Another 'Black Christmas' Remake Is Coming To Deck The Halls In Blood, This Time From Blumhouse
Bob Clark's iconic proto-slasher pic Black Christmas is getting yet another remake – this time from Blumhouse. The studio will release the holiday horror film just in time for next Christmas, and they've lined-up some impressive talent to make it happen. Sophia Takal, director of the fantastic indie horror-drama Always Shine, will helm the film. And Green Room's Imogen Poots will star. Merry Christmas, I guess!
Like it or not, a new Black Christmas remake is on the way. Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Brittany O'Grady, Lily Donoghue and Caleb Eberhardt will star, while Sphia Takal will direct from a script she co-wrote with April Wolfe. Takal previously worked with Blumhouse on the Into the Dark segment New Year, New You.
The original Black Christmas was released in 1974. Directed by Bob Clark (who also directed A Christmas Story, believe it or not), the film focused on a group of sorority sisters targeted by a killer around Christmas time. The ladies first receive weird, vulgar phone calls from someone. And then, one by one, they find themselves stalked and bumped-off.
While John Carpenter's Halloween often gets the credit as the first slasher film, Black Christmas predates it by four years, and even shares the "horror on a holiday" motif. That said, Black Christmas is more of a mystery-thriller than Halloween.
Black Christmas previously got the remake treatment in 2006, with an ultra-gory film from director Glen Morgan. The remake had the same premise of sorority sisters targeted on Christmas, but added some extra backstory and a hell of a lot of blood to the mix. It's kind of a mess, but it's a watchable mess. Which asks the question: do we need yet another remake of this property?
This is extra frustrating because I'm a big fan of Takal's Always Shine, and I want her to make more movies. I just wish she were directing something original, rather than a film that's already been remade once. But perhaps the filmmaker will bring something fresh and exciting to the mix, and give us a new Christmas horror movie worth celebrating. Here's the synopsis:
Hawthorne College is quieting down for the holidays. One by one, sorority girls on campus are being killed by an unknown stalker. But the killer is about to discover that this generation's young women aren't willing to become hapless victims as they mount a fight to the finish.
The new Black Christmas will find its way into theaters December 3, 2020. While shooting hasn't started yet, there's already a poster for the film. Take a gander at it below.
