Long before Halloween launched seasonal horror, there was Bob Clark's Black Christmas. Believe it or not, Bob Clark is the mind behind holiday family great, A Christmas Story and 60's teenagers on hormone overdrive flick, Porky's. I will say this for Black Christmas.
It's effective as hell.
So, you got a group of college girls in their sorority house prepping for the holidays. This doesn't go where you think it will. There's no naughty naked hijinks in this one. You have actresses who will go on to great future successes (Olivia Hussey, Andrea Martin, Margot Kidder) playing frightened gals receiving disturbing (and I mean disturbing) phone calls. The reaction shots are effective. The phone calls lead to much worse. Murderous behavior kicks in. Poor Ms. Hussey has a musician boyfriend with major issues, and you have a house mother with a drinking problem and a lack of understanding of her job.
At least John Saxon is there to try to save the day. It's 1974, so, of course he is.
Despite Christmas in the title, this works as a creepy, disturbing little venture into the horror genre and Halloween collection, that pending comparisons otherwise, it's not a true slasher film. Gore is at a minimum, and performances are solid to very good for the genre we're in here.
So, um, Happy Holidays, I guess. Hey! It's Art Hindle and Keir Dullea!!!
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