Black Christmas

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Black Christmas

R

Released Dec 20, 1974

1h 38m

Holiday

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

70%

Tomatometer

44 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

As winter break begins, a group of sorority sisters, including Jess (Olivia Hussey) and the often inebriated Barb (Margot Kidder), begin to receive anonymous, lascivious phone calls. Initially, Barb eggs the caller on, but stops when he responds threateningly. Soon, Barb's friend Clare (Lynne Griffin) goes missing from the sorority house, and a local adolescent girl is murdered, leading the girls to suspect a serial killer is on the loose. But no one realizes just how near the culprit is.

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Critics Consensus

The rare slasher with enough intelligence to wind up the tension between bloody outbursts, Black Christmas offers fiendishly enjoyable holiday viewing for genre fans.

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Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

Made at a time when there were as yet no fixed rules for the slasher subgenre, here anything goes, and the survival of neither virgin nor even final girl comes guaranteed.

Nov 13, 2017

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Only Marian Waldman as the house-mother comes across with any life.

Dec 27, 2006

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Time Out

The film still manages a good slice of old-fashioned suspense.

Jun 24, 2006

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Gayle Sequeira

Inverse

“Silent Night” plays over the opening credits of Black Christmas, a cruel punchline for a film in which a group of women are plagued by a landline's repeated ringing — phone calls from a pervert — and any silence is eventually shattered by their screams.

Aug 26, 2025

Full Review

Bryce Hanson

Horror Movie Talk

Black Christmas was an interesting movie, but not the most entertaining. There were a lot of firsts in this movie, and much better horror movies have stolen from it to greater effect.

Rated: 4/10

Aug 6, 2025

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Alan Jones

Radio Times

Scores thanks to its stylish visuals, fiendishly inventive slaughter and unexpected twists.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 31, 2024

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Ralph B

There's a certain sparseness to the film, especially in the sound design that creates a great sense of isolation. The atmosphere was tense and ratcheted up slowly during the film's duration. The final shot and sound of the winter wind wrapped up this chilly horror quite nicely.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/22/25

Full Review

froggo .

Probably one of my favorite horror movies. Wasn’t an over the top gorefest ( although there is a time and place for those too) and had an enjoyable villain ( despite him barely being on screen). Also,I like that it didn’t go the evil Santa route for a Christmas horror movie .

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/26/25

Full Review

Craig W.

One of the original slashers and a darn good one at that.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/21/25

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Jaxon P.

This is a really good movie that’s well crafted and really did a lot of things other slashers would adapt

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/21/25

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Nick O

With this Bob Clark holiday horror classic, we get the basic blue print for what slasher flicks would become over the next decade. You’re welcome, Halloween and Friday The 13th.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/06/25

Full Review

Audience Member

One if not the best slasher film ever, creepy and scary after 50 years.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/22/25

Full Review

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Bob Clark

Director

Olivia Hussey

Jessica Bradford

Margot Kidder

Barbie Coard

Keir Dullea

Peter Smythe

John Saxon

Lt. Ken Fuller

Marian Waldman

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Black Christmas: Trailer 1

4:04

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Synopsis

As winter break begins, a group of sorority sisters, including Jess (Olivia Hussey) and the often inebriated Barb (Margot Kidder), begin to receive anonymous, lascivious phone calls. Initially, Barb eggs the caller on, but stops when he responds threateningly. Soon, Barb's friend Clare (Lynne Griffin) goes missing from the sorority house, and a local adolescent girl is murdered, leading the girls to suspect a serial killer is on the loose. But no one realizes just how near the culprit is.

Director: Bob Clark
Producer: Bob Clark
Screenwriter: Roy Moore
Distributor: Eclectic DVD Distribution, Warner Home Vídeo, Warner Bros.
Production Co: Film Funding Ltd. of Canada, Famous Players, August Films, Vision IV, Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC)
Rating: R
Genre: Holiday, Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 20, 1974, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 13, 2016
Runtime: 1h 38m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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