Directed by: Sophia Takal
Notable cast: Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Lily Donahue,
Cary Elwes
Remakes are always a tricky business. I say this as one
who’s generally more favorable to them than most. In theory, you have to serve
the twin masters of appeasing the original fans and thrilling new ones or focus
on one or the other, often alienating the unserved audience. There are
certainly decent examples of all three and terrible examples as well, but it is
a conflict all remakes share. The new version of Black Christmas largely
focuses on the “thrilling new take” angle, and I think that it may have
unlocked the true potential of this story’s concept, while admittedly walking
into a few pitfalls of the genre as well.
Maintaining the basic conceit of sorority girls staying on
campus during the holiday season and then being taunted by phone, stalked, and
killed, it’s the only real callback to either previous version of this story. The
original Black Christmas was very much an exploration of the “killer is
calling from within the house” campfire story archetype, while this new one is a
pure slasher focused through a lens of modern feminism. I think there are a lot
of good ideas in play, although I do think the narrative fails the concept
here.
We open on Riley (Imogen Poots, having recently come off of
another exploration of male fragility, The Art Of Self-Defense) and her
sorority sisters saying goodbye to people leaving for the holidays while preparing
for a talent show being held by one of the frat houses. This opening very
rapidly lays it politics on the table by having a girl enter the room looking
for a diva cup, and directly challenging the audience to be uncomfortable with
it. Daring them. It’s fine and not as shocking as they’re hoping although it will
probably upset the people it specifically intends to. Actually, to expand on
that parenthetical sub-thought, a lot of the overt feminism in this movie seems
intended to make that aforementioned group uncomfortable more than pushing an
agenda per se, especially as a lot of the actual messaging in the movie is a
touch subtler. Not much though, this is very much a slasher movie in all ways
with all the traditional foibles, just one for the current era of social
progression. That is to say, it is occasionally and obnoxiously in your face,
but I strongly feel the need to temper that critique and double down on this
point. It’s not obnoxiously in your face because of its politics or feminism.
It’s obnoxiously in your face because it is a teen slasher movie.
After using their time at the talent show to sing a song
calling out the frat for general sexual assault and specifically Riley’s at the
hands of the former chapter president, the story hits its stride with the women
remaining on campus receiving threatening messages via a social media profile
claiming to be the school's founder, the night devolves into the expected violence
and chaos.
Why, then, is Black Christmas not getting an
especially high grade from me at the end of the day? Everything else. The plot
falls apart around the time supernatural elements are unnecessarily introduced
and there is always going to be a severe uphill climb for a PG-13 horror movie.
It’s immediately forgettable, but I do think it bears mention that this movie’s
failings are the expected problems with a PG-13 studio slasher. I do think, on
the other hand, that a generic movie from an interesting perspective is
something worth celebrating, because that’s how they get refined until we get a
real standout genre film from an interesting perspective. With that in mind,
it’s impossible to recommend this movie theatrically, however, it is worth a
watch and definitely worth keeping an eye on Sophia Takal’s career moving
forward.
Written By Sean Caylor
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