Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Lugo1989 The 70's were without a doubt the golden era of horror films. Many brilliant classics have been produced in that time and "Black Christmas" is one of them. This is the godfather of all slasher films and rarely surpassed - "Halloween" would be on the same level as this one. Some argue that the first ever slasher made was Mario Bava's "A Bay Of Blood" which came out three years earlier from "Black Christmas". If you are a fan of the genre I would definitely recommend it since it does contain heavy elements common to the genre but nevertheless "Black Christmas" has a look that is considered modern even today. It has all the ingredients that make a great horror film: creepy atmosphere, tension that never lets go, nice camera work, eerie soundtrack and a nice mystery. There is even some dark humour thrown in. You will not be bored for even a second. The characters are interesting as well; they are not all your cliche college students which became very common in future slashers. Highly recommended to every true fan of classic horror.

Sam Panico Based on a series of Canadian murders and the urban legend of calls coming to a babysitter from within the house (also see When a Stranger Calls), Bob Clark and A. Roy Moore created what many feel is one of the precursors to the slasher film genre.Bedford is a small college town, complete with a sorority house filled with victims, err, characters. While they're celebrating at a holiday party, Jess (Olivia Hussey, who was told by her psychic to do this movie) gets a phone call from "The Moaner," a crank caller who has been bothering the other sisters: Barb (Margot Kidder, Sisters), Phyllis (Andrea Martin, SCTV) and Clare (Lynne Griffin, Strange Brew). Barb is a real firecracker, provoking the caller, who tells the girls that he will kill them all.Clare goes upstairs to pack and is suffocated by plastic wrap by an unseen killer and placed on a rocking chair in the attic.The next day, Clare's dad comes to take her back home for Christmas. The girls and their housemother, Mrs. MacHenry (Marian Waldman, Phobia), are surprised, as they thought she already went home. While all that is going on, Jess tells her boyfriend Peter (Keir Dullea, 2001: A Space Odyssey) that she is getting an abortion. He argues with her but can't change her mind.Meanwhile, the police get involved after learning that another girl, Janice, has gone missing. Jess also tells Chris (Arthur Hindle, Porky's), Clare's boyfriend, that something is up.While everyone else joins police lieutenant Fuller (John Saxon!) to search for the missing girls, Mrs. Mac is killed inside the house. Sadly, her life of hiding booze and yelling at everyone was cut short. As the girls return home, they find Jess' body and get another obscene call, which she reports to the police, who decide to bug the line so they can trace the calls. Then, Peter sneaks into the house for another argument.Black Christmas is unafraid of using holiday traditions to allow its killer to get away with murder. While carolers sing outside, Barb's screams go unheard as she is stabbed to death by a glass unicorn.Another phone call happens - one that quotes the argument Jess had with Peter. And while that's occurring, Phyl goes to check on Barb and is killed. Finally, Jess keeps the obscene caller on the line long enough for a trace, which reveals that the calls are coming from inside the house. She goes upstairs, armed with a fireplace poker, to get the rest of the girls, only to find their dead bodies. The killer chases her into the cellar and when Peter appears outside the window, she assumes that he is the killer and murders him with the poker.The police arrive to find Jess sitting with Peter's dead body. They're convinced that he is the killer, although they can't find Clare or Mrs. Mac's bodies. After she is sedated, the cops leave while one officer remains behind to wait for forensics. Then, we hear a voice whisper, "Anges, it's me, Billy." Jess' phone rings, which means her fate - and who the killer is - will remain a mystery.One of the most frightening parts of the film are the obscene phone calls, which were performed by Clark and actor Nick Mancuso (Under Siege), who stood on his head while recording to make his voice sound more insane. Mancuso would come back to record a "Billy Commentary" on the film, which is on the recent Scream Factory! release.Warner Brother studio executives hated the ending and demanding that Clark change the final scene to have Chris appear before Jess and say, "Agnes, don't tell them what we did" before murdering her. However, Clark stuck to his guns and kept the ending that he believed in. The studio further tinkered with the film, calling it Silent Night, Evil Night in its original release.When NBC aired the film as Stranger in the House on the January 28, 1978 edition of Saturday Night at the Movies, it gave stations the option of airing Doc Savage, as the Ted Bundy murders had just occurred two weeks earlier.There's an urban legend that this was Elvis' favorite horror movie. It definitely made an impression on Steve Martin, who told Olivia Hussey "Oh my God, Olivia, you were in one of my all-time favorite films" when she was being considered for Roxanne. She thought he meant Romeo and Juliet, but he told her that he meant Black Christmas, claiming that he had seen the film 27 times.There's another urban legend - how many can one film have - that says that Halloween was originally intended as a sequel to this movie.Clark would go on to direct Porky's and a film that failed at first before becoming a holiday tradition, 1983's A Christmas Story. Yep - he pretty much made both the happiest and darkest films about the Yuletide, which is pretty awesome.I love this movie. It's a true classic that's unafraid to go against conventions even as it creates them. Nearly every actor and actress in this movie went on to do more and play their roles perfectly here.

Fella_shibby I first saw this on a VHS in the late 80s. Revisited it recently on a DVD. Plot - A group of sorority sisters are receiving threatening phone calls, they r stalked and murdered during the holiday season by a deranged murderer. Black Christmas was a bit ahead of its time by using the subject of abortion as one of the main stories in the film. Also a lot of the killers movements are filmed in a point of view style. It was also a first horror film to have its villain use phone calls as a way to terrorize its victims. This movie also has an open ending without revealing or pondering much bah the killer. Also it is notable for "the calls r coming from the house" revelation. Now coming to the flaws, the movie is very slow paced. The editing n cinematography is  not upto the mark. The kills r minimum n most of it r lousy n not at all scary. The tension was lacking. On the contrary the remake had some brutal death scenes.

MitchellCombden the original black Christmas from the year 1974 directed by Bob Clark is a slasher classic. before john carpenters Halloween black Christmas really set the bar high for how good a slasher movie can be. I tend to go back and forth on which film I prefer but most of the time I do like this film better. it is a very stylish and slick film with a brisk pace that keeps you indulged in what's happening on screen. the atmosphere is genuinely chilling and the Christmas setting is used to deliver some dark and unique tones, which is impressive. most of the time when a Christmas setting is involved we are treated to more of a campy and fun style, but this film grits its teeth and stays dark and mysterious. the score is also great and complements the films visual style and setting very well. adding to the already intense and enthralling atmosphere. not only is the atmosphere an excellent aspect of the film but we also get some genuine suspense in multiple scenes. I'm aware that the film is old but for those of you that haven't seen it I won't spoil anything for you, but I will say that there are a few chilling scenes that really show us that bob Clark knows what he is doing behind the camera. he knows what to show and when to show it to get maximum effectiveness out of each scene. so of course this means the camera work is wonderful and another aspect of the film that is a true strength. the acting is also very good, john saxon, margot kidder, Olivia hussy, and keir dullea all give excellent performances. their characters are by no means complex but for what they have to work with they do, do an exceptional job. even the supporting cast are pretty good, especially considering for the most part they are all no name actors with little to no experience to my knowledge. the killer in the film is also a very memorable and iconic villain and his phone conversations with the sorority girls are definitely disturbing and riveting.in truth there really isn't anything wrong with the movie I give it a perfect 10/10