(Bob Clark, 1974)
(essay by Kevin)
Ever since I was a kid I can remember the coverbox to Bob Clark’s Black Christmas. It wasn’t just the simplicity of the title and its juxtaposition of those two words or the fact that it was directed by the man who gave us A Christmas Story and Porky’s, but it was the image on the front: a woman screaming with a plastic bag over her head, and the image of this woman was inside of a wreath. I remember that I needed to see this movie. However it wasn’t until I was much older that I finally got a chance to visit Black Christmas, and I was shocked to not just find a really terrifying and intense stalker film, but to also find one of the earliest examples of what would later be known as the “slasher film”.
With hindsight we can clearly say that the plot – a bunch of girls in a sorority house are being harassed by obscene phone calls that are…COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE! – is as banal as any slasher film’s plot. However, Clark’s film predates Halloween by four years, and Friday the 13th – the film responsible for making the slasher profitable – by six years; however, none of that seems relevant if we’re discussing who came up with the template first because despite the Canadian’s having a four year edge on the American’s they were all behind the Italian’s, where Mario Bava’s Bay of Blood predates Black Christmas by three years.
Whew. Did you get all of that? Here’s the thing, though: I don’t really want to get into the debate about which came first, or how Carpenter blatantly ripped off Bob Clark (we can save that for the comments if you’d like), or how the slasher actually originated with Hitchcock’s Psycho…nope, I’m not interested in it. Oh, not because it isn’t interesting to debate such things, but more so because I think it takes away from just how well crafted a horror film both Black Christmas and Halloween are. If we only spend time talking about things like Carpenter asking Clark certain information about an unofficial sequel to Black Christmas (which is definitely left open-ended and ambiguous to whether or not the killer is actually dead) that would take place at a different holiday, Halloween, then we lose sight of just how gifted both Clark and Carpenter are at making horror films that to this day remain as intense as they must have seemed upon their initial release.
One of the interesting things about Black Christmas is actually what is so interesting about the Canadian slasher in general: an uncanny focus on character development and a horror that is more about the tightening of your nerves than the unsettling of your stomach. Post-Black Christmas the most popular Canadian slashers would all stand out from the drivel that America was producing, films like: Visiting Hours, Terror Train, and My Bloody Valentine. All of these films share common traits and aesthetics, and they all derive from the influence of Clark’s Black Christmas.
The other thing that makes Black Christmas memorable is its use of good actors. Clark definitely wasn’t just trying to make a “dead teenager” movie, as the slasher would late be called, and used Olivia Hussey (the Final Girl), Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, and John Saxon (!) to great effect. The level of acting here gives the film a professional feel, and not just some claustrophobic, amateur horror film.
Clark does indeed make his horror claustrophobic by keeping a lot of the horror in the sorroirty house; however, to his credit (and Carpenter did the same thing to a greater effect in Halloween) the film never feels overly-claustrophobic. During certain moments we are appropriately feeling closed-in and panicked because of the logistics of the sorority house, but Clark uses the spaces inside and outside of the house to establish an accomplished mise-en-scene not normally found in low-budget horror films. Clark also uses crosscutting to great effect as we never really see the gruesome murders happen, but they’re always implied; or, as in one of the film’s most virtuoso and creepiest moments a girl is being stabbed in her room upstairs which is crosscut with the rest of her friends and chaperons downstairs unable to hear her screams as they listen to children singing carols outside the front door. It’s a powerful moment – not just for its restraint, but its non-cynical use of Christmas conventions/traditions to compound upon the horror of the moment. This isn’t some exploitative holiday horror-themed film like Silent Night, Deadly Night.
Bob Clark was an interesting filmmaker who wore many hats; the man made films ranging from Deathdream to A Christmas Story to Porky’s to Baby Geniuses. Here, though, he shows an incredible ability to build fear and dread using a single location and having all of the film’s horror swirl around it. His use of POV is especially creepy (also cribbed by Carpenter, but what great trope or effect isn’t cribbed in filmmaking?), as are the obscene phone calls the killer makes. Clark definitely had talent for making horror films (his Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things is another good horror film, along with Deathdream), but I find it interesting that in spite of the talent on display here he would simply fade away into cinema oblivion making films like Karate Dog and Baby Geniuses. The man had the talent to do what a lot of talented filmmakers do with the horror genre: use it as a jumping off point for a successful directing career. That’s not to say that Clark’s films haven’t been financially successful (I can’t imagine those kids movies costing much, and they all probably made some kind of profit), but it just seems sad that he would waste his talent on, for example, a movie about a dog who knows karate.
Regardless, in 1974 Bob Clark made a film that he’ll always be remembered for because we horror fans are a cultish bunch, and we don’t forget the importance and the impact that a film like Black Christmas has on a genre. Even though I don’t want to get into a lot of the urban legends and historical context about Black Christmas and Halloween, I do think it’s more than safe to say that if we didn’t have the former – and the template it provided for future horror filmmakers – then we wouldn’t have the latter. It’s as important a marker for the horror genre as something like Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street; however, it sadly still remains the most unheralded of the bunch, despite being the most influential of them all.
(this film appeared on Jamie’s list at #13, Kevin’s at #21, Troy’s at #43, and Robert’s at #7)
The story is banal. This would be hard to refute. But the style was influential, and it appears this film has never received the respect it has earned. Clark’s got talent and the actors give solid performances. This is a pleasant surprise.
Excellent essay on this fantastic film. And I’m glad you mentioned Canuck horror – there was a fantastic run of Canadian slasher films in the late 1970s that ran through part of the 1980s that were very well done considering all the hack work that proliferates the slasher genre. And BLACK CHRISTMAS is certainly one of the best examples – ditto MY BLOODY VALENTINE which is an intense, scary film in its own right.
I liked My Bloody Valentine too!
Frank, it seems that Kevin and J.D. are split on this one.
Sam:
I actually love MY BLOODY VALENTINE. I had it in my top 50, I believe.
BLACK CHRISTMAS has been sitting in its original wrap on one of my shelves for nearly two years now, but I’ll have to look at it between now and the end of the year, whichever is more appropriate. Clark is a tragedy of wasted talent, but he had a remarkable run of popular and interesting films up to Christmas Story, including the Holmes-vs-Ripper tale MURDER BY DECREE. As for Canadian slasher films, another one perhaps worthy of mention is Denis Heroux’s NAKED MASSACRE (also known as BORN TO KILL), a bleak transplant of the Richard Speck murders to the moral black hole of Northern Ireland that’s disturbing in its blunt, artless portrayal of cruelty as a carrier of madness.
Don’t believe I’ve ever seen NAKED MASSACRE… thanks for the heads up.
Samuel I recently purchased Murder By Decree. Jack The Ripper and Sherlock Holmes in the same movie……I’m there!!!!! I recently watched The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes and consider it my fourth favorite Wilder after Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity, and Ace In The Hole. I also love The Scarlet Claw with Rathbone. I enjoy movies that take place in that Victorian gaslight era.
This is a pleasant surprise, Kevin (it appeared on all your lists too!) I enjoyed this film quite a lot.
Another Bob Clark to grace the pages of WitD…
I’d probably like this movie better than his other films. Kinda sad, isn’t it, that he went from arguably inventing the slasher genre to T&A flicks like “Porkies” and childish drivel like “A Christmas Story” and “Baby Geniuses”.
PORKY’S is a masterpiece. Of it’s genre of course, can High School sex-romp films have masterpieces?
I thought it was a college sex-romp movie. And technically “Sixteen Candles” could qualify as a masterpiece, although that just fits into the broader genre of high-school movies in general, where John Hughes is pretty much the unqualified best.
No, PORKY’S concerns the hi-jinx of High Schoolers. Another of that ilk, that’s pretty fun, is ‘Screwballs’.
Yeah, I suppose these type’s of films could have ‘masterpieces’. Though in the case of something like ‘Sixteen Candles’ as a masterpiece of a High School genre, when put next to say, ‘Rebel Without a Cause’ it looses quite a bit of that ‘masterpiece’ luster.
“Sixteen Candles” I mentioned chiefly because it doubles as a T&A flick at times. Later Hughes stuff like “Breakfast Club” and “Ferris Bueller” are easier sells. And as much as I like “Rebel”, I don’t know if I’d put that right at the tippy-top of the genre. It certainly isn’t Ray’s best, even.
I’ll admit that I saw it and though “why is Bob writing a review for the countdown?” Just for a few seconds…
Lol me too!!!!!
I love this sitting this high, and alongside so many easily preceved greats of the genre. to many Horror fans (specifically of my generation and geography–United States) this is a very important film. Kevin gives it a great treatment here.
One thing we wanted to do was do a lot of genre lists during this countdown (unfortunately we haven’t), but how about a ‘slashers’ thread. Here’s my tops (obviously I’ve omitted the giallos, which are slashers, and BLACK CHRISTMAS and HALLOWEEN. I consider BLACK CHRISTMAS to be the greatest slasher ever) from the ‘classic era’, which is this film to about FRIDAY THE 13th PART VIII:
1. My Bloody Valentine (1981…George Mihalka)
2. The Burning (1981…Tony Maylam)
3. Nightmare on Elm Street (1984…Wes Craven)
4. Pieces (1982…Juan Piquer Simón)
5. Friday the 13th: Part 4: The Final Chapter (1984…Joseph Zito)
6. Motel Hell (1980…Kevin Connor)
7. Happy Birthday to Me (1981…J. Lee Thompson)
8. Friday the 13th: Part 7: The New Blood (1988…John Carl Buechler)
9. Alone in the Dark (1982… Jack Sholder)
10. Intruder (1989… Scott Spiegel)
11. Just Before Dawn (1981… Jeff Lieberman)
12. The Prowler (1981… Joseph Zito)
13. Bloody Birthday (1981…Ed Hunt)
14. Mother’s Day (1980…Charles Kaufman)
15. Child’s Play (1988…Tom Holland)
16. Maniac (1980…William Lustig)
17. Sleepaway Camp (1983…Robert Hiltzik)
18. Hell Night (1981…Tom DeSimone)
19. Chopping Mall (1986…Jim Wynorski)
20. Curtains (1983…Richard Ciupka)
21. Visiting Hours (1982… Jean-Claude Lord)
22. Cheerleader Camp (1988… John Quinn)
23. Scream Bloody Murder (1973… Marc B. Ray)
24. April Fool’s Day (1986… Fred Walton)
25. Demon Warp (1987… Emmett Alston)
Man, lots of trash on that list. Love it.
This countdown keeps bringing me back to amazon.com. No good for the wallet!
Amazing list here Jamie!
the slasher genre is quite fun to me… granted something like ‘Chopping Mall’ isn’t a great film, but it should be watched, it’s just so god damn fun.
Oh and Sam, buying a lot of these titles may be a waste, you have netflix that might be a better option. Though, if you want to own some of these you’d get a few bonus points on the upcoming midterm! lol
Ha Jamie! Quite right, and I’ve put a few on netflix as well. I will only buy outright if the titale if $10 or lower. Yes, I’ve always had the sickness of wanting to own the originals, though there must be some compromise.
also Sam, if you want originals of these titles, isn’t it more ‘authentic’ to own the VHS? A true slasher fan would only watch the film on VHS…
I’d actually recommend YouTube for many of these — most are on there.
actually I realize SCREAM BLOODY MURDER predates BLACK CHRISTMAS…
Damn, I forgot SLAUGHTERHOUSE that’s top 20 for sure.
Slashers… hum… since it’s from this movie (1974) to Friday the 13th VIII, I’ll do my list:
1. The Evil Dead (1981, Raimi)
2. The Thing (1982, Carpenter)
3. Halloween (1979, Carpenter)
4. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984, Craven)
5. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974, Hopper)
6. Jaws (1975, Spielberg)
7. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987, Russell)
8. Friday the 13th (1980, Cunningham)
9. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985, Steinmann)
10. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981, Miner)
11. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984, Zito)
12. Halloween II (1981, Rosenthal)
13. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988, Buechler)
14. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986, Hopper)
15. Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI (1986, McLoughlin)
Maybe the half of these wouldn’t be considered slashers, but who knows, I love this stuff.
Still haven’t seen Black Christmas.
I like that you have NIGHTMARE: PART 3 on there. I’ve always felt that to be a somewhat underrated slasher. I’ll return with my own list a little later. Great list, though…that goes for both Jamie’s!
Jaime if you like EVIL DEAD that much, and want a true slasher, check out INTRUDER (my number 10 above). Raimi worked on it a little, and his brother is in it as well. It’s very fun, and very underrated. The guy that produces all of Tarantino’s films produced this one… his first film I believe (his second was RESERVOIR DOGS i think)
I like Evil Dead so much that it´s my fourth favorite movie of all time.
My list (no giallo’s allowed and I won’t put ALIEN on there, even though I would consider it a slasher — these are true “final girl” style slashers).
1. Halloween
2. Black Christmas
3. Nightmare on Elm Street
4. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
(yawn, so far, I know)
5. Stage Fright
6. Opera
7. My Bloody Valentine
After this, it’s just fun trash
8. Happy Birthday To Me
9. The Prowler
10. Nightmare on Elm Street 3
11. Pieces
12. The Burning
13. Bloody Birthday
14. Curtains
15. The House on Sorority Row
16. Sleepaway Camp
17. Terror Train
18. Class Reunion Massacre
19. Popcorn
20. Waxwork
I have no use for any Friday the 13th film — not even as a joke.
Forgot about Cheerleader Camp and Slaughter High — two of the worst, hilariously so, slashers you’ll see.
The middle of the Ft13th series is decent, 3-7 specifically. I know it’s a point of contention for Robert and I, but I’ve always said the FRIDAY films are way better the the NIGHTMARE’s. ELM STREET has the first one, then it gets incredibly formula… because, you know, the JASON movies aren’t formula.
I would put Stage Fright on mine (top 5) but it doesn’t seem classic ‘slasher’ era to me.
Just for shits and giggles someone should do a slasher “House Of Frankenstein” and put Freddy, Michael Myers, Leatherface, Jason, and Chucky all in one film. I know that they did Freddy and Jason a while back but…… not the same thing.
Oh forgot STEPFATHER too, that’s top 20.
Troy, POPCORN. Wow, I’m reminded why I wanted you a part of this countdown everyday.
Haha…thanks. I think that may have been the first horror movie I saw in the theaters…I remember really enjoying it and being excited to learn about the era of gimmicky William Castle style horror films that it paid homage to. Sadly, it’s shabbiness really shows through when I watched it recently, but its heart is in the right place.
“Canadian slashers would all stand out from the drivel that America was producing, films like: Visiting Hours, Terror Train, and My Bloody Valentine. All of these films share common traits and aesthetics, and they all derive from the influence of Clark’s Black Christmas.”
Well Kevin, while TERROR TRAIN is certainly no HORROR EXPRESS (Telly Savales–is everyone here familiar with that film? I’m sure that is an insulting question but I’ll ask it to -hopefully- spur some discussion.) it is still better than most films of its kind. Still, your comparative point is well-taken. The Canadien slashers have a quality that’s unique in this often over-the-top genre, which beckons back to the atmospheric thrillers of the 40’s. What always great about Kevin’s authoritative and beautifully-written essays is his personal perspective. He’s as engaging a writer as we have on the net, but I’m hardly saying anything revelatory here.
Yeah, TERROR TRAIN isn’t the best example, but it works when comparing the difference in pacing and aesthetic of Canadian slashers with American slashers. Thanks as always for the kind words and for the avenue to showcase my writing! I appreciate it.
I saw Terror Train a couple of months ago on IFC….. I think. It was definitely a fun movie to sit through. Slasher films are all about turning the brain off and enjoying the moment. You guys are destroying my Netflix Queue. Its going to shut down with all the stuff I’ve crammed in there. I’m getting the black metal documentary Until The Light Takes Us today…. that should be fun!!!!!! 🙂
Speaking of slasher films….. anyone ever see that documentary American Movie about the two guys trying to make a horror flick? I saw it many years ago and ran across it on Netflix recently. I can’t wait to see that again……
Maurizio, thats AMERICAN MOVIE, still in my personal top 5 films. I’ve seen it perhaps more then any other film in my life. It’s humorous, but also a very touching story. Marc Borchardt owns.
Robert and I quote that movie probably more then any other.
My friend and I called the number at the end of that and got the guy’s voicemail. Can’t remember if we left a message or not…
The guy was cast in another horror film recently, and he came to the MFA in Boston to screen it & American Movie back to back (I didn’t make it). Did he ever finish his own film at the end of AM? I can’t remember – it’s been a long time since I saw it.
Yeah I’m on a documentary kick right now. I watched Burden Of Dreams on friday…… the Conquistador of the Useless!!!!
“It’s alright, it’s okay, there’s something to live for… Jesus told me so!”
They did indeed finish COVEN. It’s a special feature on the DVD. As you would expect, it’s terrible. But you can’t dismiss the man’s passion for making movies. AMERICAN MOVIES is one of my all time favorite movies.
“Kick fucking ass…a Mastercard!”
[…] more: 7. Black Christmas « Wonders in the Dark Share and […]
Weird, you have been pinged by “The Daily Conservative.” Best part of the site? Right beneath their tagline “Less Government. More Freedom” they have one of those automatically generated Google ads for “Government-Supported Phones!!!”. (Actually I have one that beats this: on the conservative “movie” blog Big Hollywood they had an ad for a homosexual dating service, because one of the posts – angrily of course – mentioned gay marriage…)
There’s no way this is a legit site, right? Just a random link aggregator?
Thanks, everyone, for the kind words! I’ll return later tonight with my own list of top slashers; however, for now I’d like to do some shameless self-promoting and point everyone towards a little series I did this summer on the slasher film. Here’s the link:
http://kolson-kevinsblog.blogspot.com/p/summer-of-slash.html
Enjoy.
My own list would look something like this (excluding Italian horror):
1. Halloween (Carpenter)
2. Black Christmas
3. A Nightmare on Elm Street
4. Just Before Dawn
5. My Bloody Valentine (1981)
6. Alone in the Dark
7. Maniac
8. Wolf Creek
9. The Burning
10. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
11. The Prowler
12. Visiting Hours
13. Terror Train
14. Happy Birthday to Me
15. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
16. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3
17. Sleepaway Camp
18. Tourist Trap
19. The House on Sorority Row
20. The Funhouse
don’t think I’ve ever seen ‘tourist trap’ will seek it out. nice list
It’s an odd film; an interesting PG-rated horror movie that is really creepy at times, and really lame at others…in other words: the perfect slasher movie!
I reviewed this past summer during my ‘Summer of Slash’ series. Let me know what you think of it…it definitely has its moments, and the end is awesome.