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.
