Black Christmas

Year: 2006
Director: Glen Morgan
Writer: Glen Morgan
Genre: Horror: Slasher

Black Christmas is a modern slasher classic. When it came out in the 70s it was known even if many people wished it didn't exist. Some years later this remake came out and mostly attempts to re-write the story, as far as I can recall anyway. It's been years since I've seen the original but I'm pretty sure there wasn't nearly as much back story.

It seems particular of  modern horror remakes to give killers fleshed out reasons to kill. In this version, we see that the killer was hated by his mother as a child. He only killed out of revenge and the hatred that his mother had taught him. This is all revealed early on so we're sure to know what he's capable of. Why did we need to have a story for him? Modern audiences appear to prefer it when we get to see someone succumb to evil, rather than simply embody it from the start.

Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't. For me, I felt for the guy and found it odd that he really didn't play a central role beyond during the backstory segments. If you're going to focus so much time on him why not give him more screen time for the finale? It was an odd decision.

Another thing I didn't like was that the murder's signature thing is trash bags and poking eyes out. Honestly, I don't recall this from the original at all (the eye part). I know he suffocates a girl early on in the film but I was pretty sure there was only one scene like that, not multiple. I also didn't like that the trash bags were not opaque. For some reason I'm also thinking that was the case in the original, though I could be wrong.

It then seems extremely strange to me that they would tone down the suffocation violence but make everything else much more brutal. I guess that was also decided upon because Hollywood also seems to think moviegoers love ultra gore. Maybe they do?

For the most part this didn't feel like a remake. Sure, it took place in the same location with the same kind of cast but things played out in a new way. If you're looking for a mildly entertaining holiday-themed slasher than this would be a fine pick.