Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Black Christmas’ (1974)

Written by Scott Edwards

​One of the best things about Christmas time are the parties that are thrown during the season. Just fun get togethers with friends always makes the season seem a little bit more magical. And parties with friends are just the beginning as many employers like to show their cheer by hosting little events for their employees. With good conversations, tons of laughter and some spirited cheer, Christmas is just that time of year where you can wear a smile that nobody can take from you.
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After the holiday party subsides in the sorority house, the girls are looking to have a little fun and get their house mother Mrs. Mac to open her present. Loving how the night is starting off, a phone call starts to get some of the girls to worry about who might be on the other side of the line. The Moaner usually sticks to the same script when chatting with the college girls, but after being reamed out by the drunken Barb, he deviates and promises to kill her. As everyone retires for the night, they have no idea that one of their own has been taken from the house and there will be more to come.

Arriving at their meeting spot and not seeing his daughter, Mr. Harrison finds his way to the sorority house to find that Mrs. Mac has no idea where Clare could possibly be. Not being too impressed with his daughter’s room, much less the state of the house, Mr. Harrison decides to get the police involved and files a missing person’s report with Barb and Phyl. Promising to look into it, the police set up a search party as the night rolls in and wind up finding the body of a thirteen-year-old girl. With a slight panic around campus starting up, everyone is told to keep their doors and windows locked to make sure they are safe for the holiday.

While everyone is looking for Clare, Jess has a problem of her own as she has just found out that she is pregnant and wants to abort the baby. But her boyfriend Peter does not believe that this should be up to her as the child is his as well and he is looking forward to leaving the town with her. Not knowing what to do next, Jess gets a call from the Moaner as well and decides to get the police involved. As Lieutenant Fuller gets on the case, he taps the phone to find out where the calls are coming from. But little does anyone know who else is hiding in the house and what they are capable of on this holiday eve.

If you are looking for a Christmas classic, especially for horror, this might be the one for you. Even though you do not get all of the holiday gore that other movies have offered through the years, it is the benchmark for a thriller that will keep you guessing who the killer really is. The thing that I like most about this movie is that the killer does not have a motive, he/she just wants its life back, from where? We may never truly know. The sorority sisters are great, and Barb really steals the show with her drunken persona which I don’t ever think anyone can outdo. With a killer in the shadows, messed up phone calls, a police sergeant that does not get it, bodies pilling up in the house and Christmas cheer, if this is not one of your favorite holiday horror movies yet, it soon will be. Stay Scared.

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