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Black Christmas (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:54
Fresh:9
Rotten:45
Average Rating:3.4/10
Consensus: A gratuitous remake of the 1974 slasher, Black Christmas pumps out the gore and blood with zero creativity, humor, or visual flair.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong horror violence and gore, sexuality, nudity and language.
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Theatrical Release:Dec 25, 2006 Wide
Box Office: $16,184,405
Synopsis: Though it was only a mild success upon its release in 1974, the original BLACK CHRISTMAS (directed by Bob Clark, who would go on to direct A CHRISTMAS STORY in 1984) has become a cult favorite... Though it was only a mild success upon its release in 1974, the original BLACK CHRISTMAS (directed by Bob Clark, who would go on to direct A CHRISTMAS STORY in 1984) has become a cult favorite among horror buffs since the dawn of the home-video era. An early example of the "body count" genre, the film also predates WHEN A STRANGER CALLS (1979) in its use of a killer making threatening phone calls that originate within his potential victims' own house. In this remake, writer/director Glen Morgan takes the basics of Roy Moore's screenplay for the original to create an elaborate and almost comically disturbing back story for Billy, the killer who previously remained a mystery. A handful of sorority girls remain at the house after the school shuts down for Christmas break. An ominous snowstorm blows in, isolating them. At the same time, a killer--who in this version escapes from a mental institution to return to his former family home--breaks into the attic and begins making terrifying phone calls to the girls (led by Kate Cassidy, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Lacey Chabert) before killing them off one by one. SCTV veteran Andrea Martin, who portrayed a victim in the original, returns as Ms. Mac, the house mother. Stylistically, Moore's remake avoids casting the film in the ironic post-SCREAM or streamlined, gore-free Japanese-horror-inspired fright films of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Instead he makes BLACK CHRISTMAS in the style of a wet and red '80s slasher film. The plentiful blood and guts will please fans of that era, as will tributes to the HALLOWEEN films. This, along with a soundtrack that eschews holiday standards in favor of modern pop music, plus a dim lighting scheme that relies heavily on colored Christmas bulbs, combine to create an atmosphere of holiday dread in this fun update of what has become a horror classic. [More]
Starring: Michelle Trachtenberg, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Katie Cassidy, Oliver Hudson
Starring: Michelle Trachtenberg, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Katie Cassidy, Oliver Hudson, Andrea Martin, Kristen Cloke
Director: Glen Morgan
Director: Glen Morgan
Screenwriter: Glen Morgan, Roy Moore
Producer: James Wong, Glen Morgan, Marty Adelstein, Victor Solnicki, Steve Hoban
Composer: Shirley Walker
Studio: Weinstein Company
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Reviews for Black Christmas
Black Christmas works best as a campy deconstruction of the genre than it does as a horror film.
this reimagining showcases with encyclopaedic relish just about every slasher convention and variation that has evolved over the last thirty or so years since the original Black Christmas screened.
The fans will dig the brief-yet-nasty FX work, but they'll have to slog through a pretty tiresome movie just to get their hands on those nuggets.
It's hard to get worked up over the fate of characters whose identities remain largely a matter of conjecture.
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| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
| 53% 53% | David & Layla |
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