Movielogr
Black Christmas (2019)
Directed by Sophia Takal
Twitter Facebook Google+Most recently watched by sensoria
Overview
During Christmas break, the women at Hawthorne College start being preyed upon by an unknown stalker. Riley, a girl dealing with her own trauma, decides to take matters into her own hands before her and her friends are murdered too.
Rated PG-13 | Length 92 minutes
Actors
Imogen Poots | Aleyse Shannon | Lily Donoghue | Brittany O'Grady | Caleb Eberhardt | Cary Elwes | Simon Mead | Madeleine Adams | Nathalie Morris | Ben Black | Zoe Robins | Ryan McIntyre | Mark Neilson | Lucy Currey | Jonny McBride
Viewing History (seen 1 time)
| Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/13/2019 | Movie Screen | Digital | Theater | 6 stars |
| (Average) 6 stars |
Viewing Notes
Unknowingly selected seat F13 on Friday the 13th!
Far from being great yet enjoyable for wearing its message on its sleeve and owning it. I understand why men would be put off by this movie written, directed and starring women targeting rape culture in fraternities. I rather appreciated that they go so straightforward with that from the word go and stay with it to the end even throwing a few red herrings in there for good measure.
Agree with the sentiment that they should’ve just gone full Rated-R with this rather than holding back. It could’ve given it more of an edge and would be nice to see some of those kills on screen to emphasize the horrific nature of them. I get why they went PG13 but I’m hoping there’s an unrated cut on the horizon. To its credit there is one jump-scare that got me.
Nitpicks: wish the fake snow didn’t look so fake (mostly in the opening sequence, the snow angel). Wish the source (reasoning?) of the murders was better integrated throughout the story. It’s so abrupt in that final act then becomes a headscratcher that you just gotta accept and move on. The broader overarching scope of the murders and the effect on the university make little sense in modern day (can’t really go into detail w/o spoilery stuff but the implications / consequences of all this murdering… ??).
Lastly the geography of the campus is entirely absent and does the story no favors. I’m wondering if it was a budget issue / shooting issue. There is no sense of where the sorority house is in contrast to the campus and the fraternity house and the residential homes. It’s like a few exterior shots but mostly all indoors. Everyone just shows up at a place. Even the opening sequence is weird and could’ve used some wide takes if in fact a character is moving from campus to residential so quickly.
Of the three Sophia Takal films I’ve seen this is probably on the bottom (I really like GREEN and mostly enjoyed ALWAYS SHINE). I will definitely watch this movie again and maybe there’s more clues in the first half that I missed.
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