Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to everyone. In the spirit of giving, we at the Really Awful Movies Podcast, are giving our listeners a holiday treat — what is arguably the first slasher ever, Black Christmas.

Featuring a POV killer, pre-Carpenter’s Halloween, and a whole lot of mouth- breathing dirty phone calls, Black Christmas is a lovely film which still has the ability to shock. It’s well worth a look, especially as an alternative to the ubiquitous ELF or It’s a Wonderful Life.

On this episode of the show, we delve into Canadian horror…and the impact of Black Christmas.

In the mid-70s, director Bob Clark (Porky’s/Murder by Decree) gave us this, a film which features tropes later beaten like a dead horse and requiring dental identification in the slasher boom: you’ve got the threatening phone calls, the sorority sisters trapped in a house, disbelieving authority figures, a killer with a murky backstory and of course, blood.

To heck with Bing Crosby, we’re dreaming of a Black Christmas. This one may haunt your nightmares, although it’s been usurped by later films and somewhat stripped of its influence as years have gone by. However, its place in the horror pantheon is undeniable.

Don’t forget to check out new episodes of the Really Awful Movies Podcast every Friday.