Black Christmas (50th anniversary)

Keep the Christmas festivities going by playing this episode! If horror fandom is like a sorority, Mark and his returning guest Jeff Bugajski would be the presidents, or treasurers, or housemothers, like boozy Mrs. Mac! It's the 50th anniversary of the super creepy and super influential 1974 slasher Black Christmas, directed by Bob Clark before he directed A Christmas Story (he really knew how to make iconic holiday movies!). Although this movie might be less talked about than other horror films, Mark and Jeff agree that it's their life mission to spread the good word. Plus, they share stories about meeting Margot Kidder and Andrea Martin! 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Straw Hut Media.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Ho ho ho. It's the most wonderful and obvious time
of the year to discuss Christmas movies, and for the
last few days of December, I have some great ones
to talk about. Hi, everybody, it's me Billy. I mean
Mark J. Barker, a film lover and filmmaker, and this
is release date Rewind, a podcast celebrating milestone movie anniversaries.

(00:28):
Thank you for listening to this show on the straw
Hut Media Network wherever you get your pods or watching
on YouTube. I like to talk with friends about movies
of the past as they reach a new special anniversary.
So if you need some fun while you're hanging out
at home or cooking or driving around town, will keep
you company, just like Billy kept those sorority girls company

(00:51):
whether they wanted it or not. That's right, everybody. It's
the fiftieth anniversary of the scary, smart, and super influential
seventies slasher Black Christmas aka Silent Night, Evil Night, not
to be confused with silent Night, deadly Night, or silent
Night bloody Night. A lot of silent nights. He sees

(01:12):
you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake girls
now if you need to watch or rewatch this Canadian
classic before continuing this episode, The movie is actually available
on a few streamers right now in the US Prime
Video Peacock, AMC Plus or Shutter and Canopy, just to
name a few. All Right, sisters and misters, don't answer

(01:33):
the phone and don't trust your boyfriends, because it's time
to rewind. It's the holidays, at least here in southern Maine.

(01:53):
It was snowing this morning, A perfect day to talk
about Black Christmas with my friend Jeff Blegeiski, a big
lack Christmas fan, Right.

Speaker 3 (02:01):
Jeff, exactly, how are you?

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Last time you were on was last December? The Exorcist?
Do you remember that?

Speaker 4 (02:07):
Was?

Speaker 3 (02:08):
Guess?

Speaker 5 (02:08):
Yes, you know because I remember not. I remember feeling
like I didn't know the movie compared to your to
your other friends.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Yeah, Salana, that's so funny. You're like, huh, I know,
I've seen this.

Speaker 5 (02:20):
I've seen this once or twenty and I've seen it
like a thousand times. But yeah, I was like, I
need a doll. I needed someone just get me in.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
I know, remember she yep, she had that doll that
was talking our ear off and we're like, okay, enough,
that's great. We got to move on, right, But yeah,
that was a year. Twenty twenty four was fast, Jeff. Overall,
what was twenty twenty four like for you? Was it good? Weird?

Speaker 3 (02:41):
Twenty twenty four was not? I was.

Speaker 5 (02:43):
I don't like to like downplay years. It wasn't the
best year. I would say, like, I mean, of course,
there's some ups and downs, like my mom broke her ankle,
I got into a car accident in January. You know,
it's fine, but like, right, you know, summer was good, though,
I feel like this cut inter spring was eh yeah, yeah, but.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
Some good some good movies. Yeah, we got some good
entertainment this year. Good performances. You've been seeing all sorts
of things Broadway. Anything you want to recommend like that
you've been seeing lately?

Speaker 5 (03:14):
Movies, shows, musicals went in twenty and ten years and
five years, ten years, fifteen, twenty twenty five.

Speaker 3 (03:22):
I will please let me talk about the Substance.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
Oh, Jeff, oh my gosh. I finally saw it a
few weeks ago. Oh did you see that one in theaters?

Speaker 5 (03:31):
I saw in the theater I saw opening weekend. Oh wow,
And it's so funny. Can I tell a little story about.

Speaker 3 (03:39):
This real quick?

Speaker 2 (03:39):
Yes? Tell me I want to hear.

Speaker 3 (03:41):
So I made plans to see this.

Speaker 5 (03:43):
So I have cut to a couple friends and of
course I won't remember their names right now, Lighty's and Chad.

Speaker 3 (03:49):
Remember Lighty's and Chad.

Speaker 5 (03:51):
I haven't seen them and probably like since our wedding, right,
oh yeah. We talk about horror movies off and on
through Instagram and it's great, and they're like, why don't
we go see this movie? You know it's coming out?
And I go, yes, I've been dying to see this
thing for like months. It's been all my Instagram ads,
you know. I love could make make plans to go
see it in Queens because it's like a halfway point

(04:12):
between our place and their place.

Speaker 3 (04:15):
It's a Friday night.

Speaker 5 (04:17):
I did not put in like my mindset of like traffic,
you know, getting back into Queens, and literally took me
two hours to get from my house to the bridge,
which I know people won't understand what that means, but
it's at.

Speaker 3 (04:31):
A two hour bridge.

Speaker 5 (04:33):
So I get there, I get to the I get
to the bridge and I'm like, guys, I'm missing like
half the movie. Like I'm not going to miss previous.
So I actually turned around. I turned around, came back home.
Mad Oh, thank you, sweetie. I have a recipe for
Christmas here.

Speaker 3 (04:48):
Uh oh say hi, say.

Speaker 2 (04:51):
Hi hi, Avery, you're on camera. Do you want to
say hi to your fans?

Speaker 3 (04:56):
Say to your fans? Oh my gosh.

Speaker 5 (05:00):
So anyway, I get back to the house because I
missed the movie. I am furious. So then I looked online,
found a showtime in my town, like where I can
walk to, and I.

Speaker 3 (05:12):
Saw it at like ten o'clock at night.

Speaker 2 (05:14):
Oh so you still went that night? You went just
alone night, just.

Speaker 3 (05:18):
Alone, and it was still an amazing experience.

Speaker 2 (05:21):
So oh wow, I'm glad you still got that experience
that night, because I have been there with like traffic
or just like your brain wasn't working and you didn't
give yourself enough time and like getting like so close
to the theater but like you're already missing so much,
like oh the worst. Yeah, you can't. You can't, especially
a movie like that. You cannot go in just in
the middle, no way, rightly.

Speaker 5 (05:43):
Yeah, And that was this has been like this was
my Wicked and I love Wicked, but like this was
my wicked movie like I've been. Like I said, I
think the trailer, maybe a teaser came out in the spring,
and I just and I'm obsessed with her, the woman.

Speaker 3 (05:57):
I forgot her in the director market.

Speaker 2 (05:59):
Oh, Cora Lee. You ever see Oh I saw Revenge? Yeah,
really great and so beautiful. Her movies like are so visual,
right yeah.

Speaker 3 (06:09):
Yeah, So I just then, you know, I just couldn't
wait to see it. And then I that's great. What
did you think.

Speaker 2 (06:16):
That's a bummer. That's a bummer that you didn't get
to see like your friends at least. But I'm sure
then you were chatting about it, so it was like
you saw it together, you know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (06:23):
Yeah, it was. It was.

Speaker 5 (06:24):
It was quite Yeah, we we we texted it and
chatted about it later.

Speaker 3 (06:27):
But yeah, that was the reunion. We didn't make another
horror movie to see where we'll see together.

Speaker 2 (06:34):
So another wacky horror movie. I loved it. I'm so
glad you liked to chew, Jeff. It was annoying for
me because I didn't see it in theaters because, as
you might remember, I messaged you once you saw it,
I said, are like, how bad is the needle action?
Because I just cannot, Like guys, needles, It's getting worse.
As I get older, it gets worse. Like ask my husband,
ask my family. I I like just going to get

(06:57):
like blood work, which I didn't even do this year.
I'm like, I can't do it every year. I cannot.
I had to like put numbing cream on my arm
and I was like crying. And this was like two
years ago. Guys, like this wasn't as a kid. This
was like this, you know, was yesterday, and like, thank
god the numbing cream worked because you know, you buy
it off Amazon and has good reviews, but will it
actually work? And I thank god it works? And you know,
so I asked Jeff, I was like, how bad is it?

(07:19):
And you did give me now that I've seen it,
you gave me a really you said it's gross. There's
more extraction because like, you know, that helps me to know. Yeah,
it was a little rough. There were moments, I'd say
a good twenty percent of it, Jeff, I was definitely
not watching. It was truly and it wasn't even through
the fingers like because Greg. Greg was letting me know
via his his vocal reactions. He would go like, oh,

(07:41):
and I was like, oh thank god, and like I
literally if you're watching everybody, I had my eyes covered
with my hands, but I also was turning away like
just in case I saw like any you know so,
but everything else love.

Speaker 5 (07:56):
Yeah, well you know what that means, Mark, It means
you need to this is this is the movie you
have to make.

Speaker 3 (08:01):
Has to be with needles, like you have to conquer
this fear. You have to do it, you know.

Speaker 2 (08:05):
I think you know what I think, seeing like Requiem
for a Dream at a young age, like really did
something to me with those needles and like, oh god,
it's just too much. But also another big thing, real quick, Jeff,
this year is speaking of Hugo. You got a new dog.
In twenty twenty four, we.

Speaker 3 (08:19):
Got a new dog. Well, yeah, that was the other.

Speaker 5 (08:21):
The other thing, thank you for reminding me. So our
old dog, Sidney passed away, which was.

Speaker 2 (08:25):
I'm so sorry, Jeff, I'm so sorry. Yeah. I luckily
met Sidney at least once years ago, and I mean
that dog was iconic. I mean all the photos. So
I'm so sorry.

Speaker 5 (08:36):
Yeah, but so we you know, she passed away, and
then September we got Hugo and he is.

Speaker 3 (08:42):
A real dog.

Speaker 5 (08:43):
He yeah, like he's like puppy, you know, biting, jumping,
you know.

Speaker 3 (08:48):
He's he's a good boy though, but he's not.

Speaker 2 (08:50):
He's a good boy, but he's he's work for you all.

Speaker 3 (08:53):
I'm sure he's a third kid. Now we have three kids.
You get a devil? Hold on, we got them, we
got well you go, who do we not?

Speaker 2 (09:01):
Oh hug Oh my gosh, the man of the hour.
Oh what a cutie, What a good dog.

Speaker 3 (09:08):
So how old is he?

Speaker 2 (09:09):
Jeff? Just like a few months old?

Speaker 3 (09:10):
Ten months? Ten months?

Speaker 2 (09:12):
Oh my gosh, Avery, do you love HUGO? Well, Jeff
loved to hear all the good stuff happening. Now, now, everybody,
let's rewind. Let's go back. We're leaving twenty twenty four because,
like Jeff said, I completely agree, some good stuff, you know,
some great stuff, but a weird year, some really not
so like great stuff. Right, And yeah, all we can

(09:34):
do is fingers crossed for twenty twenty five. I don't know,
but we're gonna go back to the seventies, everybody. We
are going back to seventy four when Black Christmas came
out on December twentieth, nineteen seventy four. Fun fact, Jeff,
since you also, like me, are a big fan of Scream.
Scream has that same release date. Maybe you knew December twentieth,
but nineteen ninety six, So how funny too iconic horror

(09:56):
movies same day at least you know, December twentieth.

Speaker 3 (10:00):
It's pretty trivia. Yeah right, yeah, especially.

Speaker 2 (10:03):
With like the phone calls and like it's kind of crazy,
how like, oh wow, that's like so perfect. You know,
but Black Christmas came out in theaters December twentieth, everybody,
So now we are going to nerd out about this
great classic slasher. Some people say this like really started
the true like modern slasher movie. I know Jeff has

(10:23):
been on my very first episode with Psycho, which obviously
was horror, obviously some slashing, but a little different than this,
where it's like, you know, killer POV killer going after
girls like repeatedly, right, that whole thing.

Speaker 6 (10:35):
Remember those idyllic scenes out of your childhood crisp winter nights,
star bright sleigh bells, crackling you lugs, candlelight glistening off
of shimmereing Christmas trees, chestnuts roasting over open fires, cattle
has been et, snow covered window ledges, remember those, remember them? Well,

(11:00):
Black Christmas, They'll never be the same again.

Speaker 2 (11:03):
Jeff, I want to ask you when did you first
Do you remember your first memory of finding Black Christmas?
Did you like rent it or see it on TV?

Speaker 5 (11:10):
Well, so here's the thing. It's it's a it's a
new it's a newer fine for me. And I'm actually
a little like it wasn't something I.

Speaker 3 (11:18):
Grew up with.

Speaker 5 (11:19):
And honestly I had submit this like I only I
think I saw it maybe for the first time, like
two or three years ago, like.

Speaker 2 (11:25):
Oh wow, okay, cool, I love that.

Speaker 5 (11:28):
Modern it's a modern obsession. But we watched it on
shutter right, okay, yep, And I remember we're watching this
movie and I looked at I turned, I go, why
is no one talking about this movie?

Speaker 3 (11:41):
Like why did no one tell me? Oh, what are
your favorite movies?

Speaker 5 (11:44):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (11:44):
Screen? Oh it was Black Christmas?

Speaker 5 (11:45):
Anyone, Like no one has ever said that to me, right,
uh huh? And I feel like this should be in
the top like ten, like next to Halloween.

Speaker 2 (11:56):
And like I agree, I agree it's somehow underrated still
to this day, like maybe because they shot it in Canada,
I believe, and it might have been a Canadian company.
I think so, like and you know, in the seventies,
maybe it just sort of I mean, it did decently
and obviously it's it's still around and we people love it.
You know, it's obviously lasted the test of time. But
totally agree. It took me a long time too. I

(12:19):
think I had discovered it, but I thought, if I
remember correctly, like the cover that I saw somewhere, I
was like, oh, that's like a schlocky like you know,
probably bad horror movie, like a lot of these bad
horror Christmas movies, right, But I forget exactly when I
saw it. I think I might have seen it. I
could be wrong, but I've talked about on the show before.
I took a really fun horror class in college at FORDA,

(12:42):
And I feel like I discovered it around that time
because then I saw it again at like do you
remember the Sunshine Cinema down on Houston Street.

Speaker 3 (12:49):
In New York.

Speaker 2 (12:50):
I love that theater. I know it's not there anymore.
I think it's like condos or something, right, but I
remember going and seeing it on the big screen at
midnight and that was just like thrilling. So I had
discovered it. I guess a little later as well, but
like I was like in my early twenties and I
totally agree. I as a Scream fan, and like, you know,
when a stranger calls Halloween, all these like classic great

(13:13):
you know phone calls and girls you know, getting killed
all that stuff, like wow, Black Christmas is so good
and yet not talked about enough, right.

Speaker 3 (13:22):
Not talks about enough? And I wonder if it's because,
I mean, if it's because it's a Christmas movie, you know,
like usually people you know, I know, Halloween is perfect
because it's up Halloween, but.

Speaker 2 (13:34):
Like supposed to be spooky.

Speaker 5 (13:35):
Yeah, yeah, But like I wonder if it's maybe just
people want to watch cheesy, homemark Christmas movies and they
don't want to like get behind a slasher, right, you know.

Speaker 2 (13:44):
And maybe you're right because at least ten years later,
in eighty four, the same day that A Nightmare on
Elnstreet came out, also starring John Saxon, love this connection
between like him as a cop horror classics. But the
same day Nightmare came out, it was talked about, oh god,
silent night, deadly night, is that what it's called? But
like a Christmas slasher where like the Killer is Santa,

(14:06):
and that movie was like banned from theaters. It was
only in theaters for like a week or two, and
then the parents Group whatever it's called, was like, this
is awful, this is disgusting. So it's actually pulled. So
you know, so maybe Black Christmas was in less theaters.
It was a little more under the radar, and by
then ten years later that movie was an example of
like a big movie that was pulled. So yeah, I
think it took a while for it to really take off,

(14:29):
which is a bummer because it's I think it's so
well made. I think it's scary. I think it's funny.
It's really well shot. Right, it's like, oh my god, right.

Speaker 3 (14:38):
It's well.

Speaker 5 (14:39):
I think it's interesting that Bob was a Bob Clark
the director, right, Like it's with Christmas movies, like he's like,
I'm want to make a really scary Christmas movie, and
then in the eighties I want to make the most
iconic Christmas movie ever.

Speaker 2 (14:51):
That is not scary in any way. I mean, maybe
there's like one creepy moment if you're a kid and
you're like, I don't like how that guy looks, but
like like Santra, right, but absolutely, I know it's wild
how he made almost ten years apart, because I think
A Christmas Story came out in eighty three, so that
had an anniversary last year. But like two iconic Christmas movies,
that could not be any more different, right, right? How

(15:12):
weird will be? Right back?

Speaker 4 (15:21):
The high school girl's been murdered.

Speaker 6 (15:23):
Mister Harrison's daughter is missing you, and now at the
house where she lives, the other girls are getting upseeing
phone calls.

Speaker 3 (15:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (15:30):
It was written by a guy named Roy Moore. He
was the screenwriter And I was looking online this I
guess was his first like produced feature screenplay, and man,
what was it? I was looking up online? The original
title was not Black Christmas. It was called something Did
you see this? It was like something kind of funny.

Speaker 5 (15:48):
Yeah, they it was called something else. Of course I
have to look it up. But they they origin. Then
they changed it back to Black Christmas. But because they
originally were afraid according to the trivia that it was
going to be the people.

Speaker 3 (16:00):
Wo think it's a black exploitation film, right.

Speaker 2 (16:02):
Right, which I can understand, especially in the mid seventies,
that was like a whole popular like subgenre, right, yeah, yeah,
a title. He wrote the screenplay under the title stop Me,
Stop Me. I'm like, stop me, huh okay, maybe I'm
just like, what so Black Christmas is I think far more,

(16:24):
just longer lasting than stop Me. So I'm glad they
changed it, you know. And also, you know I'm remembering now, Yeah,
you know what I'm I just realized, Jeff, I think
I discovered the original Black Christmas because of the remake
in two thousand and six with all the stars Lacey Shbert,
you know, all the girls, Michelle Trachtenberg. I think now

(16:46):
I'm remembering because I was in college at that time
and I was like, Oh, this looks so fun. And
then I think I discovered the original. I just got it.

Speaker 3 (16:53):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (16:53):
Did you see that one in theaters?

Speaker 5 (16:54):
Probably no, I didn't see it because I think that
wasn't How many remakes are there?

Speaker 3 (16:59):
There are two others.

Speaker 2 (17:01):
There's three total. There's well, there's the original and then
the two remakes. Yeah, the twenty six and then twenty nineteen,
which takes like a supernatural cult angle spoilers whatever. I
won't say anymore because I saw it once and I
was kind of fall asleep. People hate the latest one.
Did you check that one out?

Speaker 3 (17:16):
Well, no, but we did watch the second one. I
thought it was okay.

Speaker 5 (17:19):
I think, oh, yeah, someone Willis isn't it is one
of the Willis's.

Speaker 2 (17:23):
Probably, I think you might be right. It's like all
those girls at the time, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and then
of course Andrea Martin, the Great Andrew Martin came back
as their den mother, right, so that was fun to
have her back. And it's it's more violent, it's kind
of more colorful. It's can't be it's like a horror comedy.
But it's definitely horror from what I remember. I loved it.

(17:44):
I mean, it's so crazy. You see much more of Agnes.
We'll get into like Agnes and Billy like, so they're
doing some different things with it, whereas this one is
much more restrained. That one is like if you went
the loud version, you know, go see two thousand six,
you know. But yeah, I just realized that's when I
it took the It took the remake for me to

(18:06):
discover the original and be like, oh wow, there's this
like Slasher that I didn't even know about much like you, right,
yeah exactly. Yeah, But like so we talked about writer
director Bob Clark directed. Now, let's just briefly talk quickly
about like the actors, because this cast I love Jeff
Like we got scream queens, we got comedy queens. So
like Olivia Hussey, who I first discovered in Psycho four,

(18:30):
which was a TV movie. Did you ever see Psycho four?

Speaker 3 (18:33):
Yes? Yes, where she's his mother. She's Norm's mother, remember, yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 2 (18:38):
So like as a kid, and like I guess that
was like late eighties, early nineties, Like watching that on TV,
I was like, oh, so when I see Black Christmas,
I'm like, oh, Norman Bates's mother, you know, Like I'm
like backwards, like she she is so good as Jess
do you like? Do you does she like a worthy
screen queen for you? Like a final girl?

Speaker 3 (18:56):
You know, as I'm I'm rewatching it.

Speaker 5 (18:57):
I rewatched it this week, and I'm like, what, you know,
I know her from Romeo and Julia and I of
course you know in middle school whatever, high school probably yes,
But like I'm trying to think, what else is she
really she hasn't I know she did a lot back then,
but like, is she's still alive?

Speaker 2 (19:13):
I believe she's still alive. Yep, Yeah, she's still around.
She's like, I've done it all, darling.

Speaker 3 (19:19):
And also she's.

Speaker 2 (19:22):
Horse from screaming into that phone. I mean, you know,
and she's got a great scream. But like from the get.

Speaker 3 (19:27):
Go, hello, like yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (19:30):
Whoa, like you got to see someone about the anger
with the phone calls. But we understand, you know, she's
getting repeated calls. We get it. But that's that was
my first note was like, whoa, Olivia Hussy is just
screaming just from the start. She just is letting us
know the volume is high, right, But I love I
love her in this movie. I love her look. I
love the fashion, like she's got that cool like it

(19:52):
looks like this kind of like the hands on her
sweater and like the long dark hair which then you
know has that awesome mom later on with you know,
Billy pulling the hair that is so crazy and shocking. Yeah,
I just love her as this lead. I think she's
a really good final girl. And I kind of forgot
because you know, I've seen this a bunch, but it's

(20:14):
been a while. I forgot how the ending is sort
of like open ended. We don't know if she makes
it up I.

Speaker 5 (20:21):
Don't know if it's because every every time I watch this,
like I have a glass of wine or whatever. But
like I'm like, oh my gosh, like because at one
point I rewound. I know we're skipping, but like we
running to where Barb Margot Kidder's character gets killed. I'm like, no,
we clearly see Peter and in like looking up at her,

(20:42):
and then it's really just you see a little eye.

Speaker 2 (20:45):
And that's all the iconic.

Speaker 5 (20:47):
Yeah, you know, but the way that it's left so
open ended, I mean, it's it's like a masterpiece, you.

Speaker 2 (20:55):
Know, it really is. It really is, Jeff, And it's
so funny. Again going back to Scream, how I think, Like,
I know, Scream really Kevin Williamson loved like Halloween, which
we all love, but like I think Black Christmas DNA
is all over Scream, especially with the main suspect is
Peter just his boyfriend Kiir Daliah. How crazy to go
from two thousand and one of Space Odyssey to this

(21:17):
like whoa? And he's so good and so brooding and
we do not trust him at all and we think
basically the entire time it's not a who done it?
It's him? But then the phone is ringing, and there's
like I think, still whispering at the end, and it's like,
oh my god, there's still someone in the house, right,
or at least someone around. Oh terrif we.

Speaker 5 (21:39):
Never know who who the person is. But then if
you listen, it's uh, Agnes. He keeps it's Billy. Billy's
the that he calls himself Billy the Killer and maybe
that's like a Billy Loomis reference exactly, and then you know,
twist my words here, and then he's always calling off

(21:59):
for Agnes.

Speaker 3 (22:00):
Agnes likes you.

Speaker 5 (22:02):
Know, my biggest thing after rewatching this song. Yeah, so
you're telling me this this house is being like people
are dying left and right.

Speaker 3 (22:11):
You know it's a murder house.

Speaker 5 (22:12):
But yeah, no one's checked the attic, Like why are
we not checking the attic? Like what is You're so right?

Speaker 2 (22:19):
Check every room, guys, like go in a group or
have the cops, you know, like it's it's funny, how
you know what you're sorry. No one's doing a very
thorough job of like really like looking around except for
miss Mack the boozy den mother, who's only going up
there to get her cat. When it's like your cat's
not up there, lady, your cat is not up there.
But how again, Jeff, how absolutely scary that like there's

(22:43):
a human meowing like that is just so sick and
twisted to me, right, like from up there like like
that is so oh my god. This killer is brutal.
You know, it might not be the most violent movie,
but he he chills me to the bone, like this
is no joke, right, which.

Speaker 5 (23:02):
Is okay, you know, we don't sometimes I like that
it's so subtle, you know, And I mean talking about
like favorite scenes.

Speaker 3 (23:07):
I mean I will say.

Speaker 5 (23:09):
I think the in the beginning of the movie and
where you know she's going through the first is it Claire, Yeah.

Speaker 2 (23:15):
Claire right, Claire, Oh god, yeah.

Speaker 5 (23:18):
You know, going through her closet and we know somebody's
in there, like we're just waiting for them to pop out,
like we think we're going to see a face, but
then the minute we do, it cuts to the killer's
point of view. I mean, it's really it's just remarkable,
like filmmaking, you know it is.

Speaker 2 (23:34):
It's it really plays with your expectations because you know
someone's there, especially once we and this movie right off
the bat. I do love how it starts and we're
seeing and I mean I love the handheld kind of
like fish eye, like it seems very kind of warped
his point of view, which is brilliant just to really
help us know along with the breathing that like this
is him climbing in and and like there's no I

(23:55):
mean it starts. It just starts like that the exterior
of the house, and now we are the guy coming
in and then you know he's behind that plastic. But
it's just like when is he going to come out?
Like when is it going to happen? So you know
she's going to die. But the twist is, actually I'm
going to play with you on just how long it's

(24:16):
going to take for her to like get killed. You know.
I love that scene. And again the meowing he does that,
that's the first time he does that is in her closet. Oh,
he's deranged. And then she's of course the iconic image
on like the poster, you know, in that rocking chair
with that plastic you know, in her mouth, sick around
a wreath. I mean like deranged, deranged, right, I love it.

Speaker 6 (24:40):
It was a little girl murdered over in the park tonight.

Speaker 5 (24:49):
I'm thinking about the body count, right and because and
like the police don't ever who did the police find outside?

Speaker 2 (24:58):
Yeah, so let's talk about that because I love this movie,
but every time I watch it, I get a little
a little annoyed that I'm like, oh, yeah, there's this
like murder of this teen girl, and like, what does
that have to do with anything?

Speaker 3 (25:10):
Do you?

Speaker 2 (25:11):
On this latest rewatch, you know, I'm getting the impression
that Billy killed her, right, yeah, and it is related
to him, it's just not related to our main sorority.
Do you get that vibe too, that like that was
Billy's doing or do you get the vibe that like
that is that's just like a distraction for everyone.

Speaker 5 (25:27):
Well, I think it's possible he killed who, you know,
whoever that was, But you know, I just I think
it's funny that, like we the main two people that
are killed in the house, Like I just I still
can't believe they don't inspect that attic. You know, I'd
find two dead people just sitting rotten up there, Like
how long are they gonna say?

Speaker 3 (25:47):
No?

Speaker 2 (25:47):
You're right? And I did realize on this I'm a
nerd and I love doing this, especially with Slashers. I
love to know how much time in the story has passed.
And I realized with Black Christmas, it's pretty short. Starts
on the first night, we have one day, and then
I think everything else happens all in the next night.
It's really only the span of like I don't know,
maybe like twenty six hours or thirty hours, you know,

(26:11):
like it doesn't go on for days like some of
these like Exorcist goes on for day, you know. So yeah,
I was thinking, like, yeah, wouldn't they like you know,
realize there's a smell or something, But actually I guess not,
you know, maybe not in that time that's time frame.
And then also in the cold. So yeah, Billy's so
smart for choosing Christmas as the time to.

Speaker 3 (26:31):
Kill people, you know.

Speaker 2 (26:32):
But yeah, like with the whole Agnes thing, it's so fascinating,
and and his dialogue, the lines that Billy says both
on the phone and in his whispers and his screams.
You know, he's like, he's obviously extremely unwell. We know
that you wouldn't be killing people if you were well.
But the way he's screaming and he keeps saying what
your mother and I want to know is like where's

(26:56):
the baby? What did you do with Agnes? Right? I
took it as I think he killed Agnes, his little sister,

(27:17):
and he killed this teen girl in town as like
a way to I don't know that like that like
riled him up again, like because he killed Agnes. I
don't know. That's like my personal take. I don't know
if that makes any sense. If you agree, you know.

Speaker 3 (27:30):
Anything, it makes sense, you know.

Speaker 5 (27:32):
I just I think some of the things that are
said in the mood, like there's a couple of things
happening here, like the term using hearing the C word,
don't oh.

Speaker 2 (27:42):
Jeff, oh my god, it's brutal.

Speaker 3 (27:44):
See you next Tuesday.

Speaker 5 (27:46):
It's like wow, and like can you just the idea
of getting a phone call like that? And like you know,
Barb Marcot Kidder is just like you know, she's trying
to get back.

Speaker 2 (27:55):
She is just the best. Don't we love Barb? Like
she's she I feel like is that she's like and
scream She's like Helen and I know she did last summer,
Like she's that sidekick who like just is like a
firecracker and like, man, that would have been great if
you lived, but you just got we gotta surprise the audience, right, Yeah,
she's so good. But that scene what you're talking about,

(28:17):
the first like real call where we not only are
it's also so smart. We're introduced to our main group
but also the killer and what's been happening whoa Like
this movie is not for kids, what he's saying. And
I love that, like slow close up on all their
faces as they're listening, Like I just we're getting right
to it. There's no like opening death of like a

(28:39):
stranger and now we're slowly gonna meet everyone, Like no,
everyone's here and I'm in a party right upstairs someone's
getting killed, Like we just jump right in, And I
think it's brilliant that way. You know, if there's no
slow moment in this movie, I'd say the slowest moment
might be a little bit with like Claire's dad. But
it makes sense at the same time, you know, like
I like that we see a parent who's actually being

(29:01):
proactive and like because in so many of these movies
like where are the parents, Like you're not going to
call or check in or like you know, so I
do appreciate that dad is like investigating it himself.

Speaker 1 (29:12):
You know.

Speaker 2 (29:13):
It just goes off on it goes a little off
the rails when like with him and Miss Mac and
like she's like covering the poster and she wants to
really impress him. Like now we're getting into like a
fun seventies romp. Right, No, okay, sure, Like when when
she's sitting on the steps, I just remember and I
think she might be drinking again because she drinks a lot,

(29:35):
and she hears the cat or or something. I think
she hears the killer and she's like Claude, you know,
god damn it. And then Claire's dad's right there and
she's just like I was, like giving him a finger,
and like she's she's a she's a character. Oh my god, yeah,
they created her.

Speaker 5 (29:54):
Well, I mean, I just I loved the idea that, like, well,
first of all, denmother is that like a in a sorority.
I need some back, Like you have no question dead
mothers like they're ninety years old, just you know, high
great question.

Speaker 2 (30:08):
I wish I knew, Jeff. I know, I only know
the term den mother from this movie and the remake.
Like I don't even know in the new one, I
don't even know if they have a den mother. Actually
they might have gotten rid of it because maybe that
was like a thing of the past.

Speaker 6 (30:26):
Yeah, what I've done is I've tapped his phone so
then when it rings, it'll ring into the station house too.

Speaker 2 (30:30):
Did you You weren't in a fraternity, were you?

Speaker 3 (30:33):
No?

Speaker 2 (30:34):
Like I know nothing about that life, and you've never
heard of like a den father, Like guys didn't have it.
So was it like back in the day, was there
a dead mother to like, I don't know, keep the
girls in line? Like what what is it for?

Speaker 3 (30:47):
Right?

Speaker 2 (30:47):
It's so weird you would think like the senior, whoever's
like the oldest in the house is sort of like
I don't know, the leader I.

Speaker 3 (30:54):
Don't know, right, like a resident like an RA or
something like.

Speaker 2 (30:57):
An yeah exactly ra, A yeah for sure or like
yeah so. But instead they have this woman who they
all love. Yeah, and she's got a great death. Oh
my god, cha talk about body count when she goes
up there. And again, like the way this film is
is shot is so really smart and like really like

(31:18):
burns into your brain with some of these shots. You know,
like he's holding that like I guess it's like a
hanging like hook.

Speaker 3 (31:24):
Kind of thing.

Speaker 2 (31:24):
I don't even know what to call, you know, a
rope and she slowly turns and we can oh my god,
just brutal, right, and then she's hanging from it. Later
like yeah, wow, yeah.

Speaker 5 (31:33):
She What did they say they filmed? They shot that
in like forty days or something like I think that
oh okay, yeah, but just yeah, every little you know,
every little camera angle, why is that hook up there?

Speaker 3 (31:46):
Who knows what we do? They need took? But you
know it's a great.

Speaker 2 (31:51):
It's like, oh yeah, you know, random attic in an
old house. They have like a hook, a hanging hook thing.
It's it's cool whatever, right, Yet, you know, bringing up
the the filming time, this feels a little scrappy in
like a great way, you know, like it feels a
little almost like indie low budget like. But but like
you said, like, yeah, they've they took great care in

(32:13):
shots and in the script. And I mean the actors
I think are great. Like like I going back to
Olivia Hussy for a second, Like Jeff, I still I've
seen this movie a bunch of times now, but when
I was rewatching the other night alone with the lights off,
I still get so creeped out. Oh my god, something
just fell on my face.

Speaker 3 (32:33):
Oh my god, you have something.

Speaker 2 (32:36):
Oh my god.

Speaker 3 (32:37):
I should put that huk away.

Speaker 2 (32:39):
Or someone uses it on me. But Jeff, when when okay,
when Jess Olivia Hussey finds out on the phone, we're
at the end, right, I know, we're jumping around, but
we're at the end. We're in this iconic moment where
the even though John Saxon has told the cop, don't
tell her anything, just tell her to walk out the door,
and she's not getting it. And he says, Jess, the

(33:00):
call is coming from inside the house basically, right, which
we we hear later on, and when a stranger calls
and it's a whole urban legend thing. Right when she
learns that, I mean, I just love her performance. And
the house is silent, like there's not a lot of music,
and it's just these dark, quiet rooms. And when she
is screaming at the top of her lungs for her friends,

(33:22):
who she knows, like they ain't responding. She knows it,
but she just can't. She can't not. Oh when she's
what does she say, Barb Phil that's Andrew Martin phil
anso me. You know, it's like, oh my god, but
it's quiet I feel for her, Like I that to

(33:43):
me is terrifying. That is true horror right there, when
you know but you just don't want to accept it
and you're desperate and your hand is on the door.
Oh but then she goes upstairs and it's like, Jess,
come on, you know better. But she didn't know the
rules yet. They were just she was she was starting
the roles, basically starting rules.

Speaker 5 (34:00):
Well that's and again like you know, with going back
to talking about Halloween, right, so you know Halloween was
in Peeping Tom and Black Christmas or one of the
first movies to do you know, the point of view
of the killer. But again, I never I've never heard
anyone credit Black Christmas. As you know, I remember when
Scream came out, Like I remember, you know, people talking

(34:22):
about Suspiria and how that was such an inspiration and
you know some of the earlier horror movies.

Speaker 3 (34:27):
But it just doesn't. We need we need to we
need to do a campaign. We need to campaign. Agree,
I know, you know, I.

Speaker 2 (34:34):
Really wonder what it was. Maybe people like you were
saying they just maybe thought it was schlocky, it was Christmas,
who wants to watch that? Like it might have been
a little ahead of its time that way, you know that,
like it didn't find an audio. I don't know, but
it's so well done, Jeff, it's spooky. Greg does not
like it. I don't know why. He also just doesn't
like old movies, so like he's also not a fan
of Halloween. I'm like, okay, you need to get past

(34:56):
like how things look all right, like there are like
these are classic movie. I mean, he's okay with it,
but like Black Christmas, I'm like, do you want to
watch it again? And he's like no, no, no, that's
all you. I'm sure one was more than enough. I'm like,
you are crazy.

Speaker 3 (35:08):
Crazy divorce speak, tell.

Speaker 2 (35:11):
Me about it. That's why I'm like, Okay, we're having
a great month. Go to your room. I'm watching my movie,
all right, go to your room because my room is
now in front of the TV. Yeah, you can go
up with the hook in the attic and you can
think about what you've done.

Speaker 5 (35:27):
Okay, now, remind me was was uh what was the
other movie? Because Margot was a screen queen. Margot Kidder
was kind of a screen kis. She did the what
was then Amityville Horror.

Speaker 2 (35:41):
Was that she did Amityville. Amityville was after she was
a little bit older. That was in the seventies though, Jeff, Yeah,
that was seventy nine, five years later. So she and
this was it's so interesting. Yeah, it went Black Christmas
and then Superman and then Amityville. So like, whoa, Her
career at this time was really I mean, she was
a big deal and she very much feels kind of

(36:02):
like for a while, kind of like a co lead, you.

Speaker 3 (36:05):
Know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (36:05):
Like it feels like Olivia Hussey and like Margot Kidder,
like I think we meet her first, and like she
is she is such a bold she is so different
than everyone else. She's got some amazing lines. Like I
wrote down some notes, Jeff. She says to her mom
on the phone, because it starts basically with her having
like an argument with her mom. She says, you're a
real gold plated whoror mother. You know that. It's like

(36:27):
that's like one of the first lines anyone in the
movie says. It's like, wow, this movie pulls me in immediately,
like what's to hate? You know?

Speaker 5 (36:36):
Well, and even I think my first note was what's
with Margo's choco collar? Like that that her choker is
like the size of my turtle neck thing here. It
consumes her whole neck, which is you know, probably on purpose, right.

Speaker 2 (36:51):
Right, righting, covering the Hickey's.

Speaker 5 (36:54):
Right right, but no, I on side note, Margot Kidder,
did you ever see the movie's Sister.

Speaker 2 (37:03):
With Oh, Jeffley, I'm so glad you're bringing this up.
I am ashamed to say I have not. I still
haven't seen it.

Speaker 3 (37:10):
You need to watch it. First of all, it's early Brian.

Speaker 5 (37:14):
To Palma, and it's it's it's still packs packs a
little punch.

Speaker 3 (37:20):
It's it's early Brian, early diploma, it still packs the punch.
And Margo's great and that.

Speaker 2 (37:27):
Must be I must have been right after this, right,
because I think that was Oh yeah, oh no, it's
right before. Oh wow, she was in Sisters before this.
Oh my gosh, wow. Yeah, I am slacking. I gotta
watch that. Wow.

Speaker 3 (37:39):
And when when? And I do have a Margot Kidder
story for you when?

Speaker 2 (37:42):
Tell me?

Speaker 5 (37:42):
Oh so, Mark picture two thousand one or two. I'm
working at Old Navy and Buffalo, the Walden Yell Real
Mall and it's springtime and I'm you know, floating around
the store and I see this woman, and I'm like,
oh my god, like that's Margot Kidder, like Margot Old yeah,

(38:07):
of all things. And I'm and I I remember this, Like,
so she comes in. She's like, sweetheart, do you have
I need some gloves?

Speaker 3 (38:15):
I need all I need? My hands are so cold.

Speaker 5 (38:17):
You know she you know, she's got that that wave
speaking and uh. And I was like sure, right this way.
And it was early, it was like kind of April.
So it was like I remember we did have it's
always called the Buffalo. It was really starting to warm up,
but then it got cold again. So I show her
the small selection and I'm like, excuse.

Speaker 3 (38:36):
Me this, by the way, are you Margo Kidder? And
she's like, well, yes, I am, sweetheart. How are you
you know? I go, I'm great, but like, I'm what
are you doing in Buffalo? Right? And she's like, well,
it's just so happened.

Speaker 5 (38:49):
I'm in the Vagina Monologue Downtown.

Speaker 3 (38:53):
You should come see it. And you know what I did?

Speaker 2 (38:55):
I oh, I love that.

Speaker 5 (38:58):
I was so excited and I'm like I told her
I was, you know, I was a big fan because
obviously it was Spider Man and of course Superman, right,
Spider Superman thank you and just being you know, enamored
with that role and then you know, seeing her in person,
I was like, oh my gosh, oh yeah, well this
was after obviously all the like the stuff that happened

(39:21):
with her and you know, mental illness and you know.

Speaker 2 (39:23):
Yeah yeah, because I know, like towards the end of
her life. Yeah, what did she suffer? Was she also
an alcoholic? Or am I wrong? Was there like some
substance stuff?

Speaker 3 (39:32):
I think she had some bipolar disorder. I think maybe.

Speaker 2 (39:36):
Something, Okay, I think, yeah, I remember there was some
and like she in it kind of showed she she
really kind of aged and yeah I got like that voice. Yeah, yeah,
I hear you.

Speaker 3 (39:45):
But she was a really person in the show.

Speaker 5 (39:49):
In the show, yeah, I mean, it was my first
time seeing the Vagina monologues and I'm like, wow, what
a perfect way.

Speaker 3 (39:54):
To start this like interaction into uh.

Speaker 2 (39:58):
Theater And yeah, oh I love that story, Jeff. I
love that she was nice to you. Like it seems
like she's kind of like bar like kind of gruff
that I could see, like, yeah, like can you fucking
help me out? You know, But I like that she
was cool with you. You know, that's so sweet did
you like did you try to like see her after
the show or like, was there like any sort of

(40:19):
like stage door or anything or no?

Speaker 3 (40:21):
I think you know.

Speaker 5 (40:22):
It was a small theater in Buffalo downtown. I don't
forget the name of it now.

Speaker 6 (40:26):
Uh.

Speaker 5 (40:27):
And I just I was just happy that, like I
can still remember this story. The interaction in the mall
like that to me is such a sweet little you know,
I love that well to do, but.

Speaker 2 (40:37):
That's a big one. Yeah, that's a good memory for sure.

Speaker 3 (40:40):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (40:40):
Oh, too bad you didn't see Black Christmas, because then
you could have raved about that.

Speaker 3 (40:43):
I know, I know.

Speaker 5 (40:44):
I mean if if she had told me, sweetheart, go
see the Vagina Montolagues.

Speaker 3 (40:47):
And then watch my original you know movie, I'd be like,
you got.

Speaker 2 (40:49):
It right, You'd be like, wow, okay, sure, yes, ma'am right. Yeah,
oh yeah, just like such a great cast and even
Andrew Martin, who we know is such a funny like
I've and Andrew Martin story. I sat next to her
at you know, the Lorie Beakman Theater. It's like forty
second and ninth, I want to say, and it's like
a it's like a drag like theater under a restaurant.

(41:11):
We went years ago to a reading of the play
Dog Sees God that later I did, and I love
that show. But she was there at our little it's
like a cabaret style, right, so like little tables. She
was there right next to us. I sat right next
to her, and it was like amazing. I'm like, you're
Andrea Martin, you know, so like how fun to see
her really become such a comedy queen of like film, TV, theater.

(41:31):
But this was like pretty serious for her. You actually
like really kind of feel for her. She's like the
most stressed. I feel like film this par you know,
like she's working with the cops a lot. She's working
with that like hunky guy who's like a friend, Like
I think, oh, it's like Claire's boyfriend. Like she's really proactive.
And then she falls for that trap, you know, opening

(41:52):
the door, opening barbs door, right, and just yeah, then
all of a sudden they're lying there together, talk about sisters.
I mean, she's they're like lying there bloody. Oh and
Barb's death. We have to talk about Barb's death. I
love her death. I know you mentioned the the iconic
like shot of his eye, but like using the unicorn,
and like, also how that was filmed really blew my

(42:15):
mind because it's a very it's very artistically shot, like
death because it's like her hand but with the ornaments.
And but real quick, I do just want to say,
I think it's weird, and maybe it was like a
scheduling thing, but it's weird how Margot is so in
the movie and then all of a sudden she's just gone, right.
You really feel that absence, like Okay, she drank too
much and she's sleeping. I'm like, okay, but we're not

(42:36):
even cutting to her that much, Like we don't cut
to her until she's basically about to die. So that
felt a little like I wonder if her schedule just
she was doing something else or something.

Speaker 3 (42:46):
You know.

Speaker 5 (42:46):
Yeah, I think I read again some of the notes
that they weren't all I mean, I know it happens
in movies, but that they weren't all together like.

Speaker 3 (42:54):
They Okay, they did a lot of their scenes in
isolation or and.

Speaker 2 (42:58):
She's though, she's like the one, so you kind of
want her to like live to help Jess, but man,
Jess is all alone. So yeah, I just, oh my god.
Going back to the ending. It's just so scary when
Jess is in this creepy house, oh man, and the
hair pull and then in the basement when like Peter
is the most shady and like, oh, well, we got

(43:19):
to talk about Peter. Wow, we have lots before we go.
I want to hear your thoughts about Peter because it's
really crazy how this is a fifty year old movie
but some of the topics they're discussing feel extremely right.
That's that's crazy.

Speaker 5 (43:33):
I have not heard the term abortion like they used
in this movie, right, And it's like that was oh
I was using the C word.

Speaker 3 (43:41):
That was like one thing.

Speaker 5 (43:42):
The seventies are really up and up their women, women's
live right, It's.

Speaker 2 (43:47):
Yes, you know we're talking about women's bodies for sure.
Yeah in this movie and men especially, you're talking about
their bodies. But uh yeah, you know, just what a
what a crazy relationship with Peter and and he's this
high strung, very stressed like pianist and I totally forgot
he like breaks the piano. And then I love the
shot of John Saxon later like as he's like really

(44:09):
looking around, like turning on the light and seeing the
like I just love John saxon this movie and Nightmare,
he's like, oh whatever, Nancy, But here he's like he
actually believes the girls, you know. So it's it's fun
to see him like really like onto something with Peter. Yeah,
but uh yeah, the whole abortion thing, like I don't
want you to kill the baby, you know. And she's

(44:30):
done with him, and he's freaking out over this this
thing that's not your decision to make. He kind of says,
like it's just wild. How like we're hearing a lot
of that nowadays in politics, so like kind of freaky,
how like shit, nothing's really changed. It's like years, you know.
He even says he's like I don't want to live
with a bunch of roommates anymore. I want to get
married and have a house. And like he's like very

(44:52):
unhappy in his life, right, but I'm like, go back
to your room, Go to your room, like he like
is wandering around the it's Christmas break. I mean, I
assume some of your roommates are gone. That's also brilliant,
you know, to have. That's why I just love this
movie in general, and any movie at college, especially where
it's like holiday break. It's so smart because very few

(45:13):
people are around, right, so like you probably have your
room to yourself, go, but instead he's like wandering around
the the house and like he even kind of like
squats down by the tree looking at the cops, and
it's like you are crazy. You are like, no, wonder
she dumped you, Peter, go away.

Speaker 4 (45:29):
Right, scram It's fifty five.

Speaker 2 (45:44):
Hey, Rewinders, I'm putting this call on hold for just
a second to tell you that there's another horror movie.
You can watch it home tonight. My new short film,
which is a horror comedy called Casting Kill. I wrote, directed,
and produced it and it's now streaming on the new
indie film site Sparrow. So check it out and I
hope you enjoy. Okay, now it's not just Jeff and

(46:06):
me who love the original Black Christmas. Here are my
friends Katie Bruno and Rudy Valdez with their thoughts about
the Moner.

Speaker 7 (46:15):
I'm so far behind on this horror train that I
never saw Black Christmas. But okay, here are my thoughts.

Speaker 3 (46:23):
It was great.

Speaker 7 (46:24):
It was a quintessential nineteen seventies horror movie. Loved it,
But I just have some like qualms in terms of
like storyline, why did no one check the attic, Like,
come on, guys.

Speaker 2 (46:37):
Like.

Speaker 7 (46:38):
What I actually thought was surprising about the movie was
that there wasn't a lot of kills. There's really only
what like four or five murders like in you know
horror movie, you know there the grand scheme of things.

Speaker 3 (46:52):
That's not a lot.

Speaker 7 (46:53):
Like I was kind of surprised of that. It was
kind of a slow burn like it wasn't like murder, murder,
murder all. It was like the the phone calls was
super creepy, like very very cool. Like I like that,
like that slow burn build up creepiness, very very well done.
I liked that they had a lot of character development.
Loved Margo Kidder. Oh my gosh, she's hilarious. She is

(47:16):
like my spirit animal, like drinking a beer at the
police station.

Speaker 3 (47:20):
Hell yeah, girl.

Speaker 1 (47:21):
What.

Speaker 7 (47:22):
I love that Olivia Hussey is in this. She's kind
of a low key horror queen. I always remember her
from Psycho for which is not a great movie, but
like you know, it's still a horror movie. And also
it she plays I think it's like John Ritter's girlfriend.
But yeah, and she's in the original Rome and Juliet,

(47:43):
which we were forced to watch in high school, so,
you know, props to her gorgeous awesome. I also have
to mention this movie came out in nineteen seventy four,
literally Roe v. Wade and abortion became legal like a
year before, and this movie tackles the subject of abortion like.

Speaker 3 (48:01):
Pretty boldly and bravely.

Speaker 7 (48:03):
I have to give this movie props to have the
lead female character stare in her ground say this is
my choice to her asshole boyfriend who's like, no, you
need to marry me and have the baby and shut up. Like,
props to this movie for tackling that at that time.

Speaker 8 (48:17):
Hey, Mark, it's rudy. One thing that I really like
about this movie is the cast of characters, mostly the
sorority sisters. They all just were very much like different
yet the same similar. You know, you truly believe that
these women, these characters could be friends. They didn't like

(48:41):
volunta any kind of like tropes or you know, characters
that we've seen much later in life. As far as
like with other genres of films and TV shows, they
all will just like fun, smart, you know, a little
fragile like people can be. But they all were a
cohesive unit in a way. You know, and you just

(49:03):
really cared about them.

Speaker 3 (49:04):
They care.

Speaker 8 (49:05):
You could tell they cared about each other, and it
was just just fun to watch. And Olivia Hessi was
just so great and I do really adored market Hitter.
She was phenomenal, just so much fun. Like she was
really a highlight of the film. I wish we were
able to see more of her acting later in life,

(49:25):
but we do have this, this film will look back
on her and stuff. So it's all I wanted to say,
Happy holidays, thank you for listening.

Speaker 3 (49:40):
It's interesting too.

Speaker 5 (49:41):
I'm trying to think of another movie where they've cut
away from like the final battle right like, because they
actually show them fighting. They show him get closer, she's
got the poker ready, cut to some cut to the
other scene, and then when the cops find them at
the end, and you're like, I wonder if they like
film that scene and just decided that, you know.

Speaker 3 (50:04):
The the tussling wouldn't have worked because.

Speaker 5 (50:06):
Then maybe lying there, you know, and you think they're
both dead, and then she takes up her head and
of course she's okay, you know, I just it's just
right when.

Speaker 2 (50:17):
You totally I totally hear you. It's like it's an
interesting choice to lide that. I guess they. I guess
maybe Bob Clark wanted to and the writer Roy Moore,
maybe it's in the script, you know, maybe to just
keep us on our toes because we all think it's
it's Peter, right, Peter is Billy that like I assume
in reality, maybe there isn't a fight, or he tries

(50:39):
to grab and be like what are you doing and
she just starts like stabbing him with it, you know,
and we don't. They don't want us to know that
that happened until the end when she's lying there, when
I love how every cop except for one outside leaves
her to just I'm like, okay, there have been murders,
this girl has been attacked. You're not gonna have one
person just sit outside the room, guys.

Speaker 3 (50:59):
Right, Like maybe take her to the hospital right instill.

Speaker 2 (51:03):
They like knock her out there, like oh, she'll be
sleeping all night long. It's like, okay, well can we
get a nurse, Like can someone come to the house?

Speaker 3 (51:12):
Right?

Speaker 2 (51:12):
But like maybe that was maybe that was an intentional
to not show the scuffle, the fight, so that we
all realize right as the credits roll that there's the
killer is still there? Which is you know? And I
love I love to this day. I think it is
so brilliant and like so modern, like of twenty twenty four,

(51:32):
like a movie like today, would you do it? No
ending music, it's just the ringing phone getting louder and
louder through the credits, right, brilliant? Right? Yeah, So I
don't know if that was a budget thing, but it
works guys like good?

Speaker 5 (51:45):
Right? Isn't it just crazy when you think about any
horror movie now, how like it's not always guaranteed to
be good? Right, And it's like, here are these guys
in the seventies, no budget, no money, you know, making
these like well crafted movies, not even just horrible, but

(52:06):
like a well crafted movie. And like now with all
the resources, all the technology, all the all the effects,
and it can be like trash.

Speaker 2 (52:14):
I mean, oh yeah, most of the times it's trash.
And you're like the budget was how much?

Speaker 5 (52:18):
Right?

Speaker 1 (52:18):
Right?

Speaker 5 (52:19):
And like even I don't know if we talked about
this maybe on the lad last podcast with for the Exorcist,
but like the remake of that was like I was,
I thought I was terrible, and I'm so is it
Mike Flanagan.

Speaker 2 (52:33):
Mike Flanagan's taking over, yeah, which he is great. I
love so much of his work. So it's interesting though
they're not going to continue that story, Like it's I
just feel so embarrassed, like for Ellen Burston and for
so and so I'll just stop, I'll cut that out.
But like you know, the end of that oh, like
now it's like, well, what's going to happen? But they

(52:54):
are scrapping that overall story because it's like a trilogy.
They're scrapping that completely, and like now Mike planning and
it's just starting with a new story, new characters, and
it's just I just feel embarrassed for them because it's
like yikes, guys, like, yeah, that one was not good.
It felt so it just felt out of all these
like reboots and new sequels, that one especially felt the

(53:15):
most cash grabby, redundant, tone deaf, like so, yeah.

Speaker 5 (53:22):
Like these are your people, and yeah, we're gonna see it,
but we want to also like see it again. I'm
not going to watch Halloween Kills and Ends again, like
I'll probably watch twenty.

Speaker 2 (53:31):
Yeah, the twenty eighteen one is probably the best and
most rewatchable of that yeah, Mike Flanagan can steer that
franchise in the right.

Speaker 5 (53:40):
King, I thank you, you know, and even his I
mean not, I mean, I love I love Doctor Sleep.

Speaker 3 (53:45):
I don't know if you've.

Speaker 2 (53:46):
Oh, I loved it. I loved it. I think it's great.
Uh huh, yeah, I totally agree. In the seventies, I
don't know if if it was lack of resources or
a lot of fresh perspectives that we now take for granted,
because a lot of these stories are actually, you know,
quite straightforward, but like at the time, you know, like
I mean, in the seventies, we had like we talked

(54:07):
about the extrecist Black Christmas, Alien Texas Chainsaw also turned fifty.
I mean, Carrie's sisters suspirit. I mean, it's wild, it's wild.
That decade was like so creative.

Speaker 6 (54:18):
Black Christmas starring Olivia Hussey, kid Ulat Margo Kidder and
starting John Sexon as Lieutenant Puller. If this movie doesn't
make your skin crawl, it's on two tight.

Speaker 2 (54:33):
Out of all the deaths we've discussed, because we've basically
talked about all the big ones, which one is your
favorite in Black Christmas? Do you have one that you
just love watching.

Speaker 5 (54:42):
I will say I do love because I'm a big
Margo fan. Margot Kidder, Barb, I think that seems my
favorite that scene.

Speaker 2 (54:49):
Yeah, it's so interesting. Yeah, it's more than just like
because you know, you don't really see the stabs, but they,
like we were saying, they frame it in such an
interesting way. Whereas he's stabbing, you see her hair. It's
so like it's like it really kind of doesn't fall
in line with all the other scenes. But I kind
of like that. It's like this weird, little unique like

(55:09):
they were playing around that day. They're like, well, let's
like go against what we've been doing and like shoot
with different lenses or something.

Speaker 5 (55:15):
Right, right, But it's like an owed to the shower
scene and Psycho. You know, it's like for a moment
or right you do. And the cutaways, I mean it's
a that's a great point.

Speaker 2 (55:29):
And also, Jeff, I love and so brilliant they're cutting
back and forth. Just can't hear uh Margo's character Barb
screaming because of course this choir of kids, right, yes,
the carollers. Yeah, brilliant For me. Favorite deaths Barbs is great.
I mean, there's no bad death I also even love

(55:50):
the creepy reveal of the one cop that's been sitting
outside the house, and then like the slow camera, you know,
I love that the cameras all almost all he's moving
in this movie. I kind of forget because like when
I'm watching a movie or making a movie, like I
don't always think like, yeah, like, but the cameras, the
zooms on on Jess, on Miss Mac, like on the

(56:11):
realizations and like the pans to reveal beautiful brilliantly. But
I guess my favorite death. Oh gosh, Jeff, there's just
something about Miss Mac with that hooked thing and like
how he's how he's holding it and shaking it, and
like just that whole reveal and how she's funny and
still a little funny when she like realized when she

(56:32):
sees Claire. But it's like, oh, it's just yeah, there's
something about that one I just love. But like I said,
they all are top tier. Poor Phil, we don't really
see her die, but we at least we know what's
happening because that door shuts and then, you know, but
going back to the ending where we go back to
Jess and Peter and they both look dead, that also

(56:55):
made me think of Scream too at the ending, because remember.

Speaker 3 (56:58):
When they yeah, they looked dead.

Speaker 2 (57:01):
They both fall, Yeah, and it takes Sidney a while
to like cough, but like for a second, I remember,
like when you first see you're like, oh shit, who died?

Speaker 3 (57:08):
You know?

Speaker 2 (57:09):
Or did they both? Did it go through them both?
So I wonder if that was Scream two kind of
paying a little bit of homage here where it's like, waitter,
they both did what happened?

Speaker 3 (57:16):
You know?

Speaker 2 (57:17):
So I just wanted to shout out that connection as well.

Speaker 5 (57:19):
You know, I guess it maybe bombed a little bit
or didn't make didn't make a lot of money.

Speaker 2 (57:24):
I guess in Canada the box office was one point
three million, and according to wiki it was four million worldwide,
So I mean this was fifty years ago, so not
four million today, but you've heard higher numbers. So yeah,
I guess maybe theatrically not a not a huge moment,
right right, Well, I.

Speaker 3 (57:39):
Was just thinking that could have been.

Speaker 5 (57:41):
I mean, I could have been a great franchise. I mean,
maybe you know, at least at least have a sequel.
And I guess they you know, they decided might not
just reboot it, you know, twenty years.

Speaker 3 (57:51):
Later, three years later.

Speaker 5 (57:52):
But yeah, I think out of out of the movies
that have these like other masterpieces that we've seen, I mean,
this could have definitely.

Speaker 2 (58:00):
Have a nice little franchise that was just I think
so too, because I wouldn't be surprised if that was
the plan to explore more with Agnes what and Billy
obviously because he's still alive, so like what's the family dynamic?
But yeah, I have a feeling and especially because he
uses the C word and like says like, you know,
I want to lick your piggies. Like I just get

(58:22):
this vibe. And maybe maybe it's me, but like I
think he like molested his little sister and then like
killed her. I feel like that's what happened or something,
you know, and maybe he did it again with this
team you know, in the park or whatever. Like So yeah,
it's a fun it's a really fun movie, but it
it has a really dark, twisted like core to it.

(58:43):
It's not like you're you're laughing and you're having fun
as like it's thrilling, but like right it's like, oh
we're getting we're getting nasty here.

Speaker 3 (58:50):
You know.

Speaker 5 (58:50):
Well, if they were to do that now they would
definitely like remake the movie and then the sequel would
be like the prequel, right they we would get the
backs right and then find out maybe there'd have to
be a third movie that like maybe you know, he
gets caught or he keeps going, but there a trilogy
kind of like.

Speaker 2 (59:10):
A pearl, right, a pearl, you're right, where we're kind
of playing with time, like now we're going forward, now
we're you know, Yeah, I could totally see that because
there there is more in a perfect way. It's so
open ended and like very vague, you know, so you
could explore that, although sometimes it's maybe best to not
explore that and just keep it how it is, right,
you know. But I know in the two thousand and

(59:30):
six remake, which I want to rewatch if you rewatch
it this month, let me know what you think now
years later, but I want to check it out because
I do remember like Agnes has much more to do.
She's actually a character. They there's a lot of flashbacks,
so it's almost like, yeah, like it's a remake, but
like a sort of prequel in a way. They wanted
to expand more of that, which I think I liked it,

(59:53):
but I guess maybe some people don't like that. Now
I'm being told what happened where it's maybe scarier if
I'm imagining, right, sure, sure, yeah, yeah, But as far
as I know that twenty nineteen one, I don't think
there's any agnes. I don't even know if the killer's
name is Billy, Like, it's basically black Christmas in that
it's called that, and it's a sorority of girls fighting

(01:00:13):
off the killer, but any other details are from what
I remember, all new stuff, totally different story. So starting
a co Starr and Kerry el Wes as like the
dean of the college, so kind of fun to see him.

Speaker 5 (01:00:26):
So yeah, well I think I did see. I looked
up this woman. I think it's Claire. I forgot her
real name, but I think she's in Thanksgiving.

Speaker 2 (01:00:39):
You know what, Jeff, you are so right. I just
rewatched Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving. You're right. She has a cameo
in it. I think in the beginning she is let
me look real quick, You're right. Her name in real
life is Lynn Griffin, Right, she plays Claire Harrison and yeah,
and Thanksgiving, which I loved. Yeah, she's Grandma. I think
she's in that opening scene like before things go crazy

(01:01:02):
at the at the store.

Speaker 3 (01:01:03):
Right, Yeah, and that was I thought that was great.

Speaker 2 (01:01:06):
Oh, I thought it was so good.

Speaker 3 (01:01:08):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:01:08):
The only the only complaint I have about Thanksgiving is
the ending felt very rushed, Like that felt like or
out of time, like you know, it would have been
It would have been nice to like just have that
fleshed out a little bit more like scream or like
a lot of the who done It's where it's like,
give me a little bit more talking now that I
know it's you, you know. But yeah, I'm ready for
the sequel. I thought that was so fun and actually
pretty thrilling and scary too, Like it's funny, but it's

(01:01:31):
it's it goes there, you know.

Speaker 3 (01:01:33):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I like the one. I should rewatch
that because I think I bought it.

Speaker 1 (01:01:37):
But oh yeah yeahan, oh my god, Jeff shan Than
that scene, that's another one where I'm like, oh my god,
you know, yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:01:49):
Well Eli Roth, we know, I mean, he's he's going
for it.

Speaker 4 (01:01:51):
So yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:01:53):
But any last thoughts about Black Christmas, Jeff that you
want to say?

Speaker 5 (01:01:56):
I just think we should make it our life's mission
to just spread the good and tell people you know, listen,
don't be afraid that it's nineteen seventy four. Put it
on by it you know what it's on, Shutter and Peacock,
I think right now.

Speaker 2 (01:02:09):
Yeah, it's on a few things right now. Yeah, it's
tiving a.

Speaker 3 (01:02:11):
Moment, but just to you know, it's Christmas time.

Speaker 5 (01:02:14):
Let's get in the spirit of Christmas and watch that movie.

Speaker 2 (01:02:18):
Just jump in and like, yeah, I mean, you still
hear some Christmas songs. It starts with Silent Night, and
I think it even ends there's a little bit of
silent Night at the end before the phone rings. Right,
so here's some Christmas too. Yes, you see the lights,
you see the snow. I think it's you know, you
get that. And then and then there's lots of really
foul language and murder. I mean, come on, it's.

Speaker 5 (01:02:37):
Fun, right exactly, all right, Marky Mark, let's just say
Black Christmas two thousand and six.

Speaker 3 (01:02:44):
Is not great? Is that what you're gonna say?

Speaker 5 (01:02:50):
I wasn't gonna say, and I was gonna say, it's fun,
not great. There's a lot of storylines that are unnecessary,
one might say convoluted.

Speaker 3 (01:03:03):
But what we do have going for us is more.

Speaker 5 (01:03:06):
Andrea Martin of course absolutely, and that's really all I
was here for, right, So we're.

Speaker 3 (01:03:12):
We had a good time, but we should have just watched.

Speaker 5 (01:03:16):
The original again again again. So I completely forgot to
tell you the story today. But there was one time
when you were we were talking about our my Marco
Kidder story and you're Andrew Martin's story. I saw Andrew
Martin once riding a bike and one of sixth and

(01:03:36):
Columbus by our old apartment and I was like, oh
my gosh.

Speaker 3 (01:03:39):
It's Andrew Martin. I love you. She's like, I love
you too, sweetheart.

Speaker 5 (01:03:43):
Like it was so good, and that was it. I
forgot to mention that bye.

Speaker 2 (01:03:49):
Mark nine and that my friends, is Black Christmas one
of the earliest and best modern examples of the slasher movie,
obviously inspiring Halloween when a stranger calls scream and more so,
what do you think happened to Billy and to Jess
and to little Agnes? Hmm. Make sure you check your

(01:04:10):
addicts before going to sleep tonight. Everybody, thank you for
listening to this episode, and thank you to my horror
loving friend Jeff Bageiski for being my fellow sorority sis
this episode. Please leave a rating or review on the
podcast app you're using, or a thumbs up on YouTube.
If you liked this episode, follow me on Instagram at
release date. Rewind to see more great stuff related to

(01:04:33):
this conversation. End to the movie. Thank you Strawha Media,
Kyle Mottzinger, Greg Clemens, and Portland Media Center. I have
one more episode of the year on the way and
it's another special one featuring sisters and the holidays. Little
of Women, Merry Christmas, everybody,