The tale of Billy and Black Christmas has been retold in various ways, but do either of these adaptations stand up to the original classic?
What’s a classic horror movie without an inferior remake or two? After discussing Bob Clark’s immortal Black Christmas (1974), Bennett Glace, Jim Hickcox, and Snow Lietta join Craig to talk through both the 2006 and 2019 remakes/adaptations. Whereas Glen Morgan’s 2006 version elevates the story’s most gruesome elements to unnecessary extremes, Sophia Takal’s 2019 adaptation approaches the source material as a vehicle for a political message intended for a younger audience. Both films were hindered by studio interference but still manage to produce memorable moments.
The discussion touches on how sequels and remakes both honor and warp minor details from the source material into something completely different. It also contextualizes the eras of horror in which they were made, with the 2006 version appearing in the midst of the mid-aughts boom of darker remakes, and 2019 during the unfolding #MeToo Movement. We asks whether the films would have been stronger under their own separate titles, and how stripping away the subtlety that makes the original so strong changes the mood of the films.
Listen to the episode below, or on Spotify, Apple, or Amazon and join in the holiday horror!
Listen to the prior episode on Bob Clark‘s 1974 Black Christmas here:
Stream Glen Morgan’s 2006 Black Christmas on Amazon
Stream Sophia Takal’s 2019 Black Christmas on Amazon
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Split Picks theme music by Nick Miller, Lee Walker, and Craig Wright
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