Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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118 of 125 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quite possibly the best horror film ever made., October 10, 2001
I stumbled upon this absolute gem of a film when navigating various reviews and favorite item lists and the overwhelming praise persuaded me to purchase this film before having seen it. I must say that I'm on the bandwagon; BLACK CHRISTMAS is, without a doubt, one of the best horror films I've ever seen.Pre-dating HALLOWEEN by several years, that classic is now somewhat diminished in my estimation, as it is obvious that John Carpenter lifted many of BLACK CHRISTMAS' finest elements for HALLOWEEN. 1979's WHEN A STRANGER CALLS was another attempt at a clone, the opening of which, previously considered by this reviewer to be one of the finer moments in horror film history, seems like mere child's play compared to the terrifying phone calls received in BLACK CHRISTMAS. A simple tale of a half-empty sorority house over the holidays, BLACK CHRISTMAS focuses on Olivia Hussey and housemates, including Margot Kidder and Andrea Martin, as they receive a series of sinister phone calls, starting as obscene and building towards terrifyingly unsettling, and those around them begin to disappear. The pacing is perfect and the performances are all top-notch. Well-written and expertly directed, the tension in BLACK CHRISTMAS is well-maintained, with no lulls in the story nor "fake" scares to cheat the audience. With remarkably little gore or bloodshed, BLACK CHRISTMAS nonetheless culminates in one of the most intense climaxes ever experienced in horror films. You'll have to see it for yourself to understand completely, but what is scariest about BLACK CHRISTMAS are the things you never know. Who is Billy? What did he do to baby Agnes? When will anyone find what's waiting in the attic?
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52 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Poor Mother ..., October 2, 2004
We talked her into taking us to see this when it came out and she has never let us forget it. At the time, they even gave out little badges to the audience that said: It's Going to be a Black Christmas this Year. Wish I still had that!
Anyway one of the first, best slasher horror films ever. Halloween can say thanks. When a Stranger Calls can say thanks ... This is one scary flick. Sorority girls on campus over Christmas are, unknowingly, being slaughtered one at a time by a menancing stranger who will not stop calling their house.
Cast is fine re: suspects and gals in peril. Margot Kidder is very funny as the bad girl and the ending is, well, great! A classic.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most frightening movies ever made, December 17, 2006
I am 35 years old and I remember when this first came out on HBO back in the early 80's. I believe I was either ten or eleven when I first saw it. My parents went to sleep right before it came on and I stayed up to watch it (which they wouldn't have let me in any way if they knew this movie!). This was the movie that put a deep dread AND fascination in me for horror movies and suspense/thrillers. It terrified me beyond words, yet as good horror movies do they take you for a ride that thrills you to your core. Man, I remember the unbelievable dread at the end of the movie and after it was over I remember saying to myself "That was the most scared I've ever been".
There have been times as an adult that took me back to the horror that this movie implanted in me as a child....One night, sleeping in my apartment alone, I was suddenly awoken by my door opening. I slept in almost complete darkness at the time. I jumped into the "fight or flight" mode and the flight took control...I screamed and screamed like a little girl throwing my pillow at the unseen attacker! I was able to turn on the lights and I came to find out that the wind (during the summer with windows open) was responsible for pushing my door open when it wasn't shut all the way. I woke up my neighbors with the screams and commotion I made and they called the cops thinking I was being murdered! LOL Man was I embarrassed! But after it was over I remembered that that fear I felt was so similar to the fear I first felt when I watched Black Christmas all those years before.
Another instance when, I was a teen, I remember watching a news broadcast which told of a stranger living in the basement of a family's house for several months before the family found out. I believe the man was insane and would come upstairs in the dead of night to sneak food and use the bathroom. Apparently he would go upstairs while everyone slept and watch them. He didn't hurt them, but MAN! That gave me the same creeps that this movie did. It made me search every square inch of my house, during the day with a shotgun! I guess it just goes to show that a truly good scary movie like this one can really get under your skin!
Some folks give this movie a four, three and even two star rating, which amazes me. There really is no film that compares with this one for the creepiness and dread. I think that the younger folks who are more used to the modern horror movies just can't appreciate, I believe, the genius of the suspense, dread and insane-ness of this movie. We will see the same reaction with the new re-make of this movie coming out in theaters this Christmas (2006). I've seen the few teasers and trailers for the new movie and it looks awful compared to the original. They have to include such gore and what I call "flesh shock" to try to make something out of the new movie which tells me that the terror isn't there. Movies like Black Christmas, Halloween and TCM never relied on blood or gore for its horror, and I believe movies that do, generally speaking, just aren't good horror movies. Its the psychological horror that counts, not the blood or gore.
If you are twenty five and younger, try watching this movie by yourself, alone in the dark of night. You'll then understand that feeling of deep dread and "creepiness" that will make you stop the movie, turn on all the lights and re-check the windows and doors and the closets and under the bed...and maybe even the attic if you have the strength to do so!
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