A Christmas Story & Black Christmas
These are my two favorite holiday films. They may not seem to have much in common at first glance (or 2nd or 3rd for that matter) but alas, this is my blog so we’ll run with it. Both of these films were directed by the same man: Porky’s director, Bob Clark.
The first film, “Black Christmas” (1974) is one of my favorite horror films of the 70’s. It takes place at a sorority house over Christmas break in which a strange caller is terrorizing the sorority sisters. I really love the voyeuristic camera work in this film as we see through the killer’s eyes as he navigates around the house to his next victim. The twist ending is great and only undercut by the fact that we have by now seen countless reincarnations of the same surprise.
The next film, “A Christmas Story” (1983) or as I like to call it: “Black Christmas Zero: A Prequel” is an undeniable classic. We follow Ralphie Parker in the weeks leading up to a mid-west American Christmas. Try as he might, Ralphie can’t seem to convince anyone, be it his parents, his teacher or even Santa himself that a Red Rider BB gun is an appropriate gift. This film might actually be more terrifying that the latter. As a child, I watched this movie constantly. I recall many nights waking in a cold sweat, my mind flooded with visions of my tongue frozen to a light pole; the result of a triple-dog-dare. Children with this type of upbringing could only mature into one type of adult. Sorority house murder was in the cards from the beginning. Just look at that face........
Happy Holidays…
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