Black Christmas (1974)
Black Christmas (1974)
"It's alright Agnes, it's alright. Shhh, pretty Agnes..." -The Killer
Black Christmas is one of my favorite horror movies. It's not only scary, but it's really realistic and there aren't many flaws or anything. The film starts out with some sorority girls having a party when a prankster calls up and begins making obscene comments and having strange voices. Apparently the guy has called before, and Barb, the wild girl of the bunch picks up the phone and tells him to f*ck off.
By now their party is breaking up and only a few of the girls are staying at the sorority house for Christmas break. Little do they know, one of their sisters, Clare, is being suffocated with plastic upstairs, and her body is being stowed in the attic. Jess, our heroine, begins getting more phone calls over the course of the break, and they become more bizarre and frightening.
The police begin to suspect it's Jess's boyfriend, but she is positive it isn't. While all of this is happening, young girls around the area are being raped and murdered. Could this being the man making the phone calls and taunting the sorority girls?
Well, the movie never really explains this. Even after you think you know who the killer is during the finale, the ending scene twists it all around, leaving the killer's identity a mystery, but I liked that about this movie. Sometimes you don't always catch the killer, like in a real life case. Okay, this maybe different from real life, but it's pretty convincing. In this slasher flick the girls are smart enough to call the police, smart enough to lock their doors and windows, and smart enough to not investigate a strange sound, that's why I like the movie so much.
I also love one of the death scenes (I won't say who it is) but the girl is murdered upstairs by the killer while her friend is downstairs on the patio listening to some little kids singing Christmas carols, and the shots of the woman being killed and the little kids singing are intermingled. It's quite an effective scene. Overall, Black Christmas is one of the overlooked and little known slasher movies that is actually very good. A sure holiday favorite for horror freaks.
Starring: Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder
Theatrical Release: December 20, 1974
Directed By: Bob Clark
Click here to visit a Black Christmas fansite
My rating (out of 5 stars):
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