This year marks the 50th Anniversary of “Black Christmas”.

Talk about your classics!

It’s a tradition for me to watch this film every festive season, I know it’s probably the same for a lot of other Horror fans too. It was the first film I remember watching that mixed Horror and Christmas together and I absolutely loved it.

Growing up I thought it was the one holiday that was untouchable really, I mean how can anybody make Christmas scary?! I’d never heard of such a thing, this holiday was such a pure thing to young, innocent me. That all changed soon enough though.

After watching the film I was on the hunt to see if there were any other Christmas related Horror films, it opened my eyes to all sorts of festive Horrors and I never looked back. It was like seeing a character like ‘The Grinch’ with a whole new perspective.

This is a feature that even now when I watch it, I think that it was way ahead of its time. I can only imagine what it was like for people when this film was originally released in 1974, I’d loved to have been around to see it when it was originally released.

This would be Writer Roy Moore’s first feature screenplay and what a way to start your career, he and director/producer Bob Clark made a great pairing when it came to “Black Christmas”. It’s a shame they never did any more work together.

According to Bob Clark the original script for the film featured murder scenes that were far more graphic. Clark, however, felt that it would be more effective if the murders were toned down and kept subtle on screen. Roy Moore liked that idea as well.

Apparently Roy Moore took inspiration for the story from an actual series of murders that took place in Montreal, Quebec around the Christmas season (Canadian serial killer Wayne Boden), along with the famous urban legend “The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs.”

The original script was said to be over 166 pages long before rewrites toom place by Bob Clark (the unaltered script could have easily produced a near 3 hour film). I’ve always been intrigued by stories like this and what was cut out of the script.

The feature has a stellar cast with the likes of Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, and John Saxon. The role of ‘Peter’ was originally offered to Malcolm McDowell, but he turned it down, a decision McDowell is said to regret to this day after it’s success.

Margot Kidder even admitted in an interview that she never thought that the film would become a hit and was surprised to learn that it had gained such a large cult following over the years. I wonder what the other cast members thought of its longevity.

The film has won praise for its portrayal of the ‘final girl’ Jess. The character, a pregnant girl, who does not want to abandon her college education and career dreams for a hasty marriage to her temperamental boyfriend. She eventurns down his marriage proposal.

I can only imagine how controversial and provoking this was to a 70’s audience, I mean not much has changed really and I think it’s safe to say it would probably cause some cntroversy with some of todays audience especially with the current political landscape.

Warner Brothers initially insisted on a more conclusive ending but Bob Clark was determined to keep it unclear. The proposed idea was to have the cops leave Jess alone with Chris, Clare’s boyfriend. She wakes up and he says, “Agnes, don’t tell them what we did.” Then he kills her.

Bob Clark refused and kept his original ending. Considering Chris is shown to be with the police throughout the events of the film, this twist would have led to a massive plot hole. I’m so glad Clark stuck to his guns as I absolutely love the ending.

There were several attempts to produce a sequel for the film. Bob Clark began work on the sequel before he tragically passed away in 2007. In all these attempts Olivia Hussey and John Saxon were to reprise their roles of ‘Jess’and ‘Lieutenant Fuller’.

It’s such a shame we never got that sequel, it would’ve been extremely interesting to see where the story would’ve gone and what plot points would’ve been expanded on. Unfortunately we’ll never know but at least we have this classic to watch.

Although we never find out anything about the mysterious killer, Bob Clark worked out a backstory for him; he was abused as a child, locked in the attic and eventually killed his parents. The Agnes he keeps referring to was his little sister, whom he tried to kill but she escaped.

If all this sounds somewhat familiar to you then you’ll probably realise that these elements were plot points that were incorporated into the 2006 remake (which was actually pretty good for a remake of a classic), which had Bob Clark’s approval.

“Black Christmas” is essential festive viewing and I’m so glad to see all the love it’s been getting for it’s 50th anniversary and the fact it’s still being introduced to new fans. Be sure to celebrate its legacy and make it part of your Christmas plans.