Bob Clark's "Black Christmas" is a horror classic.It's obvious that it was clearly an influence on the slasher films of the late seventies and early eighties."Black Christmas" takes place in a sorority house.Most of the sorority sisters go home for the holidays,while Barb(Margot Kidder),Jess(Oivia Hussey)and Phyl(Andrea Martin)stay behind.At the outset of the film,we see a mysterious killer enter the house and hide in the attic.He then begins to kill the sisters one by one,with each murder being followed by a disturbing phone call.Bob Clark managed to create a startling atmosphere of total dread and fear.The finale is extremely creepy and memorable.The soundtrack,particularly the killer's voice on the phone is frighteningly effective.So if you want to be scared give this gem a look.Highly recommended.

The mixture of the holiday season and slasher horror isn't exactly what I'd call a proper mix for the Christmas season, but for some reason, this one comes off unscathed thanks to a tense atmosphere aided by a witty screenplay. it deals with three women staying at their sorority for the holidays, Olivia Hussey, Margo Kidder and Andrea mtartin, and stalked by a psychotic killer who keeps calling them with very spooky threats. The audience witnesses one of the girls, preparing to leave, becoming a victim of the killer, and her disappearance is what sets off the mystery. Marian Waldman, as the dipsomaniac house mother, steals the film, obviously emulating veteran comic Patsy Kelly with her boisterous manner. Then there's John Saxon as the police lieutenant, perplexed by the incompetence of his sergeants and doing his best to solve the mystery.

The young Margo Kidder is very funny as an extremely sarcastic and foul mouthed student, very sexually graphic in her manner and not someone who will be told to act like a lady. Ironic, it's the sweet looking hussy who is pregnant out of wedlock, threatening to get an abortion and threatened by her boyfriend who is against it. The young Andrea Martin, long before she became famous for her comic portrayals and show stopping stage roles, is their nerdy friend, staying put even though there is danger around.

This is one of those films I have avoided watching simply because I don't think that the holidays should be exploited like this but I did find this much better once I got into it. Taking it several steps beyond the TV movie thriller very popular at this time especially those surrounding sorority girls in jeopardy, this manages to take a rather exploitive premise and makes it gripping. It's not the gore that becomes scary. It's the frightening phone calls with sound effects and screams that will really keep you on edge. I may not wrap this up to put it under my Christmas tree, but I am glad that I did not avoid watching it when the opportunity came around.

A classic exercise in subtlety, this film prefers to leave the horror to the imagination rather than splattering it graphically across our screens. And it benefits as a result of this. In fact, the film has the (dubious) distinction of being the first 'proper' slasher film, influencing many others that were to come later, including the classic HALLOWEEN.

The director, Bob Clark, was no stranger to horror films, having directed CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS. With Black Christmas, he popularised many of the clichés we are used to seeing in horror films today, such as the obscene telephone calls. Of course, when this film was made these ideas were still fresh, and not clichés at all. There's also the POV shot from the killer in the opening scene, which was used again to great success in HALLOWEEN. Due to the success of the latter, this film remains neglected in the annals of horror, and is not credited with the creation of the numerous clichés which slasher horrors of the 1980s contained.

One big advantage this film has over the many other slasher films around is the realism and atmosphere. For instance, the characters in the film are totally realistic, and all have traits which make them interesting. Margot Kidder is fine as the foul-mouthed alcoholic and Olivia Hussey is excellent as the main heroine. Obviously parallels are to be drawn between her character and Jamie Lee Curtis' character in HALLOWEEN, but I would go so far to say that Hussey creates a more believable person in this film, someone to really empathise with. John Saxon is on hand once again to play a policeman (what else?) and personally I find him totally capable in the role as well - he offers a hard, but kind presence, someone who you can turn to for help, which is exactly what a policeman should be.

There's also a little bit of comedy, revolving around a slow policeman at the station. The killer's manic telephone calls are totally disturbing and offer a contrast to the silent menace of Michael Myers. This killer is insane! With lots of atmospheric scenes and an unsettling ending guaranteed to stay with you long after the film has finished playing, this is really one of the best slasher films there is, a film strong enough on chills to cope without the welter of blood and gore and inventive deaths we are used to seeing.