Before Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees, there was Billy. 1974’s Black Christmas is a true pioneer of the slasher genre, and even crazier — a Christmas movie. Starring Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, and John Saxon, Black Christmas quickly became a yearly watch after the Halloween season as horror lovers were looking for that special something to fill the void now occupied by red and green string lights. With POV shots, gnarly kills, and themes holiday horror, Black Christmas remains a staple in the slasher genre.
You may remember a few specific plot points in this movie: we see through the killer’s eyes as he sneaks into a sorority house’s attic and starts making phone calls to the tenants. They answer and are unnerved by his unbalanced conversation, crying, and screaming. The girls call the police, but soon individuals start to go missing. In true When a Stranger Calls fashion, the perpetrator’s hideout is discovered and a mad dash for safety is had by the Final Girl. Black Christmas makes what should have been a jolly Christmas holiday break into a bloody nightmare.
Besides the obvious “happens during Christmas” trope, Black Christmas is often recognized by its gruesome kills. My favorite — for lack of a better word — is the plastic bag strangulation scene, the first to happen in the movie and what is often shown on the poster and in promo images. But we also have a swinging hook plunge into someone’s head, a porcelain unicorn stabbing, and death by fire poker. Solid kills all-around.
What I think is most significant about Black Christmas, though, is how surprisingly feminist the movie is. Final Girl Jess (Olivia Hussey) is a stuck between a rock and a hard place when she finds out she is pregnant. She plans on having an abortion, which does not go over well with her boyfriend. Being that this was 1974 and a woman was choosing her education and career over motherhood, that’s a pretty big deal. Come to think of it, all of the sorority girls have bouts of feminism in their characters; Barb (Margot Kidder) is a foul mouthed drinker who goes tit-for-tat with the mystery caller, and Phyllis (Andrea Martin) goes by a masculine nickname, “Phyl.” Black Christmas feels pretty progressive and mirrors closely what college-aged women can be like.
While “Billy” is often left out of the big slasher lineup, Black Christmas should be recognized as a great starting point. With ample scary situations, crazy kills, progressive ideals, and an ending that leaves it open to interpretation, Black Christmas is one of the best Christmas horror movies we’ve got.
