Black Christmas (1974)

Director: Bob Clark
Writer(s): Roy Moore
Starring: Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, and John Saxon

The first time I saw Bob Clark's Black Christmas was a few year's back, when I was going through one of my “blood and gore” movie phases. Even though I'm not a huge fan of slashers in general, my friend loves them, and this is one of this favorite movies of all time, so I wanted to see what it was all about. While our tastes in movies differ quite frequently, I figured it couldn't be that bad; considering the movie's almost complete lack of blood and gore, I walked away from the viewing with the bad taste of severe disappointment in my mouth. It also ruined our friendship, as we refused to speak to each other over the incident for several months (okay, this part didn't really happen, but it could have).

Flash forward to 2019: I was in the mood for both a Christmas movie, as well as a horror one, and after browsing for far too long, eventually settled on a re-viewing of this one. This time, I would be accompanied by my lovely wife, who had never seen it before; I was also accompanied by an open mind, eager to give the film a second chance that everyone deserves...and boy am I glad I did.

The plot is actually a near-masterpiece in simplicity, with most of the action taking place entirely in one location: as the all-female residents of the Pi Kappa Sigma sorority house party down with one another for the holidays, an unseen killer hides in the shadows of the attic, coming down only to spy on—and eventually kill—the unsuspecting women, and ratcheting up the tension by placing obscene calls after each kill.

I can definitely see where the younger me was disappointed, because even by slasher standards, the gore is very weak, confined mainly to post-murder shots; considering a big part of the attention it receives, even today, is as an early example of the popular subgenre, it really heightens the expectations of gruesome and gory set-pieces. Instead, the kills in Black Christmas play second fiddle to the atmosphere, which is brilliantly ratcheted up between the intentionally-muted murders, thanks to some genuinely creepy stalking scenes (watch for the killer's shadow in the background of some shots); an excellent, atonal score from frequent Bob Clark collaborator Carl Zittrer; vulgar phone calls that pull no punches; and a gutsy ending that intentionally leaves a plethora of questions unanswered.

It's only during the times the story is forced to wander outside the house that it loses some of its momentum, and a large part of its claustrophobic atmosphere, something that's required with more frequency as the body count grows and the number of survivors starts to dwindle. One gets the feeling that the scenes outside of the house are there strictly for padding, an idea at least partially given some credit by director Bob Clark himself, who admitted that the drama between Jess and her boyfriend over what to do with an unborn child was only inserted to give the characters something to do between kills. With that kind of admittance, it's not hard to believe that virtually every other scene and character not affiliated with the sorority itself was given the same lack of attention.

Fans of traditional slasher movies and/or blood and gore will be no doubt disappointed, as I was on my first viewing, but those willing to go into the movie with Mr. Clark's own mindset—that this is a tale of psychological horror rather than a “body count” movie—will find a deliciously evil treat for the holidays.

RATING: 7.5/10

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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Director: Tobe Hooper
Writer(s): Hooper and Kim Henkel
Starring: Marilyn Burns, Edwin Neal, and Allen Danziger

A while ago, when I was in my late teens/early twenties, I went through a phase where I watched a string of severely violent movies, trying to find one that would test my limits.  Sadly, that was pretty much the only criteria; any movie I watched during that time that didn’t have enough red stuff immediately disappointed me.  As a result of this, there are quite a few movies that I have memories of hating, simply because there was no graphic gore.

One such movie was The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (with a space between "chain" and "saw" to denote the original; the remake spells it all as one word).  All I remembered from it were scenes of people being chased by chainsaws for what felt like eternity, and I was bored out of my mind.  But after viewing it again, with a much more open mind, I can easily see what all the fuss is about—even today, this is a powerful film.  And ironically, it’s actually the lack of gore that makes it more effective; by leaving a majority of the more graphic scenes to the viewer’s imagination, each individual viewer will naturally in the blanks with the most heinous things they can imagine, something the movie wouldn’t be able to do, given its low budget.

Although I’m sure you know it by heart (and there’s not much to learn), the story is a thing of beautiful simplicity, attempted by millions of movies, but rarely replicated:  Five young adults (including an invalid) take a trip to an old house that one of them grew up in.  In desperate need of gas (the only station in town ran out), a couple of them stumble on a nearby house—and with that simple setup, all hell breaks loose.

What I didn’t remember is just how unsettling the atmosphere is; there is a constant feeling of dread bubbling up just below the surface at all times.  Much of this is courtesy of the excellent atonal score, credited to director Tobe Hooper and Wayne Bell.  Unlike many scores of its era, there’s not a single ounce of cheesiness contained therein; we are at its mercy, as it broods in the background, sometimes just barely audible, lurking like Leatherface in the night.  It also avoids the typical clichés of the horror movie score; namely, the hand-holding string swells that gradually get louder as a character gets close to something scary.  A film’s music shouldn’t have to tell us when to be scared; that’s the job of the movie itself, and this is the perfect embodiment of that theory.

And that’s what makes Leatherface’s attacks—especially at the beginning—so shocking.  There is no build-up, or even much foreshadowing; it’s just a sudden attack that’s over just as soon as it begins.  Since we don’t have time to register what’s going on, it leaves us just as dazed as the character’s involved (with the added benefit of not actually dying!).  Then just as we’re getting used to that formula, it throws it out the window, subjecting the final survivor to prolonged psychological torture; she knows she is going to die, but the only question is “when”, leading to some squirm-inducing moments for both character, and viewer.

The performances range all over the map, from complete amateur hour (here’s looking at you, Jerry), to startlingly genuine (Marilyn Burns is excellent as Sally Hardesty, and Gunnar Hansen is terrifying as Leatherface).  I also question the point of featuring an invalid character; while I don’t object to it from a morality perspective (indeed, a well-written one could elicit strong emotional response from the viewer), the writing and performance have to be pretty spot-on for it to feel anything other than a cheesy gimmick, something that Texas Chain Saw Massacre's budget just simply doesn’t allow.  I’ll admit, there were a couple moments that I laughed during his scenes when I probably shouldn’t have; he isn’t given much to do, besides roll around in his wheelchair and complain about how bored he is.  And not to sound insensitive, but he’s literally set up to be the third wheel (pun intended); what sister would bring her paralyzed brother with her, on a summer trip with her boyfriend and another couple, when all anyone’s clearly interested in doing is getting laid?  It just reeks of cheesiness, the only bona fide misstep in an otherwise effective movie.

RECAP: Texas Chain Saw Massacre still relies on a dreadful atmosphere more than gore, which is its strong suit; it still manages to be shocking to this day.  The atonal score is excellent, providing plenty of intensity that matches the onscreen action.  Performances are all over the map, ranging from terrible, to excellent.  The film’s only misstep, in my opinion, is throwing in a paralyzed character, who seems like he was tossed in as a cheap gimmick; all he does is wheel around about how bored he is while his sister runs off with her boyfriend and tries to get laid.  Other than that, though, this has held up as an excellent horror entry; many classics I feel tend to be overrated, but this one hits the mark.

SCORE: 8/10

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