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Director: Bob Clark
Year: 1974
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 38 minutes
The girls of a sorority house are tormented by a killer who harasses his victims with obscene phone calls prior to murdering them.
"Black Christmas" is directed by Bob Clark, who is also known for directing the Christmas classic "A Christmas Story." This film is not a feel good family flick like the aforementioned classic, but rather a horror film that takes place during the holiday season. The movie offers a simple concept. A psychopath makes obscene phone calls to a group of sorority girls and taunts them until he eventually murders them. It stars Margot Kidder, Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, John Saxon, Andrea Martin, Art Hindle and Doug McGrath, who make up the sorority members, their boyfriends, and the police officers who investigate the suspicious deaths that begin to happen one by one.
Director Bob Clark makes an interesting choice in the way he shows the film's antagonist. The killer is often seen from the first person view as we sometimes see the world through his eyes. On occasion, he is shown in a third person view as well, but only for fleeting glimpses. The killer manages to find creative ways to murder his victims, typically using an object found within the houses where his victims are. This is a methodically paced horror that tries to build tension in a unique way as well since the are extremely aware they are getting these obscene calls, but are unaware that their fellow friends are getting picked off one by one. The local police also struggle to find the culprit as they run through a list of suspects that become apparent through conversations with other people and sometimes names appear right off the top of their heads.
This is somewhat of a whodunit, though ***42 Year Old Spoiler: that is a question that may never be answered as we only really find out who didn't commit these atrocious crimes.** This is a fairly well made, decently acted film as far horrors go, though it isn't always the most engaging film as the slow pacing can become tedious.
My Rating: 6/10
BigJ's Rating: 6.5/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 69%
Do we recommend this movie: Sure, why not?
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Last Christmas, we were watching: "Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever"
Two Christmases ago, we were watching: "Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas"
Three Christmases ago, we were watching: "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation"
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