Kelli Presley

Kelli Presley
Black Christmas character
Katie Cassidy as Kelli Presley in Black Christmas.
First appearanceBlack Christmas (2006)
Created byGlen Morgan
Portrayed byKatie Cassidy
In-universe information
Full nameKelli Presley
OccupationCollege student
FamilyMr. Presley (father)
Mrs. Presley (mother)
NationalityAmerican

Kelli Presley is a fictional character in the 2006 slasher film Black Christmas. The character, created by writer-director Glen Morgan and portrayed by actress Katie Cassidy, serves as a replacement to Jess from the original film.[1]

In the film, Kelli is depicted as a member of the Delta Alpha Kappa sorority. Due to being an only child and not having a large family, she decides to spend Christmas with her sorority sisters. Their sorority house was once the childhood home of notorious murderer Billy Lenz. During Christmas, Kelli and her sisters begin getting obscene phone calls. Realizing that Billy has returned home, the girls attempt to survive the night as, due to a snowstorm, help is unable to reach them.

Critical reception towards the character was polarizing. Some considered her to be likable and sympathetic,[2] whereas others criticized her for being bland, generic and unoriginal as well as being inferior in comparison to Jess from the original Black Christmas.[3][4] Despite these criticisms, Cassidy herself was generally praised for her performance.[5][6]

  1. ^ Crawford, Stax; Crawford, Stephanie (5 June 2007). "Black Christmas (2006) (Unrated)". IGN. Archived from the original on 27 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  2. ^ Serafini, Matt (8 May 2015). "The Remake: 2006's Black Christmas". ComingSoon.net. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  3. ^ Adams, Jason (19 December 2012). "Awfully Good: Black Christmas (2006)". JoBlo. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  4. ^ Liaguno, Vince (25 December 2007). "Movie Review: Black Christmas (2006)". Slasher Speak. Archived from the original on 27 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  5. ^ Thomson, Desson (26 December 2006). "'Black Christmas' Butchers the Slasher Genre". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  6. ^ "Black X-Mas (2006)". Horror Movie Reviews. 28 December 2006. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.