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Black Christmas (1974)

   
Produced & Directed by: Bob Clark

Written by: Roy Moore

Starring:

Olivia Hussey .... Jessica Bradford
Keir Dullea .... Peter Smythe
Margot Kidder .... Barbie Coard
John Saxon .... Lieutenant Kenneth Fuller
Marian Waldman .... Mrs. Mac
Andrea Martin .... Phyllis Carlson
James Edmond .... Mr. Harrison
Doug McGrath .... Sergeant Nash
Art Hindle .... Chris Hayden

Cameos:


Lynne Griffin .... Clare Harrison
Leslie Carlson .... Graham

Release Date: Theatrical: October 11, 1974 (Canada); December 20, 1974 (USA)

*Images courtesy at: www.angelfire.com/indie/blackchristmas

Rating:

 

It's almost Christmas time and the women at their sorority house are having a Christmas party but however one of them named Jessica Bradford (Olivia Hussey) is receiving obscene phone calls from a psychopath telling cryptic stories about abortion and the beating of a child.
Jessica happens to be pregnant and wants an abortion but her boyfriend Peter Smythe (Keir Dullea) who lives in another sorority house doesn't want her to.
Also one of the sorority sisters named Clare Harrison (Lynne Griffin) ends up being suffered to death by having a plastic bag wrapped around her head and dragged up to the sorority attic while the party is going on but is not found by the others.
While some go away for the holiday Jessica stays behind with some of her other sorority sisters and caretakers only to be put away in the attic themselves and Jessica continues to get these obscene calls from the killer but doesn't know where they're coming from but will be in for a big shock after she finds out.

 

A well done dark type of horror film leaving the movie very spooky and mysterious however the story doesn't explain itself too well. Still it's greatly mysterious, dark and frightening regardless.
The film was as eery as When a Stranger Calls as both films both have similar elements and both were remade decades later.
The same writer Roy Moore wrote the 2006 remake as he made the story have a better description of why all the madness was happening with flashback memories etc.

The acting is in good shape for a film during this time period. Olivia Hussey seems to pull off well by being the head sorority sister and does well with her scared and upset emotions in the film.
Keir Dullea
played a great and mysterious one in the film as the boyfriend and musician in the film which also makes you wonder if he's a suspect. He showed terrific aggressions to his role.
Margot Kidder
is by all means the best out of the whole cast and performs perfectly in every way. She puts every she has as a partygoer sorority sister in the film and does especially well at being drunk too.
John Saxon
lived to play a police chief and was often typecast with this type of roles and of course already knew his craft when he played one in A Nightmare On Elm Street.
Supporting actress Marian Waldman really stood out well as a drunken sorority caretaker and was quite bubbly in her role.
Andrea Martin
also played off well as another sorority sister bringing lots of enthusiasm to her part in the film.
Supporting actor Doug McGrath was another great character actor who played a believeable prick of a police officer in the film as you want to slap him.

An officers throat is slit
There are some bloodied corpses.

The directing by Stuart Gordon is incredibly stale and doesn't whip the film in shape all that much.
We see a nice shot of the sorority house at night time with the Christmas lights up.
There's perfect camera shots on the actresses reactions when they hear the obscene phone call.
There was a real nice and spooky setting on small actress Lynne Griffin when she is in her room slowly walking to the closet as something is watching her and then BAM! She is attacked which is a good jumping moment.
Olivia Hussey
shows some nice scared reactions to the obscene caller when she tells the caller it's the wrong number.
The surroundings looked great in the sorority house when it shows the hallways and then the creepy attic.
Supporting actress Marian Waldman shows a nice shocked look after spotting a sorority corpse with her head wrapped in a plastic bag.
Keir Dullea
looked great storming into the police station and getting aggressive with supporting actor Doug McGrath.
There's an intense moment with Dullea when he picks up a mic stand and uses it to smash his piano as his actions were perfect while doing so.
Margot Kidder
really played off being drunk and Gordon made her actions believeable when she gets aggressive towards the others.
Also there was a good moment with Kidder when she has an athsma attack in bed and then later on nice darkness on the killer coming in with a knife ready to plunge.
John Saxon
was well directed as well playing a police chief and has great reactions when he finds out where the killer is calling from trying to rescue the survivors any way he can.
The darkest and best direction was when McGrath calls up Hussey telling her the killer is in the house and she right away has a freaked out and shocked look to her face in the same style as When a Stranger Calls.
It's especially terrifying when she screams for two of her sorority friends and the hallway is still bare looking as you know something is going to happen.

Carl Zittrer composed some nice dark sounds for the film with piano chords being struck which works just perfectly for the scary scene's.