| Billy | |
|---|---|
| Black Christmas character | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Billy%27s_silhouette,_Black_Cristmas_1974,_screenshot.jpg) Billy (Albert J. Dunk) in Black Christmas (1974) | |
| First appearance | Black Christmas (1974) |
| Last appearance | Black Christmas (2006) |
| Created by | Roy Moore Bob Clark Timothy Bond |
| Based on | "The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs" urban legend" 1943 Montreal holiday murders |
| Portrayed by | Black Christmas (1974) Bob Clark Albert J. Dunk Nick Mancuso (voice on phone) Black Christmas (2006) Robert Mann (adult) Cainan Wiebe (young) |
| In-universe information | |
| Nickname |
|
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Mass murderer Serial killer |
| Family | Black Christmas (2006) Frank Lenz (father, deceased) Constance Lenz (mother, deceased) Agnes Lenz (half sister/daughter, deceased) Unnamed stepfather (deceased) |
| Nationality | American |
Billy is a fictional character from the Black Christmas film series, first appearing in Black Christmas (1974) as a deranged murderer who taunts and kills a group of college students during the Christmas season. Created by Bob Clark and A. Roy Moore, the character was partly inspired by the urban legend "The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs", as well as a series of real murders in Montreal during the 1943 holiday season.
Several members of the cast and crew portrayed and voice the character in the original film, such as Nick Mancuso, who performed the voices for the phone calls, while cameraman Albert J. Dunk performed Billy's POV shots and director Clark portrays both the villain's shadow and the phone voices. Neither the character nor his portrayers were listed in the end credits. In the years following the original film's release, fans and media outlets have often cited the character's name as Billy, and director Clark has himself referred to the character by that name in interviews.
Unlike later slasher film antagonists, the character's true identity and motivations were intentionally omitted from the 1974 version of the film, which the filmmakers felt made him more frightening. Critics and art historians have stated that by leaving the character enigmatic, it allowed the audience to place their own fears onto the character, forming their own ideas about him and his motivations. While largely overshadowed by more popular horror or slasher film villains, Billy has also been identified by some critics and film historians as establishing many of the tropes that later became a staple of the slasher film genre, predating John Carpenter's Halloween (1978). He has been described as one of the greatest horror villains of all time and has been referenced in several other entertainment media.