The original Black Christmas is a cult classic horror film that many horror aficionados either love or hate. In my opinion, it was a snooze fest of a flick, with very little going for it.

However, this version of the film captured my attention and held it the entire film. The gore is surprisingly, errrrr, well, GORY for a teen-themed slasher flick, and it made me cringe in several scenes. The plot, while somewhat the same as the original, is definetly fleshed out in a more detailed manner.

Our killer (possibly killers) has a motive and reason for there madness, which I definetly appreciated a lot more than being left in the dark like the older film. Black Christmas is definetly not Academy Award winning material, nor is it amongst the BEST horror of all time, but it is a fun, stylish, gruesome reinvention of a drawn out 70's thriller.

While many moments in this film will surely be heralded as cheesy and predictable, I still think it was worth the viewing and I am even guilty of buying it at my local video store in the used 3.99 bin. I think it was worth it. Watch it strictly for fun and thrills on a cold, winter night. Happy Holidays!

This was Pretty Entertaining and Definitely On the Weird Side, in a Good way! Not Bad for a Remake, definitely Twisted in a different Direction. Some of the Acting Stubbles in the Sorority House and Poor Dialogue, but still a Blast to watch.

The original 1974 Black Christmas is a classic "” underrated, creepy, well-acted and directed, and completely influential. 2006's remake strays far away from the path but despite its flaws and shortcomings, it's a really fun, goofy, fast-paced good time.

** SPOILERS AHEAD **

Underrated and talented director/writer Glen Morgan tried his best, and unfortunately studio interference derailed his initial vision for the remake. What remains is a lot of gore, an unnecessary backstory for Billy, and an over-the-top 90 minutes of slasher madness that the 80s would be proud of. Of note is the excellent cast, who all perform very well in their roles. In particular, Katie Cassidy makes for a smart, proactive, capable, brave final girl as Kelli Presley, who is the resident Nancy Drew and faces off against the killer(s). Kristen Cloke is a complete scene-stealer as Leigh, a character who could have been a one-note side role, but she gives her emotional nuance and makes her the most memorable of all the characters. The great Andrea Martin is here too, having played Phyl in the original, but now playing housemother Mrs. Mac.

The colors and atmosphere in the film are cozy and evoke a definite Christmas feeling. Combined with the abundant and graphic kills, trapped-in-the-house set-up due to a raging snowstorm outside, and a general sense of mean-spiritedness, this can't be compared to the original and should be taken on its own merits. That being said, it's not particularly scary but it is a blast to watch if you aren't looking for anything too discerning or heavy-handed. It's a fun, enjoyable, entertaining watch and nothing more. It's become a staple of the Christmas season in my house, along with the original, Night of the Comet (1984), Silent Night Bloody Night (1972), and The X-Files "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" episode.

Whether you're having a night in on the couch with a comforter and some snacks, or you're with a group of friends, this is a movie that can absolutely be appreciated (as imperfect as it is) thanks to its enthusiastic and lively mood. Highly recommended!

This is a great remake that i enjoyed thouroughly. Altho it did deviate from the original,well morelike they added a back story to deepen the mystery & add some spice to the story.With the original you never see the face of the killer it is more like shot in POV style and makes it scary. This has a creepier aspect by being such a wierd backstory. The killer had apparently watched his mother go murder his father & bury the body with her lover. So now Billy(killer) lives in the attic then his mom comes and has relations with her son,thus making a baby with his mother.Billy is deformed and angry cuz his mom hates him & loves the new baby that she made with him i think it is crazy.Billy grows up and has a flip oit and kills his family.The house turns into a sorrority like 15 years later,and Billy escapes on Christmas from the mental house to go home.When he gets there he has a group of girls to take out and the story gets deeper,some serious bloodshed happens here. Lots of gore and eyeball munching(ode to Fulci) but the madness is relentless til' the end.I wont give away the ending but if you like the original or have seen this and never seen the original then give em both a watch there both 5*star movies.Excellent for gore fans

The remake of "Black Christmas" has got to be among the most consistently underappreciated slasher movies ever made, maybe among the most consistently underaappreciated of all movies. Managing to hit both the bases of being both 'disturbing and tremendously creepy' and 'fun and sexy with dashes of humor', "Black Christmas" takes horror slasher backwards in that it's non-supernatural, with a potent but not apparantly-indestructible villain. It's a route not a lot of its recent peers have taken, with most of the pack trying (and sometimes even succeeding) to follow the path of series like "Nightmare On Elm Street" and "Friday The 13th", which have utilized virtually unstoppable, inhuman, central figures, and often a large dose of additional otherworldly elements, in being great. (Well, not Every chapter was great, but an awful lot of them were...)

With a simple premise that starts to twist and branch out some in the second half, the movie features a group of sorority sisters and their chaperone stormstayed in their campus dormhouse during the Christmas holidays. The same building that was once the site of a massacre where Billy Lentz killed his abusive mother and stepfather, and maimed his defenceless little sister. Billy is, at the film's beginning, now locked up in a psych ward, but it probably would have been harder to make this into a great horror movie had he Stayed securely locked up in a place of mental healing...

Fans will know a lot of what comes next. Actually, a lot of it would have been harder to predict had there not been spoilers as to the movie's third act all over the place before it even got released. For those who fortunately haven't heard, I won't spoil the twists by revealing them here, but focus on some general observations. First off, even if you've seen a thousand horror movies, this one can be jarring. The violence is swift and gruesome, and often hits characters you really want to make it out unscathed. All the horror violence, all the creepy going-ons, and all the disturbing thematic elements (including the origins of Billy and his sister), taking place amidst the gently twinkling Christmas lights, the classic holiday songs on the radio, and a generally pleasant setting, makes for a really twisted and freaky feel to things. I liked the cast of characters they put together for this (the female contingent, incidentally, being played by perhaps the best-looking ensemble of actresses ever to appear in a single movie, including mega-hottie Mary Elizabeth Winstead from "Final Destination 3" and "The Ring Two"). I liked the angle with the woman who came looking for her estranged younger sister and a scheduled Christmas reunion, and the bond that developed between her and the girl at the dorm who's never had siblings. I liked, loved actually, almost the whole thing...except for some glaring details that stand out and keep "Black Christmas" from getting the five-star rating that I really want to give it.

First of all, there's a major problem with the snow. In several shots it doesn't even look real, which juts out like a sore thumb when compared to the overall high production values you're seeing it against. And the storm is supposed to be this big whopper that's snowed everything in, that's knocking down big trees across the roads so vehicles can't get around, etc. Yet when you see outside the windows a couple of times, and even in a couple of the outdoor scenes, all you've got is a nice hearty downfall of snow, but not the blizzard of the century. These lapses should have hurt the movie more than they did (would it really have been that hard to add in a nice, howling wind to the outdoor scenes?) but overall it's so good it earns a few moments where you have to suspend disbelief. Also, during the flashback scenes, although they were very freaky, a case could be made that portions of the earlier flashbacks came off slightly campy. It doesn't feel right to be spending so much time, though, on the few flaws when as a complete package you've got one of the finest movies of 2006. This is ten times as good as its reputation makes it out to be, and among the best recent picks for horror fans. Four-and-a-half stars with regret that it couldn't be more; and highly recommended. Fans of this may also want to check out "Valentine", "Cutting Class", and "Cry_Wolf".