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 bout 90 minutes into "Black Christmas",
my mind began to wander to Steve McQueen spinning his tires in the classic
car chase scene from 1968's "Bullitt." In '68, that particular
scene was virtuoso -- a defining scene spawning hundreds of imitations over
the next few decades. But if you show that same scene to a 12-year-old
today, it induces drowsiness. I say that to say this: "Bullitt" is
to car chase scenes as "Black Christmas" is to teen slasher films.
I'm not suggesting that this 1974
yarn by Bob Clark (the brain behind "Porky's") deserves the iconic
status that "Bullitt" enjoys; however, "Christmas" was
the first of a particular kind of movie. Its story has become so overdone
that it feels like a retread of a retread until you remind yourself that
"Black Christmas" was made over 30 years ago. The degree to which
I enjoyed "Christmas" was similar, although far less, to the way
in which I enjoyed "Bullitt." Not because it is so riveting in
today's terms, but because I recognize that in '74, Clark's film was
somewhat revolutionary, and became a benchmark for a long line of filmmakers
to come.
The plot features a group of sorority girls who begin
receiving disturbing phone calls shortly before Christmas. The caller, who
mixes a barrage of screams and moans with a bad Andrew Dice Clay
impersonation, has a habit of signing off with warm salutations like,
"I 'm going to kill you." Coincidentally, members of the
sorority begin turning up dead as the calls continue to stream in, only
now the caller begins making personal references. To no one's surprise --
because the first scene shows him entering the house -- it's revealed that
the killer has been making the calls from the attic of the house the
entire time.
The time devoted to showcasing a telephone as a
useful plot device was novel at the time, underscoring the creepiness of
having an undiscovered killer lurking in your house. This kind of film,
and all of its imitations, requires incompetent police participation to
make it work. Here they are led by Lieutenant Fuller (genre vet John
Saxon) who begins cracking the case in the usual ways, such as organizing
search parties and insulting his staff. The sorority house is populated
with a variety of similarly typical personalities. Barb (a
pre-"Superman" Margot Kidder) is the drunken horny one, while
Clair (Lynne Griffen) and Jess (Olivia Hussey) are, respectively, the
quiet virgin and the conscientious feminist.
The DVD release contains special features including
the original trailer and alternate openings. The "alternate
openings" consist entirely of changing the title in the credits to
"Silent Night, Evil Night", and the hilariously unimaginative,
"Stranger in the House."
There's also a "Black Christmas Revisited"
section that travels back to the house where the movie was filmed to
interview some of the cast and crewmembers, among them director Bob Clark.
A few interesting revelations leak out; for instance, Oscar winner Edmond
O'Brien was originally cast in Saxon's role, but was let got because he
was showing the advanced stages of Alzheimer's. Other tidbits about the
moviemaking process 30 years ago are mildly intriguing.
Ultimately, the story about making the film is much
more entertaining than the story told by the film itself. Even though
"Black Christmas" was far from the best of its kind, at least
Mr. Clark can say it was one of the first.
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