1974’s Black Christmas gave a new meaning to Christmas. Released a year after the groundbreaking The Exorcist and shortly after The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Black Christmas had quite a challenge ahead of itself to standout from the lot, and it succeeded in its own right. Audiences were pleasantly horrified by the reinvention of the most popular holiday in the world, notably because it was done tastefully through its carefully-handled plot and exquisite performances; Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder gave two contrasting yet mesmerizing portrayals as sorority sisters, Jess and Barb; the unseen Billy became a haunting voice that lingered with audiences longer after the film’s conclusion; Black Christmas earned its place in the classic slasher hall of fame. In 2006, the classic Christmas slasher was remade with a modern spin on its protagonists, settings, and scare tactics. This film is in a league of its own; with several strong points and some utter disappointments in execution. Here is what the 2006 Black Christmas remake got right, and where it went wrong.
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Better-Developed Villains
Warner Bros.
The original Black Christmas is so horrifying partly due to its killer’s ambiguity. No one knows Billy’s identity; he is simply a killer who breaks into the sorority home and starts killing the girls off one by one. In the Black Christmas remake, Billy and Agnes’ backstories are actually explored, very sinisterly. Billy is Agnes’ older half-brother… and her father. This story addition elevated audiences’ enjoyment of the movie, feeling that the unsettling backgrounds of both killers gave the remake a much-needed push.
Gorier Kills
20th Century Studios
While the original Black Christmas consists of mostly offscreen kills that were either suspense-driven or juxtaposed with some other scene to lessen the gore (Barb’s death as the carolers sings in front of the sorority house), the Black Christmas remake doesn’t refrain in its bloodiness. From eye gouging, impaling, burning, defibrillating; the kills are intense. While this makes for some iconic kills for the slasher genre, it deviates from the original film’s horror nuances; it wasn’t just Billy killing that shocked audiences; it was his lingering in the shadows, tormenting the girls with his obscene phone calls, unbeknownst to them that he was already in the sorority house. Nevertheless, one of the most shocking and memorable scenes from the remake is teenage Billy’s first blood spree, from gouging out Agnes’ eye to murdering his mother, only for cops to walk in on the scene hours later to find Billy eating cookies made from the dead woman’s flesh.
Lacks Suspense from the Original
While the original Black Christmas consisted of heavy suspense from beginning to end, the remake gets straight to the point with its kills, and sometimes muddles in their sheer campiness. It’s entertaining to see Billy chase after the sorority sisters, with them trying to escape seemingly hopeless traps and scenarios, but the original didn’t have to go through exaggerated dramatics: it simply uses a phone and the creepiest-sounding caller. Billy’s threats to each of the girls are bone-chilling as he descriptively expresses his plans for them, which range from sexual acts to murder. Notably, Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, and Andrea Martin deliver greater emotional reactions than their modern sorority counterparts.
Superior Final Girl
While Katie Cassidy gives a decent performance as Kelli, caring towards her friends and managing to, somehow, make it in one piece to the film’s finale, she is still relegated to a damsel in distress compared to some of her other sorority sisters. Original Final Girl Olivia Hussey is unrivaled as Jess. Jess isn’t just the lucky one from the bunch in making it to the film’s climax; she is an excellently developed character. Jess is holding several burdens before the film even begins. She is in an unfulfilling relationship with Peter, her pianist boyfriend, who instead of seeing the glaring problems in their relationship, is pushing for greater commitment from Jess.
Jess reaches her breaking point when discovering she’s pregnant, realizing that no circumstances will ever prompt her to continue their relationship. Jess decides to terminate the pregnancy; terminating a pregnancy was a highly taboo topic at the time; for Jess to deal with that internal struggle, a failing relationship, and a psychopath taunting her over the phone–that’s quite the emotional baggage for any Final Girl to carry. Even so, Jess proves her heroism by deciding to go upstairs to check on her friends, Barb and Phyl, even after discovering the killer is inside the house. In Jess’s final moment of desperation, she must decide whether to trust Peter as he calls out to her from outside the cellar window, or strike him dead to save herself. Olivia Hussey gives an emotionally nuanced portrayal from beginning to end.
Less is More
Dimension Films
Less is more applies perfectly to both the original Black Christmas and its 2006 remake. While the remake gives audiences the gore, kills, and cheesy dialogue of the early 2000s slashers, the original is dark, somber, and intimate in its scenarios. In one of the most original and haunting openings to a slasher film, the original Black Christmas opening juxtaposition shows Billy entering the sorority house as the girls celebrate their Christmas party. Billy’s face isn’t heard, only his heavy breathing as he climbs in from a ledge onto the second story and finally enters through Claire’s bedroom window.
Unlike the remake, where epic burning house climaxes and last-minute hospital chase scenes drive the pacing, the original Black Christmas only relies on the semblance of reality. Anyone can easily break into a house just as Billy did in the original. Anyone can hide in a closet waiting to attack their unsuspecting victim. And anyone can remake classic slashers such as Black Christmas, but only a few succeed in remaking their greatness. The original Black Christmas remains top-tier among its lesser quality remakes.
