Before there was Scream, Halloween, Jason, or Nightmare on Elm Street, there was the first extreme thriller, Black Christmas.
Key Points
The 1974 Bob Clark film began everything. Be that as it may, the above motion pictures are typically the most talked about when alluding to the class. In any case, the less discussed Black Christmas is genuinely in charge of commencing the pattern.
From various perspectives, it’s a definitive Blood and Guts film layout. One that sets a standard for others to pursue. Last young ladies, calls originating from inside the house, and a line of lovely ladies holding up to be knocked off one by one. All topics in Black Christmas are still pervasive in sickening apprehension films today.
In the series History of Horror (which shouldn’t be missed by horror fans), the Eli Roth show highlights the Slasher sub-genre and cites and credits Black Christmas as being one of its main originators. Here are some more thoughts on why the classic Christmas horror slasher should reign as the original, ultimate horror movie.
Black Christmas isn’t just a great Christmas horror flick. In many ways, it’s the ultimate horror movie. Here’s why:
You don’t see the killer at Black Christmas.
Some portion of what makes Black Christmas so fruitful is the Jaws impact. Famously, while making Jaws, Spielberg had issues with his mechanical shark, Bruce. Because of specialized challenges, he needed to constrain his appearances in the film.
In fact, he doesn’t generally appear until one hour and twenty minutes into it. That non-appearance would end up being one of the greatest supporters of Jaw’s long-standing achievement. In Friday the thirteenth, the best slasher arrangement ever, we don’t see the executioner until the point that the end succession.
Jason Voorhees doesn’t appear at all until the spin-offs. In the 1980 Blood and Guts film When a Stranger Calls, we additionally get our alarms, not from somebody we see but rather from being threatened. Which turns out to be significantly scarier. What we’ve discovered from every one of these movies is that shrouded fear really demonstrates the best with regards to building anticipation.
In Black Christmas, which predates the later films, this theme is also used. Billy, a serial killer, is never actually seen or acknowledged at all. All we ever see is his eye, which proves to be frightening enough. Not seeing Billy makes for an even more suspenseful and successful movie.
The End of Black Christmas:
In most slashers, there isn’t an actual whodunit moment. Jason, Freddy, and Chucky are homicidal maniacs without a really strong case for their killing sprees. But in some slashers, the whodunit is more integral to the story. Another idea relatively originated by way of Black Christmas.
Unlike other comparable films, it doesn’t end by tying everything up in the best little bow. It tries to suggest closure in a variety of ways. The supposed killer is dead, and the ultimate girl, Jess, is safe and sound. Asleep and guarded by police.
But just as the screen is going dark, assumptions are shifted. The movie ends, leaving us confused and skeptical of the ending we’ve simply witnessed. We’ve considered this impact in other similar slashers through the years. A few examples include April Fools Day and the underrated Valentine.
Scare Tactics
Black Christmas can be viewed as the closing horror movie for every other reason. It started out with many of the horror tropes we see today. The famous “Calls are coming from inside the house” city legend is a massive theme in Black Christmas. A killer waiting or hiding inside a closet is also something we see without end today.
Even in the new Halloween. The film has that too. A slew of harmless women getting butchered? Check. Most of these kills are suspenseful, barring being gory. This isn’t a well-thought-out killer loaded with homicidal tools in his arsenal. It’s one using the sources he has, which can be even scarier.
The Final Girl in Black Christmas:
The most popular and most used tactic in horror movies is probably still the final girl. The modern-day Halloween movie’s historical opening proves that while women are trying to hold their personal in a sea of effective men, there’s still one place where they reign supreme.
In a #metoo era, we need remaining women more than ever to continue inspiring and empowering others.
What they can represent is so much more than one last lady survivor of a homicidal maniac. Laurie Strode is one of the most famous, if not the most famous, last girls of all time. But before she existed, Black Christmas had its personal, subdued ultimate girl. Jess might not have the reputation or energy Laurie does.
