“IF THIS PICTURE DOESN’T MAKE YOUR SKIN CRAWL – IT’S ON TOO TIGHT!”
On this 28th day of “Shocktober”, time to share one of the most shocking horror classics of the 70’s – and yes, your skin will crawl!
A classic 70’s horror film that has been rediscovered thanks to home video, “Black Christmas” is a tight, vicious thriller that is one of my top five horror films of all time!
Let’s look at the original trailer, which is not only lengthy at four minutes, but scary as hell as well:
The plot is straightforward: It’s time for Christmas break, and a group of sorority sisters make plans for the holiday – but then the horrifying anonymous phone calls begin. Olivia Hussey stars in the film…
Hussey starred in “Romeo & Juliet”, but this is no love story…one of the reasons the film works so well is that her performance is so grounded in reality – she is very much like Jamie Lee Curtis in “Halloween” – a “real” person who makes the horror all the more real…
Margot Kidder also stars as one of Olivia’s sorority sisters, and she’s got a wicked sense of humor and an acid tongue…this was just prior to her breakout role as Lois Lane in “Superman”…
Kidder really elevates the film with her caustic wit…and the film is full of familiar faces…
What A Cast!
Kier Dullea also stars in the movie – Dullea of course was in Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece, “2001: A Space Odyssey…”
Great character Actor John Saxon also stars – and action movie fans will always remember him showcasing his kung fu moves in the Bruce Lee classic “Enter The Dragon.”
Since this was a low budget film, Keir Dullea worked only for a week, and never met Margot Kidder! He barely met John Saxon either, but the film is edited in such a way that he appears to be present throughout the film…
“Black Christmas” Fan Steve Martin!
Around 1986, Olivia Hussey met Steve Martin for a role in “Roxanne”, and Martin said “Oh my God Olivia, you were in one of my all time favorite films”. Hussey assumed it was her role in “Romeo and Juliet” – but she was surprised to find out it was “Black Christmas!” Martin claimed he had seen it over 20 times!
What’s amazing is that the Director, Bob Clark, also made one of the holiday’s greatest films – a beloved comedy!
That’s right, Clark also directed this classic – oh, and “Porky’s” as well! Read all about this under-appreciated Director here:
It’s been a horrific Shocktober 2016 so far – yesterday, I shared what many feel is one of the greatest Directors tackling one of the most intense Halloween movies:
Yes, these two want to welcome you to the Overlook Hotel, where Jack Nicholson and Stanley Kubrick hung out for a few months and created “The Shining”:
See the iconic trailer – an elevator full of blood – by clicking here:
Another classic horror film is from the great John Carpenter – yes, the Director of “Halloween” took it one step further in the 80’s with this horror classic:
See some amazing special effects by clicking here:
If you missed some of my Shocktober countdown, well you missed some neglected classics like this:
Here is a list of ten great scary movies to enjoy this weekend:
https://johnrieber.com/2016/10/24/shocktober-2016-ten-more-horror-classics-for-halloween/
And bravo to “Black Christmas”, #4 on my list of greatest Halloween shockers of all!
