REVIEW: ‘Black Christmas’ (2019)

Photo: From left, Riley (Imogen Poots), Kris (Aleyse Shannon) and Marty (Lily Donoghue) are sorority sisters in Black Christmas, co-written and directed by Sophia Takal. Photo courtesy of Kirsty Griffin/Universal Pictures / Provided by press site with permission.

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The 1974 film Black Christmas, also known as Silent Night, Evil Night, has had quite the lasting impact on modern-day audiences. For starters, the original film still plays on TV this time of year. Plus, there was a forgettable remake more than a decade ago, and then director Sophia Takal offered a present-day version in 2019. This most recent take is actually quite good, mostly because it answers the pivotal question for any horror remake: Why redo a classic in the first place?

This reviewer counts the original Black Christmas as one of the best horror films of the 1970s. Its creepiness and unsettling atmosphere are palpable on first viewing. The updated version is a loose remake, one that takes the bare bones of the original and provides more context and up-to-date social commentary.

The film surrounds the sisters in a sorority, with most of the spotlight falling on Riley (Imogen Poots). She and her sisters are gearing up for winter break, and that means the few people who won’t be going home for Christmas will be around the cold, desolate college campus of Hawthorne College.

Takal, who co-wrote the screenplay with April Wolfe, smartly wraps the narrative in a powerful feminist message, one that touches upon themes from the MeToo movement — themes that are serious and demand the audience’s attention. Riley, for example, was assaulted by a fraternity brother before this story begins, and the memory and pain of that crime hang heavy on her life. Her sisters rally to her side, and she decides to confront the man in a rather unique manner.

There’s also Kris (Aleyse Shannon), who is determined to bring real change to Hawthorne College, and that means challenging the reading selections in her literature class and demanding the institution take down a controversial bust of its slave-owning founder. Cary Elwes plays a professor (perhaps a professor with too many cliches; that voice is grating) who becomes the subject of Kris’ campaigning at the school.

The intelligent, strong conversations among these college students elevate Black Christmas beyond the usual horror fare that comes out in cinemas nowadays. It should come as no surprise that Blumhouse Productions is behind the movie. The company has been reinventing and dominating the genre these past few years.

As the story progresses, everything settles in nicely for the main characters to have a well-deserved winter break, but then, this being a horror movie, the slaughtering begins. A masked killer starts to make his rounds of Riley and Kris’ sorority, and they need to band together in order to survive. Of course, their initial pleas for help are ignored at first (another commentary on assault victims not being believed).

For the first 2/3 of the movie, this reviewer was celebrating and championing what Takal had accomplished with this remake. It felt fresh, necessary and socially conscientious. The final 1/3 of the film finds the narrative fall apart, and the big reveal is less than satisfying (and a bit disorienting). Still, that shouldn’t take away from the thrills of the story, the importance of the message and the meaningful performances from Poots, Shannon and their sisters.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

Black Christmas (2019). Directed by Sophia Takal. Written by Takal and April Wolfe. Starring Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Cary Elwes, Lily Donoghue, Brittany O’Grady and Caleb Eberhardt. Running time: 92 minutes. Rated PG-13 for violence, terror, thematic content involving sexual assault, language, sexual material and drinking. Rating: