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Movies / On DVD / Black Christmas
Black Christmas

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Black Christmas (1974)

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64 %
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Reviews Counted:22

Fresh:14

Rotten:8

Average Rating:5.9/10

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Synopsis: The few remaining residents of a Canadian sorority house are celebrating the onset of Christmas vacation when a thirteen year-old girl is found dead in the park. Soon, it is discovered that one of... The few remaining residents of a Canadian sorority house are celebrating the onset of Christmas vacation when a thirteen year-old girl is found dead in the park. Soon, it is discovered that one of the sorority sisters is missing, which triggers a terrifying chain of murders within the house. Director Bob Clark's (PORKY'S, A CHRISTMAS STORY) tense, effective film is a precursor to the slasher films that would come a half decade later, but never relies on gore. Olivia Hussy (ROMEO AND JULIET) stars alongside Margot Kidder and SCTV's Andrea Martin. [More]

Starring: Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, John Saxon

Starring: Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, John Saxon, Andrea Martin, Marion Waldman, Art Hindle, Lynne Griffin, Michael Rapport

Director: Bob Clark

Director: Bob Clark
Screenwriter: Roy Moore
Composer: Carl Zittrer

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Dec 3, 2002

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Black Christmas

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Generally heralded as the first of its kind, Black Christmas may actually be one of a kind.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
12/05/08
Bill Chambers
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central

Perhaps frightening in 1974, it really doesn't hold up today unless you can forget the 12,000 films exactly like it, which is difficult.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment 2 Comments
07/23/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Clark consegue crier uma atmosfera incômoda a partir de um fiapo de roteiro, sendo auxiliado também pela performance contida da bela Hussey.

comment Comment
04/13/07
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

...a sporadically effective slasher...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
12/30/06
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Only Marian Waldman as the house-mother comes across with any life.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
12/27/06
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Although strictly standard fare, the material is elevated somewhat through Clark's skillful handling of such plot devices as obscene phone calls from the killer to the girls via the upstairs phone and a nicely handled twist ending.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
12/04/06
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film still manages a good slice of old-fashioned suspense.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This dark holiday classic ranks as one of the screen's very first slasher flicks.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Corrodes jolly yuletide cheer with some cruel prank calls, sexual tension and sorority girl slayings.

Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | comment Comment
02/16/06
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness

No review available.

comment Comment
08/12/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

A whodunit that begs the question of why it was made.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/09/05
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The horror film that started it all....not to be missed

comment Comment
03/31/05
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Moviehole

Like Carpenter, Clark avoids graphic gore, focussing instead on suggestion and using careful mise-en-scene, editing and use of music to build suspense.

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
12/12/03
Keith H. Brown
Keith H. Brown
Eye for Film

If nothing else, Black Christmas will always be remembered as the inferior older brother to Clark's other Christmas flick, the Tito of the Jackson clan.

Full Review Source: Movie Views | comment Comment
12/01/03
Ryan Cracknell
Ryan Cracknell
Movie Views

Cold, classy, and straightforward, Black Christmas also has the advantage of good acting by the female leads played by Margot Kidder and Olivia Hussey.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Heidi Martinuzzi
Heidi Martinuzzi
Film Threat

its progeny would improve quite a bit on the formula

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment 2 Comments
11/24/02
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
10/23/02
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Confused and confusing, but creepy

comment Comment
10/02/02
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

No review available.

comment Comment
07/26/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

From the director of "A Christmas Story," but don't let that fool you!

comment Comment
07/25/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com
 
 
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Latest News for Black Christmas

December 25, 2008: Further Reading: Seasonal Slaying - The 12 Horrors of Christmas
Thanks to Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol, the Yuletide season has long been associated with ghost stories -- often with hard-won uplift at the end, like Scrooge being... More...

April 04, 2007: "Christmas Story" Director Bob Clark Dies In Crash
Bob Clark, director of "A Christmas Story," "Porky's," and many other works in a career that spanned four decades died in a car crash early this morning in... More...

December 28, 2006: Critical Consensus: "Dreamgirls" Hits The High Notes; "Black Christmas" Gets A Lump Of Coal
This week at the movies, we've got the rise and fall of a girl group ("Dreamgirls," starring Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, and Eddie Murphy) and some yuletide splatter... More...

December 20, 2006: RT's Top Holiday Thrillers -- Christmas Countdown, Day Three
Welcome to Day Three of RT's Five Days of Christmas Countdown, in which we serve up a different list each day of the best holiday flicks around. Today, we've got the... More...

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