CLASSIC HORROR: BLACK CHRISTMAS

This is the first article in a series written for people trying to learn something about the genre. Blake Snyder and many other writers on the subject of screenwriting advise prospective writers to master their genres. If you're going to write something you had better know what comes before.
I like horror films, but I am no expert. I have a young child and a wife whose limit is the Walking Dead. Opportunities to catch up on back catalogues and latest releases are limited and I'll be honest, I like other genres just as much. But needs must. My writing partner and I are writing horror so become an expert I must.
This series of articles is my own personal reference guide to 'the classics' of the genre. They aren't really reviews, and they aren't essays but something in between. Enjoy and feel free to share your views.

Black Christmas

Released 1975
Directed by Bob Clark
Screenplay by Roy Moore

On my list because it is often proclaimed as the progenitor of the modern 'slasher' genre, BC still stands up to modern comparisons albeit in a mildly diluted way. It's a tense, well-paced whodunit with obvious 'influences' on later films and has some surprising subtext depth particularly in its apparently savage attack on feminism.

The premise is beautifully simple: (presumably) deranged killer stalks free spirited sorority girls over the Christmas holidays. The active questions are whether the girls can stop him and who the hell is he anyway?

If that sounds dull and unoriginal, consider that in 1974, before John Carpenter and Wes Craven took over the slasher genre this was something a little new. And their later-released, oft more celebrated slasher films almost certainly took things from the formula BC established. The first person POV shots that substitute for the killer are a famous characteristic of many slashers, not least Halloween. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know whether BC was the first film to use POV in this way but I suspect it was not. All the same, it's a device Bob Clark uses to the full and along with the telephone calls and Margot Kidder's sexy foul mouth is one of the features of BC that stays with you after the credits.

The POV device is used not only to build tension but also as a loose plot device. One of BCs most controversial elements (here comes a spoiler) is that while the killer is in many scenes, we never see him (or enough of him to tell who it is). The whodunnit is never answered, and that mystery adds to the allure of the film, opening up angles for debate and conjecture. Would a modern screenplay get away with such an open end? I am not so sure. The rules of the game were very different in 1974. A whodunnit without a who now would be a risky move.

The horror elements of BC are mild by comparison to a contemporary slasher. No murder is actually seen its entirety so if you're looking for gore, move along. The horror here comes from the anticipation of the kill. The lingering POVs and 'he's behind you' moments are the scariest bits on show but modern audiences will be in no danger of overworked hearts. The majority of the scares are now obvious from a mile away; at least partly because they've been done over and over since the 70s. It is a sad fact of the sub-genre that new takes are limited mostly to parodies (I understood a truck load of Scream references much better after watching BC). Perhaps there are only a limited number of ways one can be 'slashed'?

Perhaps the most interesting aspect is in the rather heavy handed attack on feminism. The sorority house is rife with free thinking, spirited (and yes, promiscuous) young women. They're gaining an education, drinking, smoking, having sex, and making decisions all by themselves thank you very much. Even their 'house mother' is rather too fond of the sauce. But fear not appalled conservatives, our killer is here to punish them all with his knife and his beady eye. Before the film is done, he has savaged his way through practically everyone who didn't go ski-ing for Christmas.



The ultimate test of this subtext and perhaps the ultimate message then is in the fate of Olivia Hussey's protagonist. She's the brightest spark in the house, but she's done got herself pregnant by some man she doesn't love and she's thinking about an abortion. If she survives and defeats Billy we should read that as a pro-choice message shouldn't we?  Strong women can decide for themselves. Nice positive message that.

But does she survive? Errrr....

Watch it for: cross referencing copycats with the original and because Lois Lane spells out "fellatio" to a policeman and talks about how long turtles can have sex for. Haw haw.