Black Christmas (1974 film)

Black Christmas
An image of a dead young woman on a rocking chair with a clear plastic bag over her head is seen in the center of a Christmas wreath.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBob Clark
Screenplay byRoy Moore
Produced byBob Clark
Starring
CinematographyReginald H. Morris
Edited byStan Cole
Music byCarl Zittrer
Production
companies
Distributed byAmbassador Film Distributors
Warner Bros. Pictures (United States)
Release dates
  • October 11, 1974 (1974-10-11) (Canada)
  • December 20, 1974 (1974-12-20) (United States)
Running time
98 minutes[1][2]
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$686,000
Box office$1.3 million (Canada), $4 million (worldwide)

Black Christmas[i] is a 1974 Canadian slasher film produced and directed by Bob Clark, and written by Roy Moore. It stars Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, and John Saxon. The story follows a group of sorority sisters who receive threatening phone calls and are eventually stalked and murdered by a killer during the Christmas season.

Inspired by the urban legend "the babysitter and the man upstairs" and a series of murders that took place in the Westmount neighbourhood of Montreal, Quebec, Moore wrote the screenplay under the title Stop Me. The filmmakers made numerous alterations to the script, primarily the shifting to a university setting with young adult characters. It was shot in Toronto in 1974 on an estimated budget of $686,000, and was distributed by Warner Bros. in North America, eventually grossing $4,053,000 worldwide.[3]

Upon its release, Black Christmas received mixed reviews, but it has since received critical re-appraisal, with film historians noting it for being one of the earliest slasher films.[4] It is also praised for its influence on John Carpenter's Halloween (1978). Aside from its earning a cult following[5] since its release, a novelization written by Lee Hays was published in 1976. It is the first film in the Black Christmas series, being followed by two remakes in 2006 and 2019.

  1. ^ Muir 2011, p. 314.
  2. ^ "Black Christmas (1974)". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  3. ^ Kerswell, J.A. (2012). The Slasher Movie Book. Chicago, Ill.: Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1556520105. OCLC 761851819
  4. ^ Paszylx 2009, pp. 135–136.
  5. ^ Jenkins 2008, p. 146.


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