Black Christmas: Why The Remakes Fail
- Flora Irvine-Hall
- Dec 22, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 20
By Flora Irvine-Hall
This article discusses sexual abuse, child abuse and transphobia. Reader discretion is advised.
The original is a classic. But why don't the more modern versions of the film have the same cult-following?
I recently decided to watch all three of the Black Christmas films, and it’s fair to say I have a lot of thoughts...
BLACK CHRISTMAS 1974
Directed by Bob Clark, Black Christmas 1974 follows a Jess, (played by Olivia Hussey) a young woman who finds her and her sorority sisters as targets of perverted phone calls and murders.
The shaky camera work and POV shots from the killer add elements of fear and the feeling of dread and unease is present throughout.
The film is very feminist, dwelling into conversations about pro-choice and men controlling women’s bodies.
Not to mention, it’s also genuinely terrifying. The phone calls that are used the terrorise Jess and her friends are chilling and the decision to only show the first impact of the characters being killed as opposed to the whole thing really works.
The talent and the chemistry of the cast is undeniable, with a stand-out performance from Keir Dullea who plays Jess’s controlling boyfriend Peter.
What really leaves a lasting impact though, is the decision not to ever fully show the crazed killer named Billy. According to Wikipedia, Billy was voiced by several different cast and crew members with Nick Mancuso performing the voices on the phone, (who apparently wasn’t credited due to not being a member of the actor’s union at the time) while director Bob Clark played the shadows of Billy and some of the voices on the phone.
We also never learn what Billy’s motive is. While some people might find this frustrating, I think it was an excellent choice. Keeping your villain anonymous and not giving them any motive other than being completely evil makes things all the more scary.
The twist is also great. The film does a great job of making Peter look suspicious and when Jess presumably kills him in self-defence, we as the viewers, are relieved. That is until the phone starts ringing again, revealing that while Peter was a creep, he wasn’t the killer.
Black Christmas 1974 is perfect for slasher lovers looking to get into the Christmas spirit and is a great example of good writing and film making. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the films remakes.
BLACK CHRISTMAS 2006
Like a lot of slashers from the early 2000s, this film leaves a lot to be desired.
Directed by Glen Morgan, the film pretty much has the same plot, with main character Kelli (played by Katie Cassidy) and her sorority sisters being targeted and killed off one by one. But this time, Billy has a backstory.
This is one of the films main faults in my opinion. As already mentioned, having a killer with no motive is really effective, so showing us the entirety of Billy’s upbringing, makes the story seem more tacky as opposed to scary. The 2006 version also falls victim to giving the villain a very tragic childhood, showing that he was emotionally and sexually abused, as well as being a victim of extreme neglect. A lot of people grew up in the same kinds of awful environments as Billy so to show an abuse victim growing up to be a disturbed and evil killer, is my opinion, a little insulting.
The other issue is the decision to have adult Agnes (both Billy’s brother and daughter who was conceived from rape) played by a man. Lots of men have played woman before, with performances like John Travolta as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray as one of the most famous examples. But there’s something uncomfortable about a man playing a woman who’s supposed to be scary and a product of incest. In my opinion, it just comes across as transphobic and adds to the stigma of trans women being predatory. I definitely don’t think this was Glen’s intention, but it still left me feeling uncomfortable.
While the film does have some good jump scares, it just doesn’t work. The characters fall flat, the pacing is all over the place and the writing is simply not good.
BLACK CHRISTMAS 2019
The latest remake of the film, directed by Sophia Takal, is not any better.
For one thing, I’m not even sure why it’s called Black Christmas. While it still centres around a Sorority House being terrorized , it goes in a completely different and utterly bizarre direction.
Instead of having a crazed killer as the antagonist, the film decides to have a cult of fraternity members as the villains. As if this wasn’t silly enough, it also adds in the twist of having supernatural and satanic elements.
A lot of the lines and the way the male villains are written almost feels like it’s mocking feminism which I know was not the films intention.
There is no chemistry within the friend group and the main character Riley (played by Imogen Poots) is lacking in any sort of personality.
It seemed like the supernatural possession themes in the film were meant to be a metaphor for the brain washing and radicalization of the red pill movement. Certainly an interesting idea, but it just didn’t work.
Despite being much more recent, the 2019s take on feminism and women’s bodies is lacklustre, especially compared to the original film, which does a much better job.
The film also doesn’t feel like it takes place at Christmas time at all. Excluding one or two scenes, it feels like the events of the film could of happened at any time of year.
It’s more tasteful than the 2006 version, but also a lot more boring.
The 2006 and 2019 versions of Black Christmas are an example of how to not to do a remake. The 1974 original remains the best and is probably best left alone for the foreseeable future.
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