I’m still haunted by this classic Christmas movie with 71% on Rotten Tomatoes-Alicia Adejobi-Entertainment – Metro

Black Christmas is the perfect festive watch – if you want a bit of a scare (Picture: @ReRuners/YouTube)

There are some films that linger with you long after the credits have rolled and Black Christmas, the 1974 original, is one of them for me. 

Twinkling Christmas lights and carolers singing in joyful unison should be among the most delightful things in the world, but this classic slasher horror made them menacing. 

And let’s face it, the sound of that retro telephone ringing endlessly was more like a warning call for satan. I may be a tad dramatic, but that’s how chilling Black Christmas was and still is as it marks its 50th anniversary. 

If you’ve never had the discomforting pleasure of watching it, let me enlighten you… 

Black Christmas follows a group of sorority sisters who begin to receive threatening phone calls from a mysterious voice, before being stalked and hunted in their own home and murdered. However, they have no clue just how close the killer really is. 

I watched the slasher many, many years after its release in the early 70s and, admittedly, wasn’t expecting to be blown away by it – after all, I’d already seen what I thought were the best classic horrors around and my scream queen Hall of Fame was looking quite full at this point. 

It’s not long before the bodies start piling up (Picture: @ReRuners/YouTube)

It turned out there was more than enough room alongside the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis, Neve Campbell and Janet Leigh.

Black Christmas remains a classic 50 years later (Picture: @ReRuners/YouTube)

Olivia Hussey’s vulnerability in Black Christmas as Jess made her the perfect protagonist and Margot Kidder’s ballsy attitude, brushing off the potty-mouthed prank caller, was a breath of fresh air against the typical disposition of the damsel in distress. 

That phone just won’t stop ringing (Picture: @ReRuners/YouTube)

However, the strength of Black Christmas lies in its simplicity. The premise is nothing extraordinary, but it’s one of the creepiest things I’ve ever watched. 

It immediately lulls you into a false sense of calm with the opening shot of a large welcoming home, twinkling Christmas lights and the sounds of carols being sung by a choir nearby. 

You soon realise though, thanks to the faint sounds of breathing and slow-paced footsteps crunching in the snow up towards the front door, that you’re watching the sorority house from the point of view of the killer. 

It’s slow burn at its finest because you know that terror is always looming, and it’s not long before the first body turns up and when it does, it delivers.

Everything about Black Christmas feels blunt in the best way, as it toys with horror tropes but doesn’t beat around the bush. It was released early enough in time that it didn’t fall victim to Hollywood’s cheap scares and, in fact, was probably the inspiration for many of its horror children in the subsequent years.

The biggest payoff, of course, is the film’s famous ending, which isn’t exactly a happy one. 

We can only guess what Jess’ fate was as she lay on the bed (resting after a pretty stressful night) as the attic door creaked open and the phone rang for the last time, moments after the police determined the killer only called after each kill. 

Olivia Hussey is an iconic scream queen (Picture: @ReRuners/YouTube)

An overwhelming sense of fear washed over me as the final shot focused on the exterior of the house, the sprawling home adorned in Christmas decorations contrasting the pitch black inside each window as the credits rolled in near-silence. 

I was impressed by the daring conclusion watching it a few years ago before even taking into account how ambitious it was to end on such an ominous note 50 years ago when the genre was still in its defining years. 

Although, perhaps that was a time when horror had few expectations to live up to and nothing to lose.

Black Christmas is proof that you don’t always need the big gimmicks in horror, sometimes a well-paced, minimalist story and suspense can create a classic. 

Less is, as they say, more.

Black Christmas is available to watch on Tubi and Amazon Prime Video in the UK.

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