Black Christmas (2006)

The original 1974 Black Christmas is a classic — underrated, creepy, well-acted and directed, and completely influential. 2006’s remake strays far away from the path but despite its flaws and shortcomings, it’s a really fun, goofy, fast-paced good time.** SPOILERS AHEAD **Underrated and talented director/writer Glen Morgan tried his best, and unfortunately studio interference derailed his initial vision for the remake. What remains is a lot of gore, an unnecessary backstory for Billy, and an over-the-top 90 minutes of slasher madness that the 80s would be proud of. Of note is the excellent cast, who all perform very well in their roles. In particular, Katie Cassidy makes for a smart, proactive, capable, brave final girl as Kelli Presley, who is the resident Nancy Drew and faces off against the killer(s). Kristen Cloke is a complete scene-stealer as Leigh, a character who could have been a one-note side role, but she gives her emotional nuance and makes her the most memorable of all the characters. The great Andrea Martin is here too, having played Phyl in the original, but now playing housemother Mrs. Mac.The colors and atmosphere in the film are cozy and evoke a definite Christmas feeling. Combined with the abundant and graphic kills, trapped-in-the-house set-up due to a raging snowstorm outside, and a general sense of mean-spiritedness, this can’t be compared to the original and should be taken on its own merits. That being said, it’s not particularly scary but it is a blast to watch if you aren’t looking for anything too discerning or heavy-handed. It’s a fun, enjoyable, entertaining watch and nothing more. It’s become a staple of the Christmas season in my house, along with the original, Night of the Comet (1984), Silent Night Bloody Night (1972), and The X-Files “How the Ghosts Stole Christmas” episode.Whether you’re having a night in on the couch with a comforter and some snacks, or you’re with a group of friends, this is a movie that can absolutely be appreciated (as imperfect as it is) thanks to its enthusiastic and lively mood. Highly recommended!

I won't buy any dvd from a third party seller on Amazon because I learned a very valuable lesson in the past. If the dvd isn't sold or shipped by Amazon. But I have to say this was a good purchase & buy being a great condition & shape.

This is a great remake that i enjoyed thouroughly. Altho it did deviate from the original,well morelike they added a back story to deepen the mystery & add some spice to the story.With the original you never see the face of the killer it is more like shot in POV style and makes it scary. This has a creepier aspect by being such a wierd backstory. The killer had apparently watched his mother go murder his father & bury the body with her lover. So now Billy(killer) lives in the attic then his mom comes and has relations with her son,thus making a baby with his mother.Billy is deformed and angry cuz his mom hates him & loves the new baby that she made with him i think it is crazy.Billy grows up and has a flip oit and kills his family.The house turns into a sorrority like 15 years later,and Billy escapes on Christmas from the mental house to go home.When he gets there he has a group of girls to take out and the story gets deeper,some serious bloodshed happens here. Lots of gore and eyeball munching(ode to Fulci) but the madness is relentless til' the end.I wont give away the ending but if you like the original or have seen this and never seen the original then give em both a watch there both 5*star movies.Excellent for gore fans

I had fun with it. Just try to ignore that this is a remake of a classic trendsetter and take this for what it is: an 80s-style slasher movie in which gore is celebrated and a shower scene is simply there to deliver bare breasts rather than to convey a sense of vulnerability and "will she die" tension.In this is a remake of the 1974 classic Black Christmas, the girls of Alpha Kappa are again slaughtered during Christmas break.Our Alpha Kappas include Kelly (Katie Cassidy), Melissa (Michelle Trachtenberg), Heather (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Dana (Lacey Chabert). To prime the story the girls and their house mother Ms. Mac (Andrea Martin; Phyl of the original Black Christmas) retell the story of Billy the Black Christmas killer, his twisted childhood and his daughter...This background story spends far too much time explaining why Billy is the way he is much as the Halloween (2007) remake did for Michael Myers. In fact, any explanation is too much explanation. Both Billy and Michael Myers were originally scary for the same reason: no one knew why they killed or what motivated them. They just killed without reason and it was terrifying. This attempt to justify the killer's psyche is an excellent example of how exposition truly is the death of good horror.Another unfortunate fault is that the sorority girls all have very similar personalities. Sure, one of them gets drunk (probably attempting to mimic Margot Kidder's lushy debutante role from the original) and another is homesick, but under the surface these characters may as well be spun from the same mold. Stacking on the faults, this movie even failed to capture the creepiness of the call coming from "inside the house." Not because it's now been done so many times, but because it was too hammed up to be creepy. CALL "COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE" FAIL!!!This has a classically perfect set up. A bunch of attractive college girls are blizzard-bound in their sorority house over Christmas break and an escaped, murderous mental patient who used to live in their house is on the loose. Through homogenous characters and exposition the story is ruined. But through brutal, gory deaths an entertaining movie experience was salvaged-for those of us who are in to that anyway.The gore is brutal and abrupt. Our killer doesn't toy with his victims once they're within reach. He's really quite the dynamic slayer. Early on he sets the pace when he gauges then tears out an eyeball with no warning from his still-living coed victim. In fact, eyeball-gore seems to be a pleasant theme, often accompanied by tongue-in-cheek cannibalism. We also get some brutally prolonged beatings-to-death, lots of stabbing, loads of gore, and some gore-slathered sound-editing to really bring it together. Some may say the sloppy-squishy sound effects were overdone. Perhaps...but overdone damned well! Gorehounds will be pleased for sure. I should add that the "falling icicle" death scene was hilariously perfect! The ice skate kill was also pretty damned special. All in all, only the sound editors and special effects folks demonstrated thoughtful approaches to their craft.Try to ignore that this is a remake of a classic trendsetter and take this for what it is: an 80s-style slasher movie in which gore is celebrated and a shower scene is simply there to deliver bare breasts rather than to convey a sense of vulnerability and "will she die" tension. I had fun with it.

Un remake du film des année 70 qui a été bien fait sans trop copier l'original en gardant l'idée de base

Muy entretenida película de culto. Un 10.

Autore di un eccellente remake(Willard il paranoico, migliore dell'originale), il regista stavolta non riesce a rielaborare il materiale di partenza in modo originale. Il film è seguibile, ma lontanissimo dalla qualità del primo.

Un bon film parfait à regarder pendant les fêtes de Noël et pour une fois la qualité de l'image est au rendez vous ( de plus en plus rare) !que des bons points pour moi , des meurtres sanguinolents , un bon twist final , je ne peux que recommander un tel filmâmes très sensibles s'abstenir !!Katie Cassidy est très belle , quelle dommage de la voir se cantonner à de pietres series (Arrow )

This 2006 slasher [aka: Black x mas] takes place several days before Christmas as ‘Billy’ escapes from a sanatorium and follows a group of sorority sisters who receive threatening and malicious calls before being stalked and murdered by one of their house's former inhabitants during a winter storm.Firstly, this is not a remake, it’s a sequel that takes place about 30 years after the original and starts by explaining ‘Billy’ who it explains is the murderer from the original. What follows in the last hour is a re-run of sorts, of the original movie. This has a far more upbeat start than the original and the sorority girls are the usual bitchy types you couldn’t care less about [lose a *] and many seem to look alike [what’s that all about?] and it gives far too much away at the start. This actually plays [and feels] like two individual films edited together as a lot of the time is spent explaining Billy and then back to the present and it’s not until the last half it comes together.Opening directly to main menu offering play, scene selection, extras [filmmakers journey, deleted scenes, alternate endings, remaking of, film with US ending] and subtitles on/offWith scenes of sex, home made porn on the laptop, eye gouging and blood splatter, and just to reinforce this is a modern version, has incest, cannibalism and the obligatory shower scene making this is a very surprising brutal and violent 15 rating. Despite being rather formulistic, this has what it takes to be an 18 rated *****, yet is only a 15. Sleepless nights for some I fear!