Hello everyone. Welcome back to Home for the Holidays. Yesterday, I shared my thoughts on Sophia Takal's Black Christmas from 2019. It's been interesting seeing some of the response to that film. So I guess my thoughts on it could be considered to be a bit of a hot take.
Today, I get to present my thoughts on Black Christmas (2006) or as it was presented Black X-Mas. One thing that I have to say is that it feels absolutely crazy that it's been 15 years since this film was released. Where did the time go? It just feels like it was released not that long ago.
I remember when it was being released that the marketing was absolutely bonkers with it. Every time I turned the tv on, I would find at least once during a commercial break that there'd be a preview for the film. It was a bit of a big deal and they were pushing the film pretty hard. At that time, I hadn't give it much thought. It was at a time where remakes were a bit of hit or miss. For the most part, the track records were miss. I hadn't even heard of the original Black Christmas either. So this was my initial introduction to Billy. But the previews just made it look rather bland - like it was just every other slasher that was being released at the time. It felt like it lacked the thing that made it unique.
I can definitely say that the wait to see it was worth it. And those initial previews for the film were a byproduct of the marketing team not understanding what the film was. When I finally had the chance to see the film, I was taken aback by it. It is a rollercoaster of a film. It is unnerving at some times. It is unrelenting. It is very unapologetic. It's screaming from the rooftops, "I'm Black Christmas. I'm here. Take it or leave it. But just know, I'm not going anywhere.".
I remember that there was a time where the appreciation for the film was something that was in the minority. It wasn't very vocal. The mass public had definitely decided to snuff the film because it wasn't the original 1974 film. However, I have been in that minority. I loved the film for being what it was. What Glen Morgan and James Wong were able to do was very interesting. They had taken the essence of the original film and ramped up the weirdness and icky. They were letting the horror flag fly in a sense. When I dived into my DVD features, I was very excited to hear that Bob Clark was very supportive of it. He was enjoying the fact that they were making the story their own, instead of straight up rehashing what had come before. Now, it's awesome seeing the appreciation for the film as it seems to have found its audience and become a bit of an underrated cult classic.
The story of this film roughly has a few key elements of the original. We have Billy, who is stalking in the shadows. We have the sorority who have made his former home their own. We have the creepy boyfriend who has a bit of a secret of his own with Kyle. One by one, Billy begins to take them out. Roughly that's what I remember from the original film. However, it beautifully ramps things up in such a unique way. It hones in on the theme of family so well. They definitely took chances with it. They introduced the character of Agnes working alongside Billy. This whole aspect was one that completely caught me off guard in my first watch of the film. The innerworkings of Billy's backstory is extremely extremely disturbing and creepy. Just the whole relationship between Billy, his mother, and Agnes is one for the history books. Honestly in one aspect, it could feel like a small precursor to what Rob Zombie did with his take on Halloween. The more I think about that, the more I appreciate how it reflects the original films influencing one another.
The characters in the film are a bit interesting. For the most part, they do a great job of harkening back to those original characters but a bit more modern. Billy is pretty solid. Yeah, he takes a huge leap into the limelight compared to the original. But that's okay, it honestly makes this such a unique entry. All of the actors and actresses bring their A-game. It was really interesting coming back to this after some time and seeing where some of the actors and actresses went in their careers. I mean Katie Cassidy ended up moving on to other horror films as well as being such a vital part of the CW's Arrow.
The gore in this film is on its game. It is not afraid to give the audience what it wants. And that's letting the blood fly. There are countless times where an icicle is used as a weapon. I mean it's basically a key weapon. However, there is a variety to the murder mayhem. And it doesn't disappoint.
Overall, I have to say that I still love Black Christmas (2006). It wants to be its own thing. And that's pretty cool. Its definitely a beautiful addition to horror holiday films. I honestly would have loved to have seen a sequel (if it would be possible). If you haven't checked this out, I definitely recommend it.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
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