this stylish, chilling (like a Canadian winter) and completely meritorious
(should-be) holiday classic.
Black Christmas (2006)
Well, I hated the idea of this remake upon hearing of it,
hated it when I first saw it and lumped it in with other pointless remakes like
coal in a stocking. Well, I watched it
again a few years after that and didn’t hate it as much. Perhaps my initial contempt stemmed from my
love for the original? Comparisons are
instinctual but I’ve definitely become more lenient with different adaptations,
especially book-to-film. I’ve seen this
maybe four or five times now and it definitely gets better each time. It’s so well shot and provides plenty of the
red stuff. It’s quite disturbing at
times too. Plus, I’ve always been a fan
of horror movies set around Christmastime (as long as they’re actually good,
well-made and involve mayhem of some kind).
I still dislike how Billy the faceless killer is given a backstory
here. That’s the primary problem with
remakes. The ambiguity of yesteryear’s
originals are what made them so great.
We don’t need to know what Michael Myers’ childhood was like before
going psycho. We don’t need to see Jason
Voorhees before going psycho. No need to
even mention the Nightmare on Elm Street
remake. I believe if I never saw nor
heard of the original Black Christmas,
I would’ve liked this much better. I
would add it to my list of Christmas horror favorites. Still doesn’t come close to the original and
I have some reservations overall, but I’d say include it in a holiday horror
marathon. Just watch the original first
if you haven’t already. 11/22/2016
---Sean O.
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