The Black Christmas Horror Movies: 1974 vs. 2006 vs. 2019
There are three Black Christmas horror movies, but it would be a stretch to call them a series. The first film, which depicts a sorority terrorized by a mysterious stalker, came out in 1974 and initially received little attention.
The original Black Christmas was an early trendsetter in the American slasher and giallo genres. Criminally underrated for many years, the film gradually built a significant cult following and is now an annual holiday season watch for many horror fans, including me.
Halloween (1978) is often regarded as the first significant U.S. slasher, but director John Carpenter took inspiration from Black Christmas. The film’s belated commercial success prevented any sequels, but it’s been remade twice – in 2006 and 2019.
Does one original film and two remakes, all of which exist in their own separate universes, constitute a franchise? I don’t think so. This isn’t one of my franchise rankings lists. But Black Christmas has become a brand name for holiday horror, so this trifecta of slashers is worth examining nonetheless.
Let’s take a look at the good, bad, and ugly (believe me, there’s plenty of ugly in the remakes) of this trio. Here’s my mini-reviews of all three Black Christmas horror movies.
Warning: Contains plot spoilers for all three movies.
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Black Christmas (1974)
Black Christmas is about a sorority that is terrorized by Billy, a giggling maniac who incessantly makes creepy obscene phone calls. Of course, he isn’t satisfied with merely talking to the comely coeds. He gets up close and personal, using a plastic bag, a crane hook, and even a glass unicorn figurine to dispatch his victims.
Olivia Hussey plays Jess, the movie’s final girl. She’s dealing with an unwanted pregnancy and an ex-boyfriend who is pressuring her to have the baby. You didn’t see a lot of horror movies discuss abortion in the ’70s. Gutsy choice by director Bob Clark.
As I mentioned previously, Black Christmas was ignored when it was first released. It became well-known after slashers exploded in popularity in the 1980s. Olivia Hussey’s Jess remains one of the most underrated final girls in the subgenre. She’s tough, pretty, and debonair.
Quick historical footnote: until this year, I had never seen the film Silent Night Bloody Night (1972), an even earlier Christmas proto-slasher. It’s about a series of Christmas Eve killings related to the sale of a New England mansion that was formerly used as an insane asylum.
It’s not as good as Black Christmas, but it’s worth checking out if you’re interested in examining the embryonic stages of the slasher subgenre.
Rating from 1 (avoid at all costs) to 10 (masterpiece): 8
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Black Christmas (2006)
This one came out in the midst of the dreary horror remake craze of the 2000s. Most of these movies were both bad and unnecessary, although there were some exceptions. I think The Hills Have Eyes remake surpasses the original, and I also mostly enjoyed the 2003 Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Anyway, back to Black Christmas. The ’06 version has basically the same plot as the original: college girls are stalked by a maniac named Billy at their sorority house over Christmas break. There’s plenty of gore, a high body count, and decent holiday atmosphere.
The problem here is that this movie feels the need to give Billy a backstory and motivation. The shadowy, eerie figure from the original is replaced by a cartoonish mental patient who also has a crazy, murderous sister. This movie is loaded with flashbacks that cripple the pacing with unnecessary exposition. The lean, mean terror of the original is replaced by bland excess.
Also, this movie absolutely wastes Mary Elizabeth Winstead. I thought she would be the final girl, but instead she gets offed in an incredibly lame and anticlimactic way halfway through the movie. This is an example of how *not* to do a twist like this. This ain’t Scream.
Rating from 1 (avoid at all costs) to 10 (masterpiece): 4
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Black Christmas (2019)
The first remake retained some faithfulness to the original storyline, but this one takes it in a completely different direction. It features sorority girls stalked by a killer during the Christmas season, but there’s no Billy character. Instead, the villain is a hooded maniac who is part of a misogynistic fraternity cult.
Black Christmas gets political again in this installment. There’s nothing wrong with that. Plenty of quality horror films and novels have commented on sexism and misogyny. Unfortunately, this movie handles these themes in a contrived and heavy handed way.
It comes across as a sleazy attempt to increase grosses by stoking controversy and debate. The 2019 version also downgrades the violence to a PG-13 level in another attempt to increase its mainstream appeal. There’s no gore, atmosphere, or suspense.
This movie doesn’t deserve the Black Christmas moniker. It could easily have been called something else. The title, like everything else, is strictly a cynical marketing ploy.
Black Christmas ’19 wastes two talented performers: Cary Elwes, who plays a sexist professor, and Imogen Poots, who plays the final girl. Their characters are bland and one dimensional.
This is one of Blumhouse’s worst films. The kicker – even after all that pandering, it failed to meet expectations at the box office.
Rating from 1 (avoid at all costs) to 10 (masterpiece): 3
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More Black Christmases?
I don’t see the need for more Black Christmas horror movies. In an alternate universe where the original was an immediate breakout hit, we probably would have a sprawling franchise like Halloween and Friday the 13th. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and it’s far too late to make direct sequel now.
That said, another movie is nearly inevitable. Black Christmas is now a well-known brand name, so it’s likely to be revived in some form. Hopefully the next iteration will learn from the remakes’ mistakes.
