Black Christmas is a Canadian-American horror film series that comprises three standalone slasher films, as well as a novelization. The original film has gained a large cult following and is credited as being one of the first slasher films, inspiring many others, including the critically acclaimed hit Halloween (1978). The series centers around a serial killer that stalks and murders a group of sorority sisters. The 1974 film follows the character of Jess Bradford as she and her sorority sisters begin receiving threatening phone calls from an unknown stalker. The 2006 film explores the background and motivation for the killer and his family. The 2019 film completely abandons the first two films' killer storyline, instead focusing on a new set of characters and killers.
Billy, Jess, and Mrs. MacHenry are the only characters to appear in more than one film.
Films Film U.S. release date Director Writer(s) Producer(s) Black Christmas Bob Clark A. Roy Moore Bob Clark Black Christmas Glen Morgan James Wong, Glen Morgan, Steve Hoban, Dawn Parouse, Victor Solnick & Marty Adelstein Black Christmas Sophia Takal April Wolfe & Sophia Takal Jason Blum, Ben Cosgrove & Adam Hendricks
Black Christmas (1974)
The first in the series was the 1974 Canadian slasher film, Black Christmas (1974), which was directed by Bob Clark, and based on a screenplay by A. Roy Moore. Upon its release, the film received a mixed critical response and was a moderate financial success, and has since gained cult status. The plot follows Jess Bradford, a college student who begins receiving threatening phone calls, as the women in her sorority house begin to disappear.
Black Christmas (2006)
The critically panned 2006 remake was written and directed by Glen Morgan. The story delved heavily into the mythology of Billy, whose identity and motives were only vaguely hinted at in the original film. Both Morgan and producer James Wong revealed that the film suffered studio interference with Dimension executives Bob and Harvey Weinstein pushing for numerous re-writes and re-shoots to add more violence, which contrasted with Morgan's original vision for the film and caused an inconsistency in tone. Despite negative reviews and the Christmas release date causing controversy, the film was a commercial success.
Black Christmas (2019)
Shortly after the release of the 2006 remake, a direct sequel to the 1974 film was in development, which would have focused solely on Olivia Hussey's character. However, the film was scrapped following the death of Clark, who was killed by a drunk driver, on April 4, 2007.
In June 2019, Sophia Takal signed on to direct another remake, having previously worked with Jason Blum on his Into the Dark series for Hulu, while Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Brittany O’Grady, Lily Donoghue, and Caleb Eberhardt signed on in starring roles. Cary Elwes also joined the cast.
Principal cast and characters
Character Films Black Christmas Black Christmas Black Christmas William "Billy" Edward Lenz Bob Clark Robert Mann Agnes Lenz Dean Friss Jessica "Jess" Bradford Olivia Hussey colspan="2" Mrs. Barbara "Mac" MacHenry Marian Waldman Andrea Martin Peter Smythe Keir Dullea colspan="2" Barbara "Barb" Coard Margot Kidder colspan="2" Lt. Kenneth Fuller John Saxon colspan="2" Clare Harrison Lynne Griffin colspan="2" Phyllis "Phyl" Carlson Andrea Martin colspan="2" Chris Hayden Art Hindle colspan="2" Sgt. Nash Doug McGrath colspan="2" Mr. Harrison James Edmond colspan="2" Kelli Presley Katie Cassidy Melissa Kitt Michelle Trachtenberg Heather Fitzgerald Mary Elizabeth Winstead Leigh Colvin Kristen Cloke Lauren Hannon Crystal Lowe Dana Mathis Lacey Chabert Clair Crosby Leela Savasta Megan Helms Jessica Harmon Kyle Autry Oliver Hudson Constance Lenz Karin Konoval Riley Stone colspan="2" Imogen Poots Professor Gelson colspan="2" Cary Elwes Kris Waterson colspan="2" Aleyse Shannon Marty Coolidge colspan="2" Lily Donoghue Jesse Bolton-Sinclair colspan="2" Brittany O'Grady Landon colspan="2" Caleb Eberhardt Nate colspan="2" Simon Mead Helena colspan="2" Madeleine Adams Franny colspan="2" Nathalie Morris Phil McIllaney colspan="2" Ben Black
Additional crew and production details FilmCrew/Detail Composer(s) Cinematographer Editor Production companies Distributing companies Running time Black Christmas Carl Zittrer Reginald H. Morris Stan Cole Film Funding Ltd. of Canada, Vision IV, Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC), Famous Players Film Company, August Films Ambassador Film Distributors, Warner Bros. Pictures 1hr 38mins Black Christmas Shirley Walker Robert McLachlan Chris Willingham Dimension Films, 2929 Productions, Adelstein-Parouse Productions, Hard Eight Pictures, Hoban Segal Productions, Victor Solnicki Productions, Movie Central Network, Corus Entertainment, Province of British Columbia Production Services Tax Credit, Copperhart Entertainment, Milestone Entertainment Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 1hr 31mins Black Christmas Will Blair & Brooke Blair Mark Schwartzbard Jeff Betancourt Universal Pictures, Blumhouse Productions, Divide/Conquer Productions Universal Pictures 1hr 32mins
Reception
Box office and financial performance Film Box office gross Box office ranking Budget Worldwide Total income North America Other territories Worldwide All time North America All time worldwide Black Christmas $620,000 Black Christmas (1974) review Black Christmas $16,273,581 $5,237,270 $21,510,851 #4,073 #5,489 $9,000,000 $21,510,851 Black Christmas $10,429,730 $8,100,000 $18,529,730 #3,746 #5,162 $5,000,000 $18,529,730 Totals $26,703,311 $13,337,270 $44,093,581 $14,620,000 $44,093,581
Critical and public response Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic Black Christmas 71% (34 reviews) 65/100 (9 reviews) Black Christmas 16% (64 reviews) 22/100 (17 reviews) Black Christmas 39% (111 reviews) 49/100 (25 reviews)
Literature A novelization of the 1974 film written by Lee Hays was published in 1976 by Popular Library.
See also List of films featuring home invasions Holiday horror List of films set around Christmas
References