Black Christmas (2006)

User Rating:

4.3/10   

Director:

Glen Morgan

Writers (WGA):

Glen Morgan (screenplay)
Roy Moore (1974 screenplay)

Release Date:

25 December 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

This holiday season, the slay ride begins.

Plot:

An escaped maniac returns to his childhood home on Christmas Eve, which is now a sorority house, and begins to murder the sorority sisters one by one.

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | House | Attic | Sorority | Sorority House

Cast

Katie Cassidy	...	Kelli Presley
Michelle Trachtenberg	...	Melissa
Kristen Cloke	...	Leigh Colvin
Mary Elizabeth Winstead	...	Heather Fitzgerald
Lacey Chabert	...	Dana
Andrea Martin	...	Barbara 'Ms. Mac' MacHenry
Crystal Lowe	...	Lauren Hannon
Oliver Hudson	...	Kyle Autry
Karin Konoval	...	Billy's Mother
Dean Friss	...	Agnes - 16 & 22 Years
Robert Mann	...	Billy Lenz - 20 & 35 Years
Jessica Harmon	...	Megan Helms
Leela Savasta	...	Clair Crosby
Kathleen Kole	...	Eve Agnew
Cainan Wiebe	...	Billy Lenz - 5 & 12 Years

Also Known As:

Black X-Mas (USA) (promotional abbreviation)
Noël noir (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong horror violence and gore, sexuality, nudity and language.

Runtime:

84 min | 94 min (unrated version)

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:15 | Ireland:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:18A (British Columbia/Manitoba) | USA:R (certificate #42313) | Germany:18 (unrated version) | Portugal:M/18 | Australia:R | Finland:K-18 | Italy:VM14 | Singapore:R21 | Peru:18 | Argentina:18 | Chile:18 | Netherlands:16 | Sweden:15 | Australia:MA (Cable TV rating) | New Zealand:R16 | New Zealand:R16 (theatrical rating) | New Zealand:R18 (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

Kristin Cavallari turned down the role of "Kelli" while Camilla Belle and Amber Tamblyn turned down the role of "Heather" due to scheduling conflicts. Belle was working on another film while Tamblyn was committed to The Grudge 2 (2006).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Michelle Trachtenberg's character has her name spelled in the credits (M-e-l-i-s-s-a) differently from the way it appears on screen as part of a Caller ID (M-e-l-l-i-s-a).

Quotes:

Kelli Presely: They're not your family... and your brother's not here
Agnes: No... MY DADDY IS!
[Her brother *and* father bursts through the floorboards behind them]

Movie Connections:

References Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

Soundtrack:

Arabian Dance

enjoy, but don't take seriously!

Earlier this year, I tore the re-make of When A Stranger Calls apart, and said at the time, that if Hollywood won't bother making new horror movies, but instead simply re-make old or foreign ones, then just stop. I stand by that.

However...

Black Christmas actually surprised me. First, it was actually a lot more brutal and violent than I was expecting, considering it's 15 rating (UK). The other, was the way it re-worked the original.

The original, which I haven't seen for awhile was as much a whodunit as anything else. Here we're spared that. We know pretty much from the start who is killing here.

What the makers have done, is simply turn the story into a stalk and slash movie, which as I said is quite brutal in areas. For me a movie of this type stands or falls not on the killer or how they kill, but on the potential victims in the story. If you care about them, then you feel bad they are killed. If you don't, then give me an axe, I'll do it myself!! Black Christmas does enough to make you care about each character, by making each one a little different, but yet, having enough in character to make you believe they could get along normally. So when the killing starts, you do care about them, and begin to wonder who, or how many will make it to the end alive.

The death scenes are well set up and done, which isn't surprising considering the makers also did Final Destination 1 & 3. If I have a problem with them is that the film is maybe a little over-edited so at times, you aren't sure if certain characters have been killed or not.

This movie has been getting a critical mauling in certain areas. But I found on watching it, that it's fun, enjoyable, with a black(!) sense of humour, some very nice looking actresses in it!, and for it's (admittedly short) running time very entertaining. And when I go to see a movie like this, that's what I want.

Enjoyable late-night fun.