Holiday horror is a mixed bag. For every acknowledged gem (Rare Exports, Better Watch Out), there exist some seriously awful yuletide tales (Santa Claws, To All a Good Night). Occasionally though, a film will get it so right that it establishes a template for the films that followed. Such is the case with the cult classic Black Christmas (1974). Criminally overlooked, this film by Bob Clark is typically recognized for establishing some of the most well-known tropes of the slasher genre. But it is its transgressive female characters that really steal the show and leave us asking why these characterizations didn’t become the standard.
In this Horror Homeroom Conversation, we’re kicking it back to 1974 with the ultimate holiday horror film, Black Christmas, and considering how the depictions of women in horror might be different had this film had gone mainstream.
You can stream the original Black Christmas on Shudder, and it’s also available in a collector’s edition Blu-ray:
You can stream the 2006 Black Christmas on Amazon:
See our post on that other (highly controversial) Christmas classic, Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984).
And check out our podcast on 1989’s Pet Sematary here.
Suggested Reading:
- Handlen, Zack. Black Christmas Reminds U that Nothing is Sacred. The AV Club, 2014.
- McLaren, Angus. The Bedroom and the State: The Changing Practices and Politics of Contraception and Abortion in Canada, 1880, 1980. Oxford University Press Canada, 1986.
- Nowell, Richard. Blood Money: A History of the First Teen Slasher Film. Continuum, 2011.
- Rockoff, Adam. Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, 1978-1986. McFarland, 2011.
- Smith, Richard Harlan. Black Christmas (1974). Turner Classic Movies.
