Black Christmas

Movie Information

In Brief: Merry Christmas from the Asheville Film Society with Bob Clark’s Black Christmas (yes, the same Bob Clark who made A Christmas Story). What better way to celebrate the season than with the original “slasher” picture? Yes, Black Christmas pretty much started it all — predating Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Though it flopped in 1974 (despite being rechristened Silent Night, Evil Night so it wouldn’t be mistaken for a blaxploitation picture), it has come to be recognized as the groundbreaking minor classic that it is. The plot is simple — sorority girls being offed one by one by a crazed killer in the house — but the execution is surprisingly clever, creepy and restrained. At its core, Black Christmas is essentially an “old, dark sorority house” picture, but it offers variations that would soon become conventions. It draws from the land of the urban myth with its “oh my God, the killer is in the house” development (it’s only a development to the characters; we’ve known it all along). That’s part of terrorized-babysitter lore that goes back at least to the 1950s — and almost certainly earlier. It quickly became a staple. The much-debated use of subjective camera, where the audience “becomes” the killer, is here, too. You may recall that this became a controversy — mostly due to Siskel and Ebert — in the early 1980s as an example of the depravity of modern horror where the audience is, by implication, doing the killing. This was said mostly in reference to Friday the 13th, but it’s also used here. (The theory fails to consider that — in both of these cases — the approach is less psychological than utilitarian, since it keeps the viewer from seeing who the killer is.) This excerpt was drawn from a review by Ken Hanke published on Dec. 15, 2015.
Score:

Genre: Horror
Director: Bob Clark
Starring: Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, John Saxon, Andrea Martin
Rated: R

The Asheville Film Society will screen Black Christmas Tuesday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m. at The Grail Moviehouse, hosted by Xpress movie critic Scott Douglas.

SHARE

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.