BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) AT 50 / SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT (1984) AT 40!!!

BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) d. Bob Clark (Canada)
SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT (1984) d. Charles Sellier (USA)

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It's time to celebrate the Happy HorrorDays with two Christmas classics, both of which are celebrating milestone anniversaries!

Director Bob Clark’s effective (and underrated) holiday thriller BLACK CHRISTMAS (full review HERE) pre-dates the slasher film craze and its influence is felt in Halloween, When a Stranger Calls, and countless others.

BLACK CHRISTMAS (2006) movie review

Black Christmas (2006) d. Morgan, Glen (USA)

Watching the behind-the-scenes DVD featurette, one almost aches for writer/director Glen Morgan. Here is a filmmaker whose previous directorial effort, the remake of Willard starring Crispin Glover, did not meet with much financial success, and he is obviously feeling the pressure to deliver a crowd-pleaser with plenty of “Boo!” or “Bleahhh!” moments. Seems like a nice guy and a genuine horror fan too, which is why his dead-on-arrival redux of Bob Clark’s cult classic is doubly disappointing.

BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) movie review

Black Christmas (1974) d. Clark, Bob (Canada)

Director Bob Clark’s effective (and underrated) holiday thriller pre-dates the slasher film craze and its influence is felt in Halloween, When a Stranger Calls, and countless others. The simple set-up involves a college sorority house and an (unseen) homicidal killer, heightened by some of the most chilling and unsettling obscene phone calls ever recorded. Utilizing extensive handheld camerawork, this is also among the first usage of the “heavy-breathing killer’s point-of-view” shots that would become a staple of the slasher oeuvre.