 | |
List Price: $12.95 | | Label: Dimension Films
Salesrank: 9870
Released: April 3, 2007 |
| Our Price: $4.94 |
| Used Price: $0.65 |
|
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Media: DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
Though it was only a mild success upon its release in 1974 the original BLACK CHRISTMAS (directed by Bob Clark who would go on to direct A CHRISTMAS STORY in 1984) has become a cult favorite among horror buffs since the dawn of the home-video era. An early example of the "body count" genre the film also predates WHEN A STRANGER CALLS (1979) in its use of a killer making threatening phone calls that originate within his potential victims own house. In this remake writer/director Glen Morgan takes the basics of Roy Moore s screenplay for the original to create an elaborate and almost comically disturbing back story for Billy the killer who previously remained a mystery. A handful of sorority girls remain at the house after the school shuts down for Christmas break. An ominous snowstorm blows in isolating them. At the same time a killer--who in this version escapes from a mental institution to return to his former family home--breaks into the attic and begins making terrifying phone calls to the girls (led by Kate Cassidy Michelle Trachtenberg and Lacey Chabert) before killing them off one by one. SCTV veteran Andrea Martin who portrayed a victim in the original returns as Ms. Mac the house mother.Stylistically Moore s remake avoids casting the film in the ironic post-SCREAM or streamlined gore-free Japanese-horror-inspired fright films of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Instead he makes BLACK CHRISTMAS in the style of a wet and red '80s slasher film. The plentiful blood and guts will please fans of that era as will tributes to the HALLOWEEN films. This along with a soundtrack that eschews holiday standards in favor of modern pop music plus a dim lighting scheme that relies heavily on colored Christmas bulbs combine to create an atmosphere of holiday dread in this fun update of what has become a horror classic.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: R UPC: 796019801089 Manufacturer No: 80108
Description of Black Christmas (Unrated Widescreen Edition):
Needless and unnecessary are two words that have little meaning in Hollywood, especially when you're talking sequels or remakes. Case in point: Black Christmas, the revisionist version of the 1974 horror thriller largely thought to be the proto-slasher movie (this was four years before the first Halloween installment). The original, from director Bob Clark, is still considered a masterpiece of tension, understatement, innovative camera perspective, economic efficiency (a polite way of saying "ultra-low budget"), and killing off pretty young girls in grisly ways without any cumbersome exposition regarding the psychopath's motives. This, by the way, from the same Bob Clark who would soon bring us the beloved Porky's franchise as well as Black Christmas's polar opposite, the sweetly nostalgic classic A Christmas Story. Anyway, as needless and unnecessary as this remake is, it certainly delivers the goods on 21st-century slasher conventions as the sorority sisters of Alpha Kappa are picked off during Christmas break in ever more gruesome fashion. There's nothing wrong with all of this, particularly for fans of impalements, crushed skulls, ripped-out eyeballs, and some good old-fashioned Christmas cookie cannibalism. Writer-director Glen Morgan, who earned his own credibility as co-creator of the Final Destination series and the interesting 2003 remake of Willard adds a few clever visual homages to the original along with the amped-up extreme gore. Clark's device (was he the first to use it?) of creepy, mouth-breathing phone calls from killer to victim remains intact and creepy. He also resurrects Andrea Martin, one of the then-unknown actor victims who, now famous, plays the prim housemother. Another addition, which may not be so welcome to purists of the genre, is a load of exposition and backstory for the killer. Disturbing as these flashback set pieces are, they're also somewhat distracting to the foreboding tone. But you get what you pay for, and lots of people are going to pay dearly to dream of the shocking frights another Black Christmas will bring. --Ted Fry
Black Christmas (Unrated Widescreen Edition) Reviews:
Bad flick, but I'll admit I had a blast watching it 
2008-08-19 - Horror purists weren't too happy about a remake to Bob Clark's 1974 cult classic Black Christmas, but don't go into the remake expecting anything like the original about the only thing this version has in common with the original, is the name and setting. We don't learn much about whom Billy or Agnes is. But in the remake that is all explained.
Outside of the opening murder scene, Black Christmas 06 is a totally different movie. If anything this is more of a remake to your run of the mill 80s slasher movie. The original Black Christmas is one of the all time greats and I would recommend any aspiring horror filmmaker to watch it so they can learn how to craft a story, suspense and effective scares. The sense of dread and looming danger never lets up from the opening scene, even in the slower scenes that sense of dread remains. The same cannot be said about the remake; there really was very little suspense or tension. All that is replaced with a high body count and a lot of gore; at least there is some action something this movie needed. Violence and gore doesn't make a movie good, but at least something is happening and again this movie very much needed all of that.
The script by Glen Morgan is rather weak; the characters are your standard slasher movie characters with very little depth. But one thing I did like is Kate Cassidy, Michelle Trachtenberg or Mary Elizabeth Winstead could have easily been the final girl. I won't spoil, which one of them is, but either one could have been. Glen Morgan was one of the writers of the first Final Destination, which I thought was excellent and he also did a good job with Willard, but here it's like a whole different filmmaker.
As director Glen Morgan doesn't fair much better; his scenes lack any suspense or tension, but he does make a movie that is absolutely hysterical even if it wasn't the intentions of Glen Morgan. The flashback scenes are so silly and over the top one can't help, but be amused. The last flashback with Billy had me cracking up. Maybe that was the intention?
The final act is so over the top I refuse to believe that Glen Morgan was making a serious movie. I think some of the problems were after Willard flopped Glen Morgan had trouble getting another job. On the DVD he clearly shows no passion for the project and says this isn't the type of movie he wanted to make. He's doing what the audience wants. Big mistake, as a filmmaker you have to do what you think is best. Of course you keep the audience in mind, but at the end of the day you have to make the movie you want. If you give in and make a movie you have no passion for it very much shows. I'm sure the Weinstein's played a part as well so I won't put all the blame on Glen Morgan. The Weinstein's are known for interfering with the movies they are involved in and I'm sure they played a part in the outcome.
The kills scenes are pretty much the same, when someone is stabbed it's done with such rage, but instead of being scary or disturbing it's rather funny. When Billy stabs someone he does it so fast that odds are you'll be laughing rather than be freaked out. And when did Billy become a cannibal? I wasn't grossed out nor was I disturbed at that. I found it so silly that I couldn't help, but laugh.
The cast is your typical cast you'll find in a lot of the more mainstream movies these days. With that said though the cast does do a good job and even though I prefer unknowns or cult actors in horror movies I was pleased with the cast. The one thing Black Christmas has going for it over other horror movies is the women are beautiful. Easily this is one the best looking casts I have ever seen in a horror flick.
Just take the movie for what it is. What I found was a decent 80s style slasher movie that has the so bad its good quality. By no means is Black Christmas a good movie; several times I rolled my eyes, but I have to admit I was very entertained. As a remake this movie is no doubt a travesty of a remake, but as it's own film, while still bad, but works on the so bad its good level. I'll be the first to admit I had fun watching this and really enjoyed it.
The original is by far the better movie and I highly recommend it, but again the remake is a fun film in how bad it is. Just try and put the original out of your head and take this for what it is; a silly slasher flick.
The worst movie i've seen in a year, honestly!!! 
2008-07-25 - The quality of the DVD was great, however, this movie wasn't worth the $1 that I spent for it. Poor acting and a dry plot plaqued it. STAY AWAY, FAR AWAY!!!!
Stop your crying, the original sucked! 
2008-07-19 - I have to say, I really hate when classic films are remade to get the attention of new audiences, but when it comes to a film like Black Christmas, it certainly needed a remake. The original dud was so over-the-top boring that a remake actual sounds like a horrible idea, but by completely refreshing the idea a pretty good movie came along. I'm not saying this is the greatest horror film of all time, but at least this Black Christmas is a fun way to spend 90 minutes. I've really missed the slasher films of the 80's and everyone's out there doing their own takes on "Scream" over and over, it's about time we fans get a big budget campy gore movie. The acting isn't horrible, the gore is awesome, the villain is new, it's creepy, funny, and just all around awesome. I honestly don't see how people expect to go into a film like Black Christmas and get an intelligent spine-tingling film, and I'm pretty sure that's where the bad reviews come from. If you go into a horror movie expecting a good time, this one can't disappoint.
Black Christmas HD DVD
2008-06-19 - I've been a fan of this movie since it came out. Not quite for everyone of course, but for me, the acting is so comical, I just get a kick out of it. Anyhow, the HD DVD version looks great. Great picture and sound. Too bad HD DVDs are running out!
ho-ho-horrible indeed
2008-06-13 - This movie was bad. I mean really REALLY bad. It might have been good....if it would have been released as a comedy and not as a "horror" movie. Because it was certainly funny. That's about the nicest thing I can say about it. I was cracking up just from seeing the previews, so you can only imagine what the actual movie was like.
So why did I even see it, you ask? Well one night me and my sister were at the movie store and we decided to rent it just for fun, because we were in the mood for something stupid that would make us laugh, and this movie was the perfect candidate.
And while it was certainly funny indeed, about halfway into the movie, I no longer felt myself laughing, and instead I found myself cringing because all I could think was "am I seriously watching this?"
At one point, the killer kills someone by stabbing them with a candy cane. Enough said.
