24 Days of HorrorXmas- Black Christmas (1974)

I will be posting Christmas themed horror films over the next 24 days, for the final night I am listing 1974 psychological slasher Black Christmas.

Black Christmas (1974)

Dir- Bob Clark

During the Christmas holiday, the girls of Pi Kappa Sigma sorority house are preparing for winter break only to encounter a mysterious caller who yells obscenities and nonsense. One of the sisters planning to leave is attacked by the mysterious figure who suffocates her and puts her body in the attic. This event goes unnoticed as the girls in the house continue to get harassing calls as the killer takes them out one at a time until the police can figure out where the calls are coming from that night. Black Christmas was released in 1974 and predates the famous slasher movie Halloween by four years; the film was unlike most terror films of the day as slasher films had not become commonplace yet. Initially, the film faced negative criticism due to the violence and the salty dialogue of the mostly female characters. The cast includes Romeo and Juliet's Olivia Hussey, 2001's Keir Dullea, comedian Andrea Martin, screen and television veteran John Saxon but the standout is Margot Kidder who's performance as Barb is considered by fans to be one of her best due to the free-spirited and often out of control attitude. Over the years Black Christmas would become a cult classic that would inspire and often be imitated by the numerous slasher films that would follow over the next few years. Even after four decades, Black Christmas is considered to be the best Christmas horror film by fans of slasher movies and critics alike.