(Reviewed by Reign in Blood) - Well, i just saw Black Christmas for the first time last night, and it is now one of my favorite Horror movies of all time. Black Christmas is the granddaddy of the slasher flicks, made in 1974 so this gem helped set the stage for all the Halloweens and Friday the 13ths that followed. For those that dont know, when the idea for Halloween started out, it was supposed to be a sequel to Black Christmas, but those plans obviously changed. And When a Stranger Calls was obviously inspired by it.

Black Christmas stars Olivia Hussey (probably best known to horror fans from Stephen King's IT), Margot Kidder (Lois Lane from Superman, duh) and John Saxon (dont even pretend not to know what hes from) and was directed by Bob Clark (of Porky's fame). We get the setup of the girls living in their Sorority house in which they begin receiving bizarre calls from a stranger, in which he is making the calls from inside the house, and of course it doesnt take long for the killings to start.

In my opinion, what really stands out to make this film so great is its atmosphere, its so creepy, the pace and mood is done just right. Something that gets to you in the movie, is the disturbing shit the killer says on the phone, sometimes its not even what he says but just the crazy, twisted sounds and screams he makes. Its not a gorey film by any means, but it doesnt have to be, its great in plenty of other areas. I really thought Bob Clark showed some good potential as a director here, in which he never really followed through with (hey, i like Porky's and everything, but come on). He does a good job with the way he framed the shots to make for some good jump scenes, for example when Olivia Hussey is running down the stairs to get away from the killer, and then bam the killer grabs her hair out of no where made me jump. I also like how you never see the killer, just shots of the camera slowly peering in on his eye as hes hiding in the shadows behind a door makes for some chilling stuff, for example.

Even the dumb things that happen in the plot didnt bother me in this flick. Like when the cop tells Olivia Hussey's character Jess that the calls have been coming from inside the house (which i dont know about you guys, but a cop telling me that would make me shit myself) and that she needs to get out of the house, but what does she do, she goes up the fucking stairs like an eager beaver. Or when she locks herself in the basement, her boyfriend shows up and just happens to know shes down there, but it works for the subsequent ending.

I really liked the ending too, i obviously guessed it having known Halloween was originally supposed to be a sequel, but its the way i wanted it to end. To me, whats really effective about it all is the killer has no motive, its never revealed why he is doing it, hes just there to kill, plain and simple. Alot of comparisons to Halloween could be made, but in my opinion Black Christmas does a better job all around and is easily the superior film.

Overall, this is a great suspenseful Horror film (its also got some really funny scenes in it as well) that i think all Horror fans should see, its really a forgotten classic that deserves more attention, which is a shame, as like i already said, this just now became one of my favorite Horror films of all time.

Reigns Grade: 10/10 stars, A fucking +

(Reviewed by Snake-666) - The original and perhaps the best slasher film ever made.  The girls of a sorority house are being tormented by a twisted prank caller who continually calls to convey increasingly vile and abusive sentiments. What at first appears to be a sick joke eventually turns violent for the girls during the season of supposed goodwill and merriment.

The original and maybe even the best, ‘Black Christmas' set the ball rolling for the slasher genre and was the biggest influence for the phenomenally successful John Carpenter classic, ‘Halloween' (1978), which was, in fact, originally conceived as a sequel. Although Italian director, Mario Bava, had previously created what some see as the first slasher movie, ‘Bay of Blood' (1971), it was ‘Black Christmas' that was to become recognised as the catalyst for one of the most lucrative sub-genres of horror cinema. Bob Clark (who previously made the kooky, enjoyable, low-budget zombie film ‘Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things' (1972)), still at this point something of an amateur director, took a simple yet naturally frightening concept and turned it into one of the most unsettling and nerve-wracking one hundred minutes in cinematic history. Only a select few films such as ‘The Haunting' (1963) and ‘Alien' (1979) are atmospheric enough to truly equate to the eeriness and feelings of apprehension that are to be induced by ‘Black Christmas'.

The simplicity of the production is what makes it so endearing. There are no overly bloody death sequences or unlikely, comic-book style events; the viewer is just presented with an unnerving tale which could easily have a strong basis in reality. Inventive camerawork and POV shots as well as a superlative use of lighting are the elements that combine to achieve the desired results. The often pseudo-claustrophobic environment of the sorority house, from where the vast majority of events occur, offers the perfect, vulnerable and unguarded location susceptible to intrusion and thus attributes to the continual foreboding atmosphere. Clark was not afraid to take time building both the story and characterisation as well as introduce the viewer to the aspects that he would use to build the suspense. This is prepared before plunging the viewer into a seemingly uncontrolled nightmare that one experiences along with the protagonists. Another aspect that firmly stands out is the mysterious way that everything is presented; even at the very end, very little has truly been explained yet everything seems like it should have an obvious explanation. Even in its undoubted simplicity, ‘Black Christmas' has complicated facets that require thought from the viewer to entirely comprehend the film. In some ways, the concealing of several key points puts the viewer's knowledge of events on a par with the actual characters.

‘Black Christmas' is also complimented wonderfully by strong acting performances from Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, John Saxon and a highly pleasant and amusing turn from Marian Waldman. Despite the tiny budget, this is a highly polished horror film that genuinely belongs among the elite of the genre. This is where it all started and those familiar with later slasher films such as ‘Halloween', ‘Friday the 13th' (1980), Slumber Party Massacre (1982) and ‘The House on Sorority Row' (1983) should be able to spot several of the now-clichés that first materialized in ‘Black Christmas'. My rating for ‘Black Christmas' - 8½/10.