Dear Black Christmas, these are the reasons that I love you:

Black Christmas is typically considered one of the great "slasher films" but, I find it to be a little more subtle that your typical slasher flick.

Not surprisingly, some jackass remade this 70's horror masterpiece. Also not surprisingly, I've never watched said remake. You all know how I feel about remakes.

Another thing that won't surprise anyone is that I love the original Black Christmas - and here's a few reasons why: (warning - spoilers ahead!)

The horror is right under everyone's nose.

From the very first moments of the film, the killer is already inside the sorority house (where the bulk of the film takes place). The first murder takes place very early in the movie. For the remainder of the film, the bodies of the victims that are desperately being searched for are also in the house.

The horror within - "the enemy is us" - these concepts are quintessentially 1970's. "Black Christmas" warns us to stop looking "outside" for the killer - he's already inside, right next to you on the couch.

But there's another message as well, which is equally as 70's: "there are no answers."

The killer's motives are never explained.

Being avid horror fans, we can guess why the killer is on a rampage but we'll never actually know who billy or agnes are - and that's just fine.

As an added dimension, you barely even see the killer. The horror is that much greater when we don't know who or what the villain is - just ask those boys from "Scream"!

And while the genre elements are impressive, the thing that I have always enjoyed the most is the fact that these are no fooling around, obscene phone calls.

Usually, in movies, obscene callers are sort of laughable: heavy breathing, a couple of "fuck"s here and there... but "Black Christmas" really takes the plunge. It's not often that you hear the phrase, "piggy cunt" in a film, let alone a mainstream film.

But the caller doesn't stop at vulgarity: he rockets right into complete craziness including screaming, wailing, shrieking, laughing, swearing, and every other manner of vocal strangeness.

The primary reason I didn't see the remake is because I assumed they would never have the balls that director Bob Clark had. And I feared that despicable need that Hollywood has to over explain everything!

And thus ends my rambling about "Black Christmas".

Comments

Rebuttal: 17 Disturbing Horror Movies You Will Never Watch Again

When I'm not watching movies, I'm reading about movies. I stumble across all kinds of articles, blog posts, book excerpts, etc. in my quest to absorb as much movie knowledge as possible. Now, I'm snotty and loud-mouthed and opinionated but I'd never begrudge another human their opinion. Seriously. You're absolutely welcome to have any opinion about any thing you want. However, I must warn you, if I think your opinion is stupid, I'm absolutely going to say so. I've recently stumbled on an article completely brimming with so many idiotic opinions that I'm actually compelled to craft a response. Here's the gist of the original article: there are some horror movies out there that are so disturbing , you'll only ever want to watch them once. I've have taken her original list and refuted her claims without pulling her entire article over. You can read the original article here . Let's start at the beginning, with her opening statement

Escape From Tomorrow

I love creative people who are willing to take risks with their art. I appreciate the refusal to do things by the rules. I'm also terribly impatient with mediocrity. Enter Escape From Tomorrow . Created by a team of rogue filmmakers, the movie was shot in the video mode of high-end still cameras. Actors shared scripts and shooting locations across their smartphones. Shot on location at Disney World, the parks were completely unaware this was all going on right under their mouse ears. I wanted to love Escape From Tomorrow. More than that, I wanted to be completely taken with its ingenuity and creativity and - oh yes - its originality. And there is really a simple brilliance to their covert plan; all families are roaming around the parks, taking videos and chatting on their phones. Just blend the fuck in, act like you belong, and you won't get caught. Too bad the movie can be summed up as: ambitious but Rubbish. As you can imagine (or possibly know), there was a ton of con

Mother!

Alright friends and readers–this one is probably doubly filled with typos and grammar errors because I wrote it while angry. Good luck and happy reading. There are unpopular opinions in every realm. As a film student, you can truly strike a nerve when you say things like, "I fucking hate the self-indulgence of independent films and the way people idolize them." Or, you know, "Low lighting and slow pacing does not a good movie make." Or whatever. You can of course, objectively, understand how this happens. When you are creating art–when you are outside the system so to speak–you are free to explore things (subjects, techniques, etc.) that may need to be addressed and that freedom can become intoxicating and go to one's head. While it may seem only right or only fair to respect and accept each creative endeavor that every artist undertakes, it is unreasonable to believe that the world will remain forever patient with the self-obsession artists have. Th

i'm kael's ghost

Search This Blog