The Voice

Issue date: 1/16/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment

"Fuck you, Santa Claus," declared one of the sorority girls in Black Christmas who is somehow scared by a lit up plastic Santa. While that quote doesn't entirely explain all the depth and maturity of Black Christmas, it almost does. Black Christmas is an unnecessary and for the most part bland exercise in holiday cynicism.

The opening shot, a house adorned in Christmas decorations coupled with a Christmas carol being played in the background, seems like it could have been taken from any number of Christmas movies. Once inside we find a group of sorority girls involved in a gift exchange. They can't start it because no one will admit to having drawn Billy's name.

Billy is a convicted murderer who once lived in the house before it was a dorm. Every year the sorority members participating in the gift exchange open his present as a group first, a tradition that is compared to appeasing a pagan god by the girl who drew his name.

As the movie progresses, one by the one, the girls are knocked off by Billy. Despite being retarded and as stealthy as a three hundred pound lineman Billy somehow finds a way to escape prison, sneak into the house without anyone knowing it, and kill off all but one of the sorority girls seen in the movie.

Intermittent between the murders of the various sorority members are flashbacks to Billy's childhood. Unlike the main plot, the flashbacks do provide a few surprises; they seem more like something a dirty-mouthed third grader trying to shock people would come up with than anything a stable-minded adult would write. There are a few moments of over the top gore in the flashbacks that horror fans will no doubt love.

All the sorority girls are carbon copies of each other, seeming to have no distinguishable differences, save one who makes a very brief appearance and oh my god doesn't look like a super-model. Billy could have been an interesting character if director/screenwriter Glenn Morgan (Final Destination 1&3, The One) had chosen to treat him as a real person and not ridiculous monster who behaves illogically.

Continued...

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