Black Christmas (2006 film)

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Black Christmas

Poster for Black Christmas
Directed by Glen Morgan
Produced by James Wong
Odgen Gavanski
Bob Clark
Mark Cuban
Glen Morgan
Todd Wagner
Written by Glen Morgan
Starring Katie Cassidy
Michelle Trachtenberg
Kristen Cloke
Crystal Lowe
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Lacey Chabert
Oliver Hudson
Andrea Martin
Distributed by Dimension Films (USA)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (USA)
Pathé (UK theatrical)
20th Century Fox (UK DVD)
Release date(s) Flag of United States December 25, 2006
Flag of United Kingdom December 15, 2006
Running time 1 hour 24 min.
Country Canada/USA
Language English
Official website
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile
Ratings
Ireland:  16
United Kingdom:  15
United States:  R

Black Christmas (also known as Black X-Mas on promotional material) is a 2006 remake of the 1974 film of the same name. It is directed by Glen Morgan. The movie is rated R in the US and 15 in the UK for strong horror violence and gore, sexuality, nudity and language.[1] It is from the makers of the Final Destination series, and includes some of the same elements.

An unrated cut will be released on DVD on 3rd April 2007.

Contents

[edit] Plot

On a snowy winter night on Christmas Eve, in the Delta Alpha Kappa sorority house, sorority sisters are preparing to celebrate for the night. Sorortiy member Lauren (Crystal Lowe) is getting changed into her pajamas. In the next room Clair (Leela Savasta) is writing a Christmas card to her half-sister, Leigh. Suddenly she hears something from her closet. She goes over to the closet door and looks inside. Nothing but clothes. She goes back to the card, when someone comes from behind and pulls a black plastic bag over her face. As she is about to scream, a fountain pen is stabbed into her eye, effectively silencing her.

Meanwhile at a mental institution, a mental patient named Billy is being served Christmas dinner in a holding cell. Because Billy was notorious for constantly escaping, a security guard is at watch at his door. However, Billy manages to lure the guard into his cell and kill him with a sharpened candy cane. Billy then kills a volunteer Santa Claus and leave the institution wearing the volunteer's costume.

Back at the sorority house, Kelli (Katie Cassidy) and her boyfriend Kyle (Oliver Hudson) are talking in his car. Kelli explains that she plans to spend Christmas with her sorority sisters despite the fact that Kyle wanted her to spend time with him. As Kelli goes inside the house, her fellow sorority sister Megan (Jessica Harmon) calls Kyle on his cell phone and the two seem to have a seemingly heated conversation. While speaking to Kyle, Megan is inside her room watching a home pornographic video featuring her and Kyle. Inside the house, Melissa (Michelle Trachtenberg), Heather (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Dana (Lacey Chabert), Lauren, and Ms. Mac (Andrea Martin), are preparing to exchange gifts. The sorority has a "secret santa" gift exchage which includes the mental patient Billy. While Heather is the secret santa for Billy, she did not buy a gift due to her thoughts of the act of buying Billy a present as a Pagan ritual. This then leads to Lauren stating the Pagan origins of Christmas and Ms. Mac telling the personal history of Billy.

According to Ms. Mac, the sorority house was Billy's childhood home. Billy was born with a skin disorder that makes his skin yellow. As a child, Billy's father was loving and caring toward him. However, Billy's mother was hateful and cruel toward Billy and his father. As Billy became older, his mother became an alcoholic and increasingly hateful towards him. During one Christmas evening as Billy opened his present from his father, his parents had an argument in which the mother was confronted about having an affair. Billy then witnesses his mother killing his father , who's body is later concealed by the mother and her lover. Discovering Billy as a witness, the mother then forced Billy to live in the attic.

Afterward, Heather goes upstairs to her room but runs into Eve (Kathleen Kole), whom is leaving for the holidays. Eve then gives Heather a Christmas gift. Because Heather is less than impressed, Eve leaves disappointed and without opening her present from Ms. Mac. Meanwhile, Kelli and Lauren go upstairs to tell Clair and Megan they are going to open the presents. While Clair obviously doesn't answer, Megan decides to put off opening presents. As Lauren and Kelli leave, Megan hears a snow globe tune playing in the attic. Megan then goes into the attic and discovers Clair's body by a window in a rocking chair. Immediately, she has a plastic bag pulled over her face, is stabbed repeatedly with a sharp tree topper and has one of her eyes ripped out.

Leigh Colvin (Kristen Cloke), Heather Lee (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Melissa Kitt (Michelle Trachtenberg), and Kelli Presely (Katie Cassidy)
Leigh Colvin (Kristen Cloke), Heather Lee (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Melissa Kitt (Michelle Trachtenberg), and Kelli Presely (Katie Cassidy)

Later as the girls are opening there presents, Kelli answers the telephone. As she puts on the speaker phone the caller is making various obscene noises and comments. After the call, it is revealed that the call came from Clair' cell phone. Because of this, the girls just reassure themselves that the call was a joke. Afterward, Kelli goes upstairs to check on the other girls. Kyle is then seen inside Megan's room. While he explains that he was there to surprise Kelli, he had not seen Megan or knows where she is. Eventually, Kyle tells more of Billy's personal history.

After witnessing his father's murder, Billy was kept in the attic for several years. Despite this, his mother and new stepfather lived happily. However, it is revealed that Billy's mother and stepfather had trouble conceiving a child. Because of this, Billy and his mother engaged in incest to have a child. Eventually, Billy's mother had a girl named Agnes. While Agnes was a child, the mother treated her with love and care which made Billy choice. One Christmas evening, escaped from the attic and attacked Agnes and ripped out one of her eyes. Also, he killed his stepfather and beat his Mom to death with a rolling pin. He also made 'christmas cookies' out of his mother's skin. Afterward, Billy is put in a mental institution and Agnes was put into an orphanage. Kyle tells no one has seen her since.

Afterward, Kelli goes into Megan's room and finds video of Kyle and Megan on Megan's computer. Suddenly, the power inside the house goes out. During which, Kelli and Kyle have an argument resulting in Kyle leaving angrily. As Kyle leaves, Leigh (Kristen Cloke), Clair's half-sister, is seen looking inside the house. Leigh explains that while she is there to pick Clair, she has not received a call from her.

Amidst, Leigh's arrival, Dana goes outside to turn on the circuit breaker, which is under the porch of the house. As Dana enters the crawlspace, she is attacked by a figure. She struggles, but the figure then kills Dana by stabbing her at the back of the head with a gardening tool. Back inside the house, Lauren, whom is extremely drunk, decides to take a shower and go to bed. As she is showering, someone is watching her from a broken tile in the floor. As Lauren sleeps in her room, someone calls from Dana's cell phone and hangs up. As a result, Kelli, Leigh, Melissa, and Heather go outside to search for her. While searching for Dana, the girls find Eve's decapitated head inside her car. As the girls run inside, Kelli calls the police. Because the arrival of the police possibly being too long, Heather and Ms. Mac decide to leave for help while the other girls stay behind. While Heather waits inside Ms. Mac's car, Ms. Mac begins to scrape ice of the windshield. While she does this, Heather is killed by Billy inside the car (we see a huge blood splatter hitting the windshield). As Ms. Mac sees Heather being killed, she retreats in shock leaning onto a fence and ends up being impaled in the head by a falling icicle. Upon noticing that Ms. Mac did not leave, Leigh and Kelli decide to go outside leaving Melissa and Lauren inside. While Leigh and Kelli are outside, Melissa is attacked and has a plastic bag placed over her head. She escapes though, and runs into Lauren's room. As she opens the window, the figures throws a pair of ice skates at head. It cuts the back of her head and her brains fly out on the window. She is very much dead. Later with a figure behind them, Kelli and Leigh rush into the house for Melissa. As they both hide in Lauren's room, Kelli calls for Melissa and hears the phone ring in the attic. The figure, whom Leigh and Kelli have a confrontation with, turns out to be Kyle. During the confrontation, it is revealed that Lauren was killed with her eyes having been gouged out. Eventually, Kelli, Kyle, and Leigh come to a conclusion that the murderer could be in the attic. At the attic door, Kyle is pulled into the attic and is stabbed and has one of his eyes ripped out. Upon entering the attic Leigh and Kelli, discover that Agnes has placed the dead sorority sisters around a Christmas tree decorated with human eyeballs with Eve's severed head on top of the tree. Eventually, Kelli and Leigh are both attacked by both Billy and Agnes. The confrontation leads to a fire which inflames the attic and apparently Billy and Agnes. Both Kelli and Leigh manage to escape and eventually end up in the hospital.

While Kelli and Leigh are being tested and treated in the hospital, Billy, whom was thought to have been dead, killed a medical examiner with a power saw. In addition, Billy find Agnes alive inside a body bag. Some time later Leigh goes into Kelli room only to be killed by Agnes. Upon returning to her, Kelli is attacked by Agnes. During her confrontation, Kelli manages to grab a defibrillator paddle and electrocute Agnes to death. Billy then attacks Kelli. The confrontation then leads to Kelli pushing Billy over a balcony causing him to fall on a Christmas tree below and being impaled on the ornament at the top of the tree. While his intestines spew out, Kelli is left to look on in shock.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Trivia

  • Glen Morgan initially wanted Margot Kidder to play the house mother in the film but she declined due to personal reasons.
  • Lacey Chabert injured her leg on the first day of filming.
  • This is Crystal Lowe's first starring role.
  • The film was shot in Canada and was shot in 29 days.
  • Michelle Trachtenberg initially auditioned for the role of "Kelli" in this film.
  • Amanda Seyfried auditioned for the role of the protagonist Kelli but did not get it.
  • Alexz Johnson who starred in Final Destination 3 audtitioned for the role of "Melissa Kitt" and nearly got the role but the role ended up going to actress Michelle Trachtenberg.
  • Kristin Cavallari turned down the role of "Kelli" while Camilla Belle and Amber Tamblyn turned down the role of "Heather" due to scheduling conflicts. Belle was working on another film while Tamblyn was committed to The Grudge 2.
  • Michelle Trachtenberg was originally offered the lead role of "Kelli" but she opted instead for "Melissa" because she liked the character and also because she wanted to be fucked up and her eyes ripped out in the movie. Source: Fangoria Magazine (Jan. 07)
  • During re-shoots for Final Destination 3, Glen Morgan approached Mary Elizabeth Winstead to play the role of "Heather" but after coming off of Final Destination 3, she was worried about adding yet another horror film to her credits and that she would be playing the same character again. Morgan convinced her that the character was different and after reading the script she agreed to the part.

Source: Fangoria Magazine (Dec. 06)

[edit] Alternate & Deleted Scenes

  • In an alternate scene that was shot, Melissa survives the film by escaping from the Agnes after being bagged and runs into a room and locks the door. She then passes out and the killer moves on and goes after the other sorority sisters. This ending is likely to be on the DVD.
  • In the UK version, instead of Melissa escaping the wrath of the killer (this time being Agnes), only to get killed by an ice skate, Agnes wraps the bag around her head, throwing her to the ground only to pull her eye out who eats it, then she sticks her fingers into Melissa's eye sockets, and drags her away as she screams.
  • In the UK version, instead of their being a final battle, Billy is severely burned in the Sorority House and dies in the Hospital, however Agnes' fate is still the same.
  • A scene where Clair walks down the hallway at the very beginning and stops by Eve's room to peep on her almost-closed door, only to see Eve painting a huge portrait of Billy, was shot, but then cut on the final print because her fascination for Billy needed to remain secret until the 45-minute mark, confirmed director Glen Morgan.
  • An alternate death for Megan (Jessica Harmon) was shot but consequently cut from the movie - it features her hearing christmas music coming from upstairs, leaving her room and checking up the attic, only to be bagged by Agnes and dragged up the attic. It was decided a few hours later the kill itself should be gorier and more explicit, so the scene was shot on the same day onset.
  • There were more scenes of the girl's attitude towards each other, especially Lauren and Heather.

[edit] Similarities to the original

  • Kelli's character is based on Olivia Hussey's character in the original, Jess. Lauren's character is based on Margot Kidder's character in the original, Barb. Melissa's character is based on Andrea Martin's character from the original, Phyllis. Kyle dead is based on Keir Dullea's character Peter. And Leigh is a pastiche for Claire Harrison's father from the original.
  • The character of Clair is placed in a rocking chair near the attic window, just like Claire from the original.
  • When Lauren insults Agnes on the phone during the first phone call, Agnes ends by saying "I'm going to kill you." In the original, Billy told Barb he was going to kill her.
  • Billy enters the house the same way he did in the original, by climbing the front of the house and into the attic.
  • The same use of "the calls are coming from inside the house" technique is used, except Agnes and Billy use their victims cell phones.
  • Kelli is starting to go through a rough patch with her boyfriend, Kyle. This is similar to Jess's rough patch with her boyfriend, Peter. However, in this version their rough patch is caused when Kelli discovers that Kyle once slept with one of her sorority sisters.
  • The killer is thought to have died near the end, but he/they turn up alive.
  • While Kelli is about to be attacked be the killers in the end, she tries to get the doctors to help her but they are distracted by Carolers, In the Original Jess was distracted by Carolers as Billy killed Barb.
  • In both movies, Mrs. Mac receives clothing from the girls as her Christmas present.

[edit] Differences from the original

  • Clair was not around for the first call, unlike the original.
  • In the original film, no back-story or clear view of the killer was given. This version tells a lengthy story about the killer through flashback sequences.
  • The original film contained hardly a fraction of the gore found in the remake.
  • In the original, Mrs. Mac acted sweet and kind when she was around others, but alone she'd spew out curse words in every sentence she spoke and would drink the alcohol that she hid around the house. In the remake, Ms. Mac seems more kind and barely swears.
  • There are more sorority girls in the remake than in the original. In the original, only four were named and had a minimum of screenplay. In the remake, there are eight sorority girls.
  • Clair's death in the remake features her being stabbed in the eye with a fountain pen, while in the original, she was only suffocated with a plastic bag.

[edit] Criticism

The film drew backlash from Christian groups because of the studio's decision to release a bloody slasher film about Christmas on Christmas Day. Several groups, including Liberty Counsel and Operation Just Say Merry Christmas, have called the film offensive, ill-founded and insensitive.[2] Additionally, L.A. Weekly columnist Nikkie Fenke also questioned the filmmakers' decision to release the film on Christmas.[3] Dimension Films defended the timing, saying "There is a long tradition of releasing horror movies during the holiday season as counter-programing to the more regular yuletide fare."[4] Dimension's own Scream, originally released on December 20, probably being the most successful example. Furthermore, genre critic Egregious Gurnow, of The Horror Review, countered Liberty Counsel's complaint[5] on several counts, foremost of which is the critic's citation that the organization's views upon the feature, are naively idyllic and aesthetically limited, especially from a cultural perspective in that they forbid the notion that such atrocities as murder don't politely take a sabbatical during the Holiday season.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/schedule/?view=mpaa&p=.htm
  2. ^ Christian Groups Fume Over Christmas Horror Film. Retrieved on 2006-12-18.
  3. ^ Faith-Based Horror Film for Christmas?. Retrieved on 2006-12-18.
  4. ^ Black Christmas not merry for religious groups. Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
  5. ^ I Can’t Discuss Glen Morgan’s New Film, (Censored) (Censored), Because Liberty Counsel Says It’s Rude: Race, Religious Tolerance, Ethics, and Aesthetics and the 21st Century Holiday Horror Film. Retrieved on 2006-12-29.

[edit] External links

Television and film works by James Wong and Glen Morgan
The X-Files • Space: Above and Beyond • Millennium • Final Destination series • The One • Willard • Black Christmas
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../b/l/a/Black_Christmas_%282006_film%29_1eb9.html"
In other languages