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| Black Christmas [1974] | ![Black Christmas [1974]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5101SMY22RL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Bob Clark
Actors: Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, John Saxon, Marian Waldman
Studio: Tartan Video
Category: DVD
Buy New: £9.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  (19 reviews)
Sales Rank: 42453
Format: Anamorphic, Pal
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Media: DVD
Running Time: 98 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5023965345226
ASIN: B0000SVW8Q
Release Date: December 8, 2003
Theatrical Release Date: December 20, 1974
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Amazon.co.uk Review
You may never have heard of IBlack Christmas/I, a neglected gem from 1974, but you've probably seen one of its many imitators. Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder star as two residents of a sorority house that is emptying out as Christmas approaches. The atmosphere is jolly and carefree, except for an ongoing series of menacing telephone calls, and, oh yes, we've just seen someone climb into the attic with apparent ill intent. Kidder does some scene-stealing as the bad girl, Hussey illustrates one of the downsides to having beautiful long 70s hair and Keir Dullea does a nice turn as the creepy boyfriend. Director Robert Clark knows that the unseen is far scarier than what can be seen and he ratchets up the tension beautifully, making good use of ominous shadows, and putting in nice touches such as replacing the sound of a distraught woman's scream with the piercing ring of yet another ominous phone call. This is a terrific, well-made little movie that is genuinely sleep-with-the-lights-on scary. Don't miss it. --IAli Davis/I
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 Silence is the scariest January 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have often wondered why there are so many bad horror movies these days. Movies that instead of focusing on suspense and real chills, just pour endless amounts of blood in your face, thinking this will do the trick, and hopefully become a cult classic. Film after film, more and more horror movies are becoming increasingly similar, and you can almost guess the whole entire plot of the movie, no more than 10 minutes into the film. Everything in horror these days is all about over the top special effects, numbingly loud thumping music, that is supposed to get you scared. Black Christmas (the original) is (IMO) one of the best and scariest horror movies ever made. Why? you ask. Let me tell you. There are so many reasons. First. In horror today, when someone (usually the pretty girl) is walking towards a door or a room (thinking someone will be there) - and they are. The film makers feel the need to spoil the moment with ridiculously loud music that is (intended) to get you all hyped up for the big surprise. When they don't realise that this spoils 99% of the scene. For instance, 10 minutes into the movie, one of the sorority girls "Claire" goes up stairs to her room, to pack some things, preparing for a trip. While entering the room she is greeted by the house cat "Claud". While packing, Claire hears a strange meow. At first she just ignores, but the meow gets more and more intense and chillingly creepy. She then notices that the meow is coming from the closet (not far from where she is standing) at the end of the room (and the closet door is open). She paces towards the closet (with a terrified stare) quickly realising that the meow is not coming from the house cat, asking "Who is that?" several times. The thing that makes this scene 'GOLD' is while walking to the closet and asking "Who is that?" there is no music! - just dead silence. This makes the scene and situation seem more real and 1000 times more scary. The viewers are at the edge of their seat, hanging on to pure silence while she walks further and further to the closet. This is far more terrifying than continuous loud music, that spoils the moment, because you know by the music when the killer is going to approach. That scene is horror at it's best and everyone should see the film for that scene alone. Secondly, the entrance of the movie is shocking. The camera is filmed like a documentary (like the camera is the stalker, walking nearer and nearer to the house) While spying on his victims he realises he is able to climb to the top of the house where he can enter the attic. The directer's captured this amazingly and it gave off that feeling, that raw, real, scare, that this really could happen to anyone. One of the standout scares and scenes that stick in your brain are the chillingly disturbing phone call scenes. The girls receive numerous phone calls from the same man, only there's a catch. It's not your typical Scream phone call were the killer asks "Are you alone?" and "What's your favourite scary movie?" he talks with himself, displaying what appears to be a severe split personality. The phone calls get more and more scary as the movie goes on. Especially near the end were the killer actually goes crazy portraying more than 4 different voices and characters - the horrific sound of his voice will haunt you after the movie is over (which I guess is great for the Creator, as all the best horror movies make long lasting impressions). The last thing I will say is there are a lot of people, reviewers, saying the end was disappointing because they still don't know who the killer is. Huh? lets get this straight. The killer isn't a person in the movie who is coming across nice, nor is he pretending to be a close friend - in fact he doesn't know any of the girls at all. He is merely a deranged, dangerous man who passed a sorority house and thought it would be fun to hide inside their attic and hack them off 1 by 1. I will not spoil the rest of the movie for those who haven't seen it. All I will say is if you want a great horror movie that when the credits role you will be afraid to walk upstairs, THIS IS THE MOVIE FOR YOU. You will also be staring at your attic door for about a week. br /br /
 An Atmospheric Classic July 12, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
"Black Christmas" is often cited as the pioneering feature of the slasher genre, paving the way for a succession of celluloid knife-wielding maniacs via John Carpenter's "Halloween", released four years later. However, slasher fans are likely to be disappointed with "Black Christmas" since it mainly relies on the use of suspense and atmosphere for its shocks rather than sickly violence and gore. br /br /Of course, for mainstream audiences, this makes it rather superior to genuine slasher fare. Director Bob Clark utilises the principle that true fear arises from what we don't see and don't know - the audience never get to see a tangible perpetrator. Unlike the tiresome backstories of invincible homicidal maniacs which diffuse rather than heighten the fear factor in the typical slasher plot - there is absolutely no exposition hinting what the source of death could be. The director's insistence on ambiguity lends the macabre proceedings a demonic, supernatural quality, during which the audience are invited to imagine and speculate feverishly without any relief for their trouble. br /br /The unerringly wooden but undeniably beautiful lead Olivia Hussey ("Romeo Juliet") suspects her very melodramatic, creepy and bizarre boyfriend Keir Dullea, to whom all the circumstantial evidence points to. Whether Dullea has put in a great performance or is simply this creepy in real life isn't clear - I certainly wondered whether HAL wasn't actually rather justified in his attempt to jettison him in space in "2001: A Space Odyssey". There are better performances from the then unknown likes of Margot Kidder and Andrea Martin as Hussey's fellow sorority girls, and a guest star turn from B-Movie legend John Saxon ("Enter the Dragon") as a baffled Police Lieutenant. br /br /The biggest star of the show for me is the use of sound - Clark's team juxtapose the mundane and sinister sounds of the empty house to brilliant effect, and the guttural voices on the telephone calls are truly terrifying! Generally the film is well worth a visit and Tartan have produced a very decent package with some nice retrospective interviews from some of the original cast.
One of the best slasher horrors out there December 30, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Black Christmas first and foremost set the trend for any psycho slasher movie out there. Psycho gave our first chills, but we're talking 2 deaths amongst what is widely regarded as a thriller not horror. br /br /It's simply down to the atmosphere of the film, the real settings, the 70's decor, the dim lighting... Many people have thought the killer's phone calls are over the top and laughable - but the deeper you travel into the film, the more you relate to the girl's fear that this is a real threat not just prank calls. The music is minimal which suits the ambience.br /br /I'm rarely impressed with many films in all honesty, but when I first saw this it was the straw that broke the camel's back in terms of pure refined horror. See it alone and wait for Olivia Hussey's discovery of the killer.
 a bit boring to be honest November 21, 2006
0 out of 7 found this review helpful
I thought this film was a bit boring to be honest. There wasn't a great deal of gore in the film. Although the ending was quite good and had a bit of a twist, I could have fallen asleep halfway through the film. I'm looking forward to the remake.
Don't bother with the remake... October 31, 2006
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
The fact that this is still 18 rated thirty odd years after it's release is proof that this is as bad (= good) as it ever was. Still freaking over it now....
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