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Black Christmas (2006)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 17, age appropriate for kids over 17; suggested age 17.

  • Is it any good?

    1.0

  • Common Sense says

    Dreary slasher remake is worse than fruitcake.

Why We Rated This not for kids

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    The serial killer is bad; his alcoholic mother abuses him (sexually and physically) and murders his VIetnam veteran father; Billy's sister is also his daughter; sorority girls make dumb choices, and one by one are killed by demented/evil Billy.

  • Violence:

    Repeated stabbings, smothering with plastic bags, splattering blood everywhere; Billy repeatedly pulls out and eats his victims' eyeballs; Billy makes "cookies" of his mother's flesh (with Christmas cutters), then bakes and eats them, with blood everywhere; weapons include knives, a garden hook, ice picks, a sharpened candy cane, a glass unicorn firgure, a barbecue fork, a fireplace poker, a defilibrator, Christmas lights (strangling), and a Christmas tree (impaling); decapitated head rolls out of an opened car door; Christmas tree decorated with eyeballs and decapitated heads.

  • Sex:

    Girl who kisses boyfriend is doomed; sorority house mother holds up lingerie she's received as a gift; porn footage on computer screen shows sexual movement (male over female's back), but no explicit body parts; sexual parts named ("ball sac"); reference to sitting on "Santa's lap" serial killer's sexual motivation is discussed; girl in shower seen from back and side (outline of breast, bottom visible) -- as killer's eye watches her. Billy's mother has sex with his stepfather, who falls asleep drunk; she then approaches Billy and drops her robe (viewers see her back and assume she has sex with her son, as his daughter is born nine months later).

  • Language:

    Frequent use of "f--k" (30+); repeated use of "s--t" (15-ish); also several uses of "damn."

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Billy's mother smokes cigarettes frequently; she's drinking and drunk in almost every scene she's in.

What Parents Need to Know

This review of Black Christmas (2006) was written by Cynthia Fuchs

Parents need to know that this holiday-themed horror remake isn't for kids. Although most of the grisly violence is implied rather than explicit, there's no shortage of spattering blood and jump scenes. Sorority house sisters are murdered one by one with weapons including knives, Christmas lights, a pointy Christmas ornament, and a glass unicorn figurine. The film also includes scenes of implied incest, online porn, vomiting, decapitation, bloody slicks on the floor, the consumption of human flesh cooked into Christmas cookie shapes, and human eyeballs being ripped out and eaten. Characters also smoke cigarettes, drink wine, and use lots of foul language (at least 30 "f--ks").

Families Can Talk About

Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
  • Families can talk about why the movie, like many modern horror flicks, gives its psycho killer a terrible childhood (the original version doesn't touch on that). How is Billy's mother blamed for her son's subsequent bad behavior? Is what he does less wrong because of how he grew up? Why is it so important to have a specific cause to blame for his behavior?
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More on Black Christmas (2006)

What’s the Story?

It's Christmas Eve, and sorority sisters Kelli (Katie Cassidy), Heather (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Dana (Lacey Chabert), and Melissa (Michelle Trachtenberg) are pondering their upcoming holiday on campus. House mother Mrs. Mac (Andrea Martin) regales her charges with the story of the house's previous inhabitant, Billy Lenz (Robert Mann). Flashbacks illustrate his terrible life: Jaundiced as a child and reviled by his chain-smoking, alcoholic mother, he ends up killing his family and is incarcerated in a sanitarium. When Billy escapes, he returns to his old home and creates bloody heck -- he's especially fond of decapitating and de-eyeballing his victims, then eating their flesh and corneas.
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Is It Any Good?

Gruesome and bleak, Black Christmas is a particularly uninspired slasher film remake. Except for the addition of flashbacks and back story (which end up detracting from the scares rather than enhancing them), the story is essentially the same as Bob Clark's 1974 original. But Glen Morgan's not-so-new version is slow-moving, unsurprising, and very, very bloody.

The formula, treated so carelessly, is tiresome: Each girl reveals early on a rudimentary reason why she might "deserve" her upcoming abuse and Billy's story is one we've heard too many times before: Bad mom makes bad son. In addition, the gore is rendered with slurpy sound effects and jarring close-ups in lieu of characterization.

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Movie Details

Studio: MGM/UA, Director: Glen Morgan
Run time: 84 minutes
Theatrical release: 12/25/2006, DVD release: 4/3/2007
MPAA Rating: R for strong horror violence and gore, sexuality, nudity and language.

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Teen Reviewer Age 16
    Thatoneguy
    Lives in Georgia
    I rate this title off for age 15 and give it 4.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate sexual content
    • Inappropriate language
    • Drinking, smoking, or drug use
    • Negative message
    • Negative role models

    This wasn't bad

    I would recommend it for 17+ It wasn't really as scary as it was violent.

    This review...

    Helped me decide | Had useful details | Read my mind
    Flag as inappropriate
  2. Adult Reviewer
    Mr. Strong
    Lives in Massachusetts
    I rate this title on and give it 5.0

    Violent, but adults can stand it!

    It's very violent, but adults can stand it. I thought it was awesome!

    This review...

    Helped me decide | Had useful details | Read my mind
    Flag as inappropriate
  3. Adult Reviewer
    kaylababy
    Lives in Florida
    I rate this title iffy and give it 2.0

    shocked

    when i went with my boyfriend i didnt think it would be as gruesome as it was

    This review...

    Helped me decide | Had useful details | Read my mind
    Flag as inappropriate
  4. Teen Reviewer Age 17
    1subzero1
    Lives in Georgia
    I rate this title on and give it 5.0

    It's a good movie!

    It's a good and that's a fact no matter what you say! It's sutible for kids 6+!

    This review...

    Helped me decide | Had useful details | Read my mind
    Flag as inappropriate
  5. Adult Reviewer
    movie_fanatic_41 ...
    Lives in New York
    I rate this title iffy and give it 3.0

    Black Christmas: Unrated

    Every catagory in the rating would have to be a big issue because this movie has everything in it. I also saw the Unrated version, and i dont know what is in the rated version.

    This review...

    Helped me decide | Had useful details | Read my mind
    Flag as inappropriate

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