Black Christmas puts murder into the holidays
Black Christmas is perhaps the first North American slasher movie, but it is set for Christmas for all those who need to meter out the saccharine of the season. Starring Keir Dullea (2001: A Space Odessey), Margot Kidder (Superman), Andrea Martin (Young Frankenstein) and John Saxon (Enter the Dragon) this film is set in a sorority house and uses the University of Toronto campus for college location shots. This film was released in spurts to theaters in the US, but became the third highest all-time grossing film for Canadian audiences. Originally not a favorite among critics, in retrospect it has been reevaluated and appreciated for being a trailblazer in it’s genre. Black Christmas also captured a more realistic portrayal of sorority girls, abandoning the beach blanket bimbo image of predecessor films
Nationwide television release scheduled for late January held up because just two weeks earlier 2 sorority girls were killed in house and two others were attacked (It was later revealed that these were only a portion of serial killer Ted Bundy’s violent slayings) So at the bequest of Florida Governor (the slayings took place at the Tallahassee University of Florida campus residence) surrounding communities of Florida,Georgia and Alabama were spared the mockingly light attitude that a slasher movie such as Black Christmas would mean to an already traumatized public. This film has inspired two remakes, one in 2006 and another in 2019.
Black Christmas has gained a cult following and had a large influence on John Carpenter’s Halloween 1978. This slasher movie has received fame and been called one of the all time great modern horror movies. One thing for certain, most people dream of a white Christmas but in 1974 audiences were treated to a Black Christmas. Hopefully, this classic movie doesn’t scare away Santa Clause
