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.

DEATHDREAM (aka DEAD OF NIGHT) (1972) movie review

Deathdream (aka Dead of Night) (1972) d. Clark, Bob (Canada)

A skillful reworking of W. W. Jacobs' “The Monkey’s Paw” that manages to combine chills and social commentary with a surprisingly light touch. Richard Backus plays a Vietnam grunt slain in battle in the opening scenes, but who then shows up on the doorstep of his parents' (Lynn Carlin, John Marley) seemingly idyllic middle-class home. Initially overjoyed by his return, they soon begin to realize that their bouncing baby boy ain’t what he used to be, especially when he starts killing the family dog, offing the local doctor and decomposing before their eyes.

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.