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Black Christmas (2006 film)

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2006 Canada/USA film
Black Christmas
Poster for Black Christmas
Directed byGlen Morgan
Written byGlen Morgan
Produced byJames Wong
Odgen Gavanski
Bob Clark
Mark Cuban
Glen Morgan
Todd Wagner
StarringKatie Cassidy
Michelle Trachtenberg
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Crystal Lowe
Kristen Cloke
Lacey Chabert
Oliver Hudson
Andrea Martin
Distributed byDimension Films (USA)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (USA)
Pathé (UK theatrical)
20th Century Fox (UK DVD)
Release datesUnited States
December 25, 2006
United Kingdom
December 15, 2006
Running time1 hours. 40 mins.
CountryCanada/USA
LanguageEnglish

Black Christmas is a 2006 remake of the 1974 film of the same name. It is directed by Glen Morgan. The movie is rated R in the US and 15 in the UK for strong horror violence and gore, sexuality, nudity and language.

Plot

This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (January 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

This film is a remake of the 1974 horror movie of the same title. The movie tells the story of Billy, a young boy who was abused by his mother as a child (due to being born with a liver defect, making him a freak in the eyes of his mother). While his mother was cheating on Billy's father, she eventually killed his father one Christmas (with a claw hammer right before Billy's own eyes) and kept Billy in the attic—for good (since she only saw the husband she'd come to despise when she looked at him), while she was with her lover and starting a "new" family. On one night, after her lover fell asleep while they were having sex, Billy's mother seduced him and had sex with him, the result being Billy's mother being pregnant. As Billy's mother fell pregnant with a daughter and treated her with love, which Billy had never experienced with his mother, Billy came out of the attic after 15 years and brutally murdered his mother and her lover (using such objects, as an ornament and rolling pin) as his sister looked on. Cut to present day, a group of nine sorority sisters, all very hot, consisting of Kelli (Katie Cassidy), Melissa (Michelle Trachtenberg), Lauren (Crystal Lowe), Heather (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Dana (Lacey Chabert), Megan (Jessica Harmon), Clair (Leela Savasta), Eve (Kathleen Kole) and their house mother, Ms. Mac (Andrea Martin), who now live in Billy's childhood home, find themselves being harassed by threatening and intimidating mystery phone calls during Christmas break,

The Movie begins as Claire is sitting under the tree when suddenly a trash bag is thrown over her head and is stabbed in the eye with a pen The movie cuts to the sorority girls sitting around the tree. Mrs. Mac their house mother is trying to get the girls to hand out gifts but none of them seem that intrested. Lauren is drinking a glass of wine. while kelly is outside kissing her boyfriend. During all this Megan anouther sorority girl is upstairs looking at a homemade porn of her and kyle Kelly's boyfriend. Megan then soon hears music from to attic so she goes to check it out when she gets up to the attic she is then beaten to death with a music box and a plastic bag is thrown over her head. Downstairs Mrs Mac tells the girls of billy's tragic childhood the boy who used to live in the house. Lauren sick of christmas tells the girls of how in her oppinion how messed up christmas really is. Soon Heather arrives she gets in a fight with lauren and prepares to leave. On her way out she meets Eve a very shy odd looking girl who doesn't seem to fit in with the other girls. She gives them her gift and decides to leave.

The girls then suddenly hear strange calls from who they at first think is just a prank caller. Then the calls suddenly get more and more threatening and when Mellisa checks the caller id and the calls are coming from megan's cell phone. The girls then go up and try to find her. They find no megan and also they find no claire. Exactly when her sister leigh who used to be a sorority girl there who demades to know where claire and says she is not leaving till she finds her sister but no one can find her. Suddenly the lights go out and Dana decides to go out side and check the surcuit breacker under the house. she is then brutally killed by the mystery killer with a gardening claw. In the house when no one can find dana. The girls go outside and check to find the other girls they see eve's car they get the door open when suddenly Eve's rolls out of the car. The girls run back to the house. Kelly calls the police but they can't get there for 2 hours. Kelly urges the girls to stay in the house but Mrs. Mac and Heather want to leave. They go and get in Mrs. Mac's car when Mrs. Mac get out to clean the ice of the windshield she suddenly sees a splash of blood inside the car Mrs. Mac is suddenly killed by the killer.

Inside Kelly finds out her boyfriend is there to. He helps the girls try to find the other girls. He also tells the other girls about how billy killed his mother and step father and how his sister is now in foster care. while searching in Megan's room kelly discovers the homemade porn with kyle and megan. Kelly gets very angry kyle while lauren throws up from being drunk. Mellisa leaves the two alone and helps lauren take a shower and get into bed. Kyle starts to leave the house and Kelly and liegh follow him outside. Kyle wants to leave but leigh says she still think claire is alive and wants to look for her. While outside leigh suddenly Slipps in pool of blood kelly Screams. Mellisa hears the screams and leaves the rooms when suddenly a bag is pulled on her head she escapes the bag and runs into annother room. She tries to get out through a window, but the killer soon finds her and kills her by slicing her head in half by an ice skate.

Meanwhile, kyle and kelli and leigh go back into the house still trying to find everyone. They soon discover melissa's dead body and the recently killed lauren, who has goteen her eyes taken out. When they try to escape, the killer finds them. They begin a frantic run around the house. When they think they have lost the killer, kyle goes to go into the attic to search more, but is grabbed by the killer, and gets a bag thrown over his head and is killed. The Movies plot twist contarary to what kelly thinks it is actually Agnes Billy's sister who is killing all the sorority girls. Kelly finds her in the attic making a christmas tree out of kelly's Friend's Dimembered heads. A big fight scene breaks out, during the fight scene kelly and agnes fall into the wall. Hearing Kelly's screams for help Leigh breacks open the wall and Kelly crawls out resulting in the supposed death of Agnes and leigh and kelli being rushed to the hospital.

During all this chaos, Billy kills a security gaurd and breaks out of his cell at the mental institution. Pretty soon, kelli and leigh are tracked down by billy and agnes, who didnt die. Leigh is then killed, but kelli then kills agnes by electrocuting her. This infuriates Billy, who then attacks kelly. After a struggle, kelly pushes Billy over a balcony and lands on a christmas tree.

Deleted Scenes

There are multiple deleted scenes mostly throughout the trailer.

Supposed to be in the Movie

  • Someone in the Attic
  • Cell Ringtones
  • Gift Exchange
  • Discussing Kyle and Eve

Things in Trailer

Unknown if the scenes were made for the trailer only.

  • (Possibly) Melissa finding (Possibly) Heather or Eve in a car.
  • (Possibly) Were Melissa falls off the roof.
  • When Dana gets dragged under the house with Christmas lights.
  • When Melissa is walking backward in the hallway, and lightning flashes and it shows Billy on the ceiling with an axe.

Alternate Endings

  • When Kelli gets a phone call from Kyle. Leigh survives this ending.
  • The International ending.
  • When Kelli kills Agnes but goes to kill Billy and he is gone.
  • Just a longer version of the original ending.

Cast

Criticism

The film drew backlash from Christian groups because of the studio's decision to release a bloody slasher film about Christmas on Christmas Day. Several groups, including Liberty Counsel and Operation Just Say Merry Christmas, have called the film offensive, ill-founded and insensitive. Additionally, L.A. Weekly columnist Nikki Finke also questioned the filmmakers' decision to release the film on Christmas. Dimension Films defended the timing, saying "There is a long tradition of releasing horror movies during the holiday season as counter-programing to the more regular yuletide fare." Dimension's own Scream, originally released on December 20, probably being the most successful example. Furthermore, genre critic Egregious Gurnow, of The Horror Review, countered Liberty Counsel's complaint on several counts, foremost of which is the critic's citation that the organization's views upon the feature, are naively idyllic and aesthetically limited, especially from a cultural perspective in that they forbid the notion that such atrocities as murder don't politely take a sabbatical during the Holiday season.

Trivia

Andrea Martin, who played Phyllis in Black Christmas (1974), said in an interview that she hadn't thought about Black Christmas for 32 years and it "came out of the blue" when Glen Morgan offered her the role as the house mother in the movie.


Glen Morgan approached Mary Elizabeth Winstead about the movie at 4 AM in the airport after finishing Final Destination 3 (2006) with her. After being hesitant at first after only just finishing a horror movie, she agreed to the role of "Heather" because she is a fan of the 1974 version.


Crystal Lowe's first leading role.


Glen Morgan wanted either Margot Kidder or Andrea Martin (who were both in the Black Christmas (1974)) to play the house mother in this movie, to pay respect to the 1974 version.


Glen Morgan didn't specifically have any male actors considered for the role of Kyle in the movie. Instead, during auditions, his 14-year-old daughter (stepdaughter of Glen's actress wife Kristen Cloke, who also has a role in the movie), picked out Oliver Hudson shouting out "That one!"


Lacey Chabert injured her leg on the first day of shooting. The actress flew back to Los Angeles to see a doctor, and coincidentally enough, the doctor who treated her was the stepfather of her co-star, Katie Cassidy.


Kristin Cavallari turned down the role of "Kelli" while Camilla Belle and Amber Tamblyn turned down the role of "Heather" due to scheduling conflicts. Belle was working on another film while Tamblyn was committed to The Grudge 2.


The scene in which Billy puts on a Santa Claus suit upon leaving the mental institute is a reference to the character Billy Chapman in the movie Silent Night, Deadly Night.


The film was shot in Canada and was shot in 29 days


Amanda Seyfried auditioned for the lead role of Kelli, but lost to Katie Cassidy.


In the beginning of the film Ms. Mac asks who is not present for the secret Santa gift exchange. Two of the names mentioned are Chelsea and Greer. Chelsea is the name of Glen Morgan's daughter from his marriage to Cindy Morgan who is also Kristen Cloke's stepdaughter. Greer is the name of Kristen Cloke and Glen Morgan's youngest child.


All the girls did their own stunts.


During one scene the famous "leg lamp" from A Christmas Story can be seen in the background. This may be a reference to Bob Clark, the director of the original Black Christmas. He also directed A Christmas Story in 1983.


>>> WARNING: Here Be Spoilers <<< Trivia items below here contain information that may give away important plot points. You may not want to read any further if you've not already seen this title.


SPOILER: In the UK version of the film, Melissa dies when Agnes bags her and takes out one of her eyes and eats it. She then drags Melissa down the hall while she is helplessly screaming. In the U.S. version, the back of her head is cut off.


SPOILER: Melissa's original death was Agnes ripping her eye out and dragging her down the hall by her eye socket as she screams helplessly. Glen Morgan decided to re shoot her death to being chased and having part of her head sliced off by an ice skate. The eye death became the UK Version death, while the ice skate death was the US Version death.


SPOILER: The original screenplay was much more serious, and Leigh lived in the end. Also, Billy had died in the mental asylum. The original ending ended as Kelli and Leigh killing Agnes, and being rushed to the hospital. Kelli and Leigh have a heart warming talk, and Kelli's cell phone rings and the caller i.d reads Kyle Aurty's Cell.


SPOILER: There were reshoots that changed the death of Melissa and the ending hospital scene.


SPOILER: The UK ending ended with Leigh being killed, and Kelli electrocuting Agnes. The US ending ended with Kelli killing Billy after killing Agnes.



References

  1. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/schedule/?view=mpaa&p=.htm
  2. "Christian Groups Fume Over Christmas Horror Film". Retrieved 2006-12-18.
  3. "Faith-Based Horror Film for Christmas?". Retrieved 2006-12-18.
  4. "Black Christmas not merry for religious groups". Retrieved 2006-12-19.
  5. http://www.horrorreview.com/essay/egblackchristmasessay2006.html

External links

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