Black Christmas (1974 film)

Black Christmas (Canadian French: Noël tragique. Originally titled Silent Night, Evil Night in the United States) is a 1974 Canadian slasher film produced and directed by Bob Clark, and written by A. Roy Moore. It stars Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, Andrea Martin, Marian Waldman, Lynne Griffin and John Saxon. The story follows a group of sorority sisters who receive threatening phone calls and are eventually stalked and murdered by a deranged killer during the Christmas season. It is the first film in the Black Christmas series.

Black Christmas
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBob Clark
Produced byBob Clark
Written byA. Roy Moore
Starring
Music byCarl Zittrer
CinematographyReginald H. Morris
Edited byStan Cole
Production
company
Distributed by
  • Ambassador Film Distributors (Canada)
  • Warner Bros. (USA/International)
Release date
October 11, 1974 (1974-10-11TToronto)
Running time
98 minutes[1][2]
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$620,000
Box office$4.1 million

Inspired by the urban legend "The babysitter and the man upstairs" and a series of murders that took place in the Westmount neighbourhood of Montreal, Quebec, Moore wrote the screenplay under the title Stop Me. The filmmakers made numerous alterations to the script, primarily the shifting to a university setting with young adult characters. It was shot in Toronto in 1974 on an estimated budget of $620,000, and was distributed by Warner Bros. in North America.

Upon its release, Black Christmas received mixed reviews, but it has since received critical re-appraisal, with film historians noting it for being one of the earliest slasher films.[3] It is also praised for concluding without revealing the identity of its villain, as well as serving as an influence on John Carpenter's Halloween (1978). Aside from its earning a cult following[4] since its release, a novelization written by Lee Hays was published in 1976.

Plot

An unseen and disoriented man climbs up into the attic of a sorority house, where the tenants are celebrating with a Christmas party. One of the girls, Jess, answers an obscene phone call from a mentally unstable man who is implied to call the house regularly. She summons her fellow students into the room where they listen as the caller screams and curses them on the phone. When one of the girls, foul-mouthed Barb, takes the phone from Jess and Barb incites the caller, who, in turn, promises to kill her. Barb argues with a younger student, Clare Harrison, who implies that the caller could be a serial rapist before Clare returns to her bedroom to finish packing for Christmas break. The disoriented man lures Clare into her closet where he suffocates her with a plastic dress bag. He moves her body to the attic.

The following morning, Mr. Harrison arrives at the school to pick up his daughter, but she fails to show up to their agreed meeting place. He quickly makes his way to the sorority house, where the housemother, Mrs. MacHenry, is surprised by Clare's absence. Meanwhile, Jess meets her boyfriend, Peter, a neurotic music student. She explains that she is pregnant and planning to get an abortion, angering Peter, who attempts to intimidate her. In town, Mr. Harrison, accompanied by Barb and one of the other girls, Phyllis Carlson, attempt to report Clare as missing, while Jess quickly tells Clare's boyfriend Chris about Clare's sudden disappearance. They learn that another local girl named Janis Quaife has also seemingly vanished while walking home from school.

After putting a drunken Barb to bed, Mr. Harrison, Chris, Jess, and Phyllis help search for Janis in a nearby park where she allegedly disappeared, hoping to turn up some sign of Clare. Meanwhile, Mrs. Mac plans to leave for her sister's home, only to be lured up into the attic where she discovers Clare's body. The killer throws a crane hook into her face, hanging and killing her. In the park, Janis's disfigured body is found by the police and Jess returns home while the search continues for Clare. Jess answers another obscene phone call and decides to file a report with the police, only for Peter to appear and surprise her. He attempts to persuade her into marriage for the sake of their child, but Jess adamantly refuses. Peter leaves in an emotional state, while Lieutenant Kenneth Fuller arrives to bug the telephone.

A group of choir children arrive on the house's stoop to sing Christmas carols, distracting Jess. The killer enters Barb's room and murders her with a glass figurine; Barb's cries for help are drowned out by the singing children. One of the women in charge of the children ushers them away, having learned of Janis's murder. Jess experiences another unnerving phone call, in which the caller restates part of her argument with Peter. Lieutenant Fuller theorizes that Peter could be responsible, due to the caller's knowledge of the argument and his own mental fragility, but Jess doubts this. Moments later, Phyllis enters Barb's room and is ambushed by the killer, who murders her.

Jess gets another obscene phone call, in which the killer alludes to some sort of transgression between two children named Agnes and Billy. The call is long enough to be traced by Graham, a telephone company employee, and Sergeant Nash instructs Jess to leave the house immediately, as the calls have been traced to be coming from within the house. Concerned for Barb and Phyllis, Jess arms herself with a poker and ventures upstairs, where she discovers Barb and Phyllis's maimed figures. The killer appears and pursues Jess through the house; Jess locks herself in the cellar, only for Peter to appear outside one of the windows. He smashes the window to get to Jess, who assumes he is the killer.

The police arrive moments later, alerted by Jess's screams. They discover her barely conscious in the basement holding a bloody poker with Peter dead next to her. They put Jess to bed and discuss the murders, unaware of the bodies of Clare and Mrs. MacHenry still in the attic. Jess is left in the house to rest, with a policeman standing outside. The killer climbs down from the attic as Jess sleeps in a nearby room. The house's telephone begins to ring, and Jess' fate is left ambiguous.

Cast

Production

Development

Black Christmas was initially developed by Canadian screenwriter Roy Moore, who wrote the screenplay under the title Stop Me.[9] Inspirations for the film came from the urban legend known as "The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs",[10] which had become widespread during the 1970s.[11][12] Moore also claimed to have been inspired by a series of murders that occurred during the holiday season in the Westmount area of Montreal.[13][14] As noted in an article for The Telegraph, the murders, which occurred in 1943, were perpetrated by a fourteen-year-old boy who bludgeoned several of his family members to death.[6] Film producers Harvey Sherman and Richard Schouten had Timothy Bond rewrite the script to give it a university setting.[10][15] Clark, who had felt the original script was too much of a straightforward slasher film, made several alterations in dialogue,[10] and also incorporated humorous elements into the film, particularly the drunkenness of Barb, and Mrs. Mac, who Clark based on his aunt.[9] Clark felt that college and high school students had not been depicted with "any sense of reality" in American film, and that he intended to capture the "astuteness" of young adults: "College students—even in 1974—are astute people. They're not fools. It's not all 'bikinis, beach blankets, [and] bingo'."[9]

Casting
The central cast of Black Christmas (clockwise from left to right): Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, John Saxon, and Margot Kidder

Olivia Hussey, who had previously garnered international fame for her role as Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet (1968), signed on to appear in the film after being told by a psychic that she would "make a film in Canada that would earn a great deal of money."[9] Clark sought Keir Dullea to play the role of Peter based on his performance as Dave Bowman in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).[9] The role of Mrs. Mac was offered to Bette Davis,[10] who declined the part.[9] Margot Kidder was cast in the role of Barb, and said she had been attracted to the character "because she was wild and out of control", and not a "conventional leading" part.[9] For the role of Clare Harrison, whose murder jump-starts the film's plot, Toronto native Lynne Griffin was cast after her mother, who was also her casting agent at the time, got her an audition. Griffin would later go on to star in Curtains (1983), and in the acclaimed television series Wind at My Back (1996–2001).[16]

Gilda Radner was offered the role of Phyllis Carlson. She accepted the part, but dropped out one month before filming began owing to Saturday Night Live commitments, and was replaced by Andrea Martin.[10][9] The role of Lieutenant Fuller was originally given to Edmond O'Brien. Upon his arrival to the set, however, the producers realized he would be unable to fulfill the duties required of the part due to his failing health (stemming from Alzheimer's disease).[7] John Saxon, who had read the script prior, was called by the producers who offered him the role. He accepted, and had to arrive in Toronto from New York City within two days to begin shooting.[9] For the role of the film's antagonist, Italian-American actor Nick Mancuso was cast as one of the main voices in the phone call sequences. When auditioning for the role, director Clark had Mancuso sit in a chair facing away from him, so as not to see the actor's face. Clark then had Mancuso experiment with different voices in order to come up with one that was right for the character, with Clark later offering him the part.[6]

John Saxon had appeared in the first gialo.[17]

Filming
Soldiers' Tower at the University of Toronto is featured in the film

Black Christmas was shot on location in Toronto in the winter of 1973–74. The house featured in the film had been discovered by Clark while scouting for locations, and its owners agreed to lease the home for the production.[9] Additional photography was completed on the University of Toronto campus.[9] According to John Saxon, Clark had meticulously drawn out storyboards with key shots, which he brought to the film set each day: "I could understand exactly what I thought he needed, and the scene needed."[9] Scenes in the film involving POV shot of Billy scaling the house was accomplished through the use of a rig designed by camera operator Bert Dunk, which was attached to Dunk's head as he climbed up the side of the house.[8] Griffin's death scene, which was shot with a handheld camera in a real closet, was accomplished in only a couple of takes. According to Griffin, her character's surprise as the killer lunges from the closet was genuine as the actress later recalled: "it was a total shock because I didn't really know when to expect him to jump out!" Shots of Clare's corpse in the rocking chair required the actress to wear an actual plastic bag over her head for extended periods of time. Griffin would also state that these scenes came relatively easy for her, "I was actually, and still am, a fairly good swimmer so I could hold my breath for a long time. And I could also keep my eyes open for a long time without blinking."[16]

Margot Kidder remembered shooting the film as being "fun. I really bonded with Andrea Martin, filming in Toronto and Ontario. Olivia Hussey was a bit of an odd one. She was obsessed with the idea of falling in love with Paul McCartney through her psychic. We were a little hard on her for things like that."[18]

Post-production

The composer of the film's score, Carl Zittrer, stated in an interview that he created the film's mysterious music by tying forks, combs, and knives onto the strings of the piano to warp the sound of the keys.[7] Zittrer also stated that he would distort the sound further by recording its sound onto an audiotape and make the sound slower.[7] The audio for the disturbing phone calls was performed by multiple actors including Mancuso[10][6] and director Bob Clark.[7] Mancuso stated in an interview that he stood on his head during the recording sessions to compress his thorax and make his voice sound more demented.[5] Mancuso spent only three days recording dialogue for the character, later recalling the experience as being very "avant-garde", with Clark encouraging him to improvise with the character's voice.[6]

During preparation in 1975 for the film's American release, Warner Bros. studio executives asked Clark to change the concluding scene to show Clare's boyfriend, Chris, appear in front of Jess and say, "Agnes, don't tell them what we did" before killing her. However, Clark insisted on keeping the ending ambiguous. The original title of the film was initially planned to be Stop Me.[10] Clark has stated in an interview that he came up with the film's official title, saying that he enjoyed the irony of a dark event occurring during a festive holiday. According to Clark as well, Warner Bros. changed the title to Silent Night, Evil Night for the United States theatrical release.[7]

Release

Theatrical distribution

Black Christmas was distributed in Canada by Ambassador Film Distributors and released in Toronto on October 11, 1974.[19] In the United States, Warner Bros. released the film in tandem with the Christmas season on December 20, 1974.[20] For the American release, Warner Bros. initially changed the title to Silent Night, Evil Night, worried that the original title would mislead audiences into believing the film was a blaxploitation movie.[9] They retracted the title after the initial release, restoring it to Black Christmas for subsequent screenings.[9]

The film later screened in October 1975 in New York City and Chicago,[21] as well as 19 theaters in Los Angeles, where it generated considerable ticket sales. This prompted Warner Bros. to expand the release to a total of 70 theaters nationwide in time for Halloween, but the film only generated a daily average of $700 per theater, per day, after which Warner Bros. withdrew the film from circulation in December.[22] The film had previously screened under the alternative title Silent Night, Evil Night in Virginia in July 1975.[23]

The film was the third-highest-grossing Canadian film of all-time in Canada with a gross of $2 million, behind The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974) and the French language Deux femmes en or (1970), directed by Claude Fournier.[24][25]

Overall, Black Christmas grossed over $4,053,000 internationally, managing to earn more than its budget of $620,000.[26] When released in the UK, the BBFC had the word "cunt" removed, as well as several other crude and sexual references during the first obscene phone call.

Television premiere controversy

The film, under the title Stranger in the House, was set to make its network television premiere on Saturday night, January 28, 1978, on NBC's weekly "Saturday Night at the Movies". Two weeks prior to its premiere, the Chi Omega Sorority House on the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee was the scene of a double murder in which two Chi Omega sisters, asleep in their beds, were bludgeoned to death. The killer then went to a nearby room in the sorority house and violently attacked two more sleeping co-eds, who survived. The killer was later identified as Ted Bundy, who was executed for this and other homicides on January 24, 1989.[27]

A few days before the movie was set to premiere on network television Florida's then-Governor Reubin Askew contacted NBC President Robert Mullholland to request the movie not be shown due to its all-too-similar theme as the murders of sorority sisters by an unknown madman at the Chi Omega Sorority House. On Tuesday, January 24, NBC-TV gave several of its affiliates in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, the option of showing an alternate movie, Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze, in place of Stranger in the House.[27]

"The network said in a statement issued yesterday in New York City that it was responding to concern voiced by the affiliates because of the murder of two coeds this month in a sorority house at Florida State University in Tallahassee."[27]

Critical response

During its initial release, the film had garnered mixed reviews. A. H. Weiler of The New York Times called it "a whodunit that raises the question as to why was it made."[28] Variety called the film "a bloody, senseless kill-for-kicks feature, [that] exploits unnecessary violence in a university sorority house operated by an implausibly alcoholic ex-hoofer. Its slow-paced, murky tale involves an obscene telephone caller who apparently delights in killing the girls off one by one, even the hapless house-mother."[29] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 1.5 stars out of 4 and called it a "routine shocker" that "is notable only for indicating the kind of junk roles that talented actresses are forced to play in the movies."[30] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Before it maddeningly overreaches in a gratuitously evasive ending, 'Black Christmas' (opening today at selected theaters) is a smart, stylish Canadian-made little horror picture that is completely diverting ... It may well be that its makers simply couldn't figure out how to end it."[31]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Black Christmas holds a 71% approval rating based on 34 reviews, with an average rating of 6.26/10. The critical consensus reads: "The rare slasher with enough intelligence to wind up the tension between bloody outbursts, Black Christmas offers fiendishly enjoyable holiday viewing for genre fans."[32] Heidi Martinuzzi of Film Threat called the film "innovative" and praised the leading actresses, Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder.[33] TV Guide awarded the film three out of four stars, writing: "Although strictly standard fare, the material is elevated somewhat through Clark's skillful handling of such plot devices as obscene phone calls from the killer to the girls via the upstairs phone and a nicely handled twist ending, which provides a genuine shock."[34] Author and film critic Leonard Maltin gave the film two and a half out of a possible four stars calling it "bizarre" but also praised Kidder's performance as a standout.[35] The Time Out film guide noted that the film "manages a good slice of old-fashioned suspense."[36]

Home media

Black Christmas has been released on DVD several times in North America. A 25th Anniversary edition was released in Canada on November 6, 2001 by Critical Mass.[37] This edition only contains the theatrical trailer as a bonus feature.[38] The following year, on December 3, 2002, Critical Mass released a Collector's Edition of the film on DVD with making-of documentaries, two audio commentary tracks, and reversible English and French cover artwork.[39]

On December 5, 2006, Critical Mass released a third "Special Edition" DVD with a newly remastered transfer, two original scenes with newly-uncovered vocal tracks, a new documentary on the making of the film, and cast and crew interviews.[40] This edition was later released on Blu-ray on November 11, 2008.[41]

Anchor Bay released a Blu-ray and DVD in Canada, titled the "Season's Grievings Edition". It contains the same transfer of the film as the "Special Edition" release and all previous bonus content, plus the addition of: a new documentary ("Black Christmas Legacy"), a 40th anniversary panel from Fan Expo 2014, a new commentary track featuring Nick Mancuso as the character "Billy", a new retrospective booklet written by Rue Morgue Magazine, and new packaging art by Gary Pullin (art director of Rue Morgue Magazine). This new edition was released on Blu-ray and DVD on November 24, 2015.[42]

In the United States, Scream Factory released the film in a collector's edition Blu-ray on December 13, 2016 with a new transfer and new extras.[43] The Scream Factory release collates all of the bonus materials from the previous releases by Critical Mass and Anchor Bay, and also features the 2006 Critical Mass restoration of the film in the bonus materials.[43]

Accolades

Saturn Award-Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films

  • 1976: Nominated, Best Horror Film

Canadian Film Awards

Edgar Allan Poe Awards

  • 1976: Nominated, Best Motion Picture – A. Roy Moore[47]

Legacy

Black Christmas eventually gained a cult following, and is notable for being one of the earliest slasher films. It went on to inspire other slasher films, the biggest one of all being John Carpenter's Halloween (which was apparently inspired by Clark suggesting what a Black Christmas sequel would be like).[48][9][49]

Black Christmas has been included in multiple lists in various media outlets as one of the greatest horror films ever made. The film ranked No. 87 on Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments.[50] It was ranked at No. 67 in IndieWires The 100 Best Horror Movies of All Time, its entry stating "The plot sounds formulaic, but Black Christmas remains timeless thanks to its terrifying and elusive killer, 'Billy,' whose backstory is never revealed, as well as a foreboding ending that doesn't offer much hope for the film's Final Girl".[51] Thrillist's Scott Weinberg, in his article The 75 Best Horror Movies of All Time, ranked the film at No. 48.[52] Paul Schrodt of Esquire placed the film at No. 23 in his list of the 50 Best Horror Films of All Time.[53] In 2017, Complex magazine named Black Christmas the 2nd-best slasher film of all time.[54] The following year, Paste listed it the 3rd-best slasher film of all time,[55] while also placing the character Jess Bradford at #1 in their list of "20 Best 'Final Girls' in Horror Movie History".[56] Film critic Tim Dirks of the film-review website Filmsite.org added the film to his list of films featuring the "Greatest Film Plot Twists, Film Spoilers and Surprise Endings", based on the film's major plot twists- the revelation that the real killer was hidden inside the unsearched attic, and Jess' implied murder.[57]

Olivia Hussey told Bravo during an interview about their 100 Scariest Movie Moments series, that when she met Steve Martin for the first time, he told her she starred in one of his favorite movies of all time. Hussey initially thought he was referring to Romeo and Juliet, but was surprised when Martin said it was Black Christmas and that he had seen the film 27 times.[58]

Novelization

A novelization of the film written by Lee Hays was published in 1976 by Popular Library.[59][60]

Remakes
Main articles: Black Christmas (2006 film) and Black Christmas (2019 film)

Black Christmas has been remade on two separate occasions, with the films differing significantly from the original.

The first remake was directed by Glen Morgan and was released on December 25, 2006. It is loosely based on the original film, containing more graphic content and a focus into the past of Billy. Andrea Martin was the only original cast member to appear in the film, and Bob Clark served as an executive producer.[61]

On June 13, 2019, a new remake was announced by Blumhouse Productions. Directed and written by Sophia Takal, co-written by April Wolfe and produced by Jason Blum. Principal photography began on June 24 and wrapped on July 31, 2019, in Dunedin, New Zealand.[62][63][64] Starring Imogen Poots and Cary Elwes, the film was released on December 13, 2019.[65]

gollark: London gets stupidly fast (10Gbit in some places, even) fibre, but most of the UK isn't London.
gollark: In the UK the internet connectivity situation seems pretty bad too - I think the only option here is BT, which has a "fibre" offering (VDSL to a box nearby which is connected to something else by actual fibre-optic) delivering amazing 34/8 (that's Mbps) speeds.
gollark: I would actually prefer that over thinness, to be honest, personally.
gollark: Two IIRC, for WiFi and the cellular modem.
gollark: If you disconnect the network it gives you the offline account option IIRC, but it's annoying and stupid.

See also

References
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  4. Jenkins, Philip (2008). Decade of Nightmares: The End of the Sixties and the Making of Eighties America. Oxford University Press. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-195-34158-4.
  5. "Slay bells ring: an interview with Black Christmas stars Lynne Griffin, Nick Mancuso and Doug McGrath". The Film Reel. November 24, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  6. Power, Ed (December 11, 2019). "The curse of Black Christmas: the man behind The Prowler on the slasher film that ruined his career". Telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
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  9. Orchard, Tristan (dir.); Clark, Bob; Kidder, Margot; Dullea, Keir et al. (July 22, 2005). "Black Christmas". On Screen!. Canadian Television Fund.
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  48. Squires, John (November 11, 2016). "How 'Halloween' Was Basically an Unofficial 'Black Christmas' Sequel". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  49. Muir 2011, p. 315.
  50. Dirks, Tim. "Greatest Scariest Movie Moments and Scenes (B)". AMC Filmsite.
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  55. Vorel, Jim (August 8, 2018). "The Best Slasher Movies of All Time". Paste. Archived from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  56. Vorel, Jim (October 4, 2016). "The 20 Best "Final Girls" in Horror Movie History". PasteMagazine.com. Paste Magazine. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  57. Dirks, Tim. "Greatest Movie Plot Twists, Spoilers and Surprise Endings". Filmsite.org. American Movie Classics Company, Inc. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  58. Stitzel, Kelly (October 31, 2012). "Horror Movie Marathon: Part The Last". Popdose.
  59. Hays, Lee (1976). Black Christmas. Popular Library.
  60. Searles, Jourdain (2018-10-30). "The Low-Budget Canadian Film That Inspired 'Halloween' and Launched an Entire Horror Genre". Thrillist. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  61. Garrett, Diane (April 4, 2007). "Bob Clark, 67, director". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  62. Hendricks, Adam (June 23, 2019). "Day 1! #blackchristmas". Retrieved August 8, 2019 – via Instagram.
  63. Hendricks, Adam (July 31, 2019). "Day 27! #blackchristmas". Retrieved August 8, 2019 – via Instagram.
  64. Hendricks, Adam (July 31, 2019). "THAT'S A WRAP!! #blackchristmas". Retrieved August 8, 2019 – via Instagram.
  65. Sneider, Jeff (June 13, 2019). "Blumhouse to Remake 'Black Christmas' with Director Sophia Takal". Collider. Archived from the original on June 14, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2019.

Works cited
  • Muir, John Kenneth (2011). Horror Films of the 1970s. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-49156-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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