Black Christmas (1974)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Bob Clark

Writer:

Roy Moore (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 December 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

If this movie doesn't make your skin crawl... It's On Too Tight!

Plot:

A sorority house is terrorized by a stranger who makes frightening phone calls and then murders the sorority sisters during Christmas break.

Plot Keywords:

Sorority | Christmas | Sorority House | Police | Holiday

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Olivia Hussey	...	Jess Bradford
Keir Dullea	...	Peter Smythe
Margot Kidder	...	Barbara 'Barb' Coard
John Saxon	...	Lieutenant Kenneth Fuller
Marian Waldman	...	Mrs. 'Mac' MacHenry
Andrea Martin	...	Phyllis 'Phyl' Carlson
James Edmond	...	Mr. Harrison
Doug McGrath	...	Sargeant Nash (as Douglas McGrath)
Art Hindle	...	Chris Hayden
Lynne Griffin	...	Clare Harrison
Michael Rapport	...	Patrick Cornell
Leslie Carlson	...	Bill Graham (as Les Carlson)
Martha Gibson	...	Mrs. Quaife
John Rutter	...	Laughing Detective
Robert Warner	...	Doctor

Also Known As:

Noël tragique (Canada: French title)
Silent Night, Evil Night (USA) (wide-release title)
Stop Me (Canada: English title) (working title)
Stranger in the House (USA) (TV title)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Argentina:18 (re-rating) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Iceland:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-18 (DVD) (self applied) (2004) (2007) | USA:TV-MA | Argentina:X (original rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Canada:14A (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2008) | Australia:R | Norway:16 (1976) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Grenadier Lake, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Film Funding Ltd. of Canada

Trivia:

According to director Bob Clark about five people were responsible for voicing the frightening phone calls, including Clark, actor Nick Mancuso and an unnamed actress.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When we see Claire's dead body rocking back and forth on the rocking chair, her eyes are moving up and down when she's supposed to be dead.

Quotes:

Lieutenant Kennet Fuller: Sergeant Nash what's this?
Sergeant Nash: That's the address to the sorority house.
Lieutenant Kennet Fuller: Fellatio?
Sergeant Nash: Yes, Fellatio, the new exchange address for the house.
Lieutenant Kennet Fuller: Sergeant Nash, I don't think you could pick your nose without written instructions.
Sergeant Nash: I know, the address is something dirty isn't it?
[Lt. Fuller and another detective laugh at him]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Filthy (2003)

Soundtrack:

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Gothic suspense film noir at its best

"Black Christmas" is truly a forgotten gem. Even though the producers intended the film for cinema, "Black Christmas" has the look and feel of its precursors, the made-for-television gothic suspense thrillers between 1969 and early 1974. This four year period featured inexpensively-produced but having hi-quality production values that older viewers will remember. These include, "A Howling In the Woods", "When Michael Calls", "How Awful About Allen", "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark", "Home for the Holidays", et al. "Black Christmas", produced at the tail-end of this short-lived genre, clearly displays the same suspenseful and moodily atmospheric elements involving human angst, fears, anxieties, and complicated, sometimes destructive relationships. In one small aspect, "Black Christmas" is a transitional film set between the television gothic supsense thrillers and the onset of the slasher genre epitomized by 1978's "Halloween" and 1979's "Friday the 13th". The violence was certainly more graphic than its television precursors, but not gratuitous. Foul language sprinkled throughout "Black Christmas" would never have made it past the television censors. And look again at "Halloween". It's reliance on atmosphere, moodiness, suspense, and the fright of awaiting something that is surely around the next dark bend of the house harkens back to the early 70s gothic thrillers. "Black Christmas" is from a unique genre long gone and will probably not return, but for those seeking quality shockers without the schlock will no doubt find repeat viewings of this suspense film noir satisfying.