Black Christmas (1974) Movie Review
Written by: ML
Edited by: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: Bob Clark
Producers: Bob Clark
Writers: A. Roy Moore
Date Released: October 11, 1974
Cast:
Olivia Hussey as Jess
Keir Dullea as Peter
Margot Kidder as Barb
John Saxon as Lt. Fuller
Marian Waldman as Mrs. MacHenry
Andrea Martin as Phyl
James Edmond as Mr. Harrison
Douglas “Doug” McGrath as Sergeant Nash
Arthur “Art” Hindle as Chris
Lynne Griffin as Clare
Martha Gibson as Mrs. Quaife
Rating = 2/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
The story is about a sorority house that has been infiltrated by an unknown stranger during Christmas time. The stranger stayed at the attic and was making weird phone calls to the sorority sisters. As soon as he got the chance, he started killing off the sisters one by one. It has become a police investigation since one of the dead girls was reported missing. It is up to the remaining girls to find out and catch the killer before everyone dies.
Gore Factor
This is like a serial killer movie with different methods of death for each victim. The first one was through suffocation, the second one was with a hook, the third and fourth one was stabbing with a foreign object, and the bonus was the police watchman whose throat was slashed.
The Grave Review
This movie can pass as a serial killer thriller. The killer surviving at the end can make way for a film series that can go with other horror icons.
The best part about this movie was the idea of having the killer stay inside his kill zone. Though the audiences already know of the killer in the house, it was still thrilling to see the reaction of the characters finding this out on their own. Not to mention the brilliant first-person POV of the killer.
But the flow of the movie was somehow slow. There were a lot of things happening in between the kills, it got a bit dragging especially the police scenes.
There were also too many weird phone calls which still did not lead to catching the killer.
Also, there were so many characters that were either too overacting or too dull. For example, Clare’s dad was so emotionless. Even his “passed out” scene towards the end felt like nothing.
Another questionable scene was towards the end when the police finally intervened. Not only did they leave the surviving victim alone, they also failed to check the entire house. They missed the attic where there were 2 more bodies and possibly where the killer was hiding all along.
They also did not show how the police watchman was killed.
Overall, this movie is still recommended for those who want to see a classic slasher film.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Black Christmas (1974) two graves out of five graves.
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