Black Christmas

***Historical slasher with John Saxon, Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder*** It’s the Christmas season at a sorority house in the Northeast wherein an ambiguous psycho hiding in the attic makes crank calls to the girls and slays them one-by-one. John Saxon plays the local detective. “Black Christmas” (1974) obviously influenced “Halloween” (1978), e.g. the closet scene, but was influenced itself by psycho slasher flicks like “Psycho” (1960), “Dementia 13” (1963) and “Silent Night, Bloody Night” (1972). Honestly, the 2006 remake has a more absorbing story which, to me, is the best indicator of a quality movie. This version is dull by comparison, particularly the first half, but it picks up steam in the second. And the open-ended climax is interesting. But I strongly prefer the female cast in the remake; they're just all-around superior IMHO. Of course Olivia Hussey is attractive in this rendition, albeit cold, and Lynne Griffin as Clare is winsome, although her part is small. Andrea Martin (Phyl) comes across as a shorter version of Cher with short, curly hair. Unfortunately, Margot Kidder as Barb is one of the most obnoxious characters in cinema, a real turn-off (so is Mrs. Mac, but less so). Thankfully, Barb's only prominent through the first half. The film runs 1 hour, 38 minutes, and was shot in Toronto. GRADE: C+/B-

Black Christmas is what happens when a director decides to make a slasher but also decides to make a good movie. Each character has a purpose. By that, I don't mean simply to drive the plot along. Each character is a person, and they each have their own unique personalities and motivations. Barb isn't just the drunk and morally abrasive stereotype; she's driven by her jealousy and likely by issues from her childhood. Each character feels about as deep as her, at the least. The only character who isn't fully explained is Billy, and that's for the best. Billy isn't a character we want explained, and it only drives the horror deeper that he isn't. This should be on every horror fan's Christmas playlist.