Black Christmas (2006 Film) - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

The film received generally negative reviews. Black Christmas earns a 14% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, labeled "rotten" based on 55 reviews. The critics agreed that it was "a gratuitous remake of the 1974 slasher, Black Christmas pumps out the gore and blood with zero creativity, humor, or visual flair". On Metacritic, the film was given an average rating of 22, based on 17 reviews.

"Like an ugly tie or a pair of slipper socks, Black Christmas is destined to be forgotten the instant it's unwrapped, gathering dust until the season rolls around again," says reviewer Sam Adams of the Los Angeles Times. Jim Ridley of The Village Voice inputs, "The product itself isn't so much afterthought as afterbirth -- a bloody mess to be dumped discreetly." When compared to the original, Desson Thomson of the Washington Post calls it "a drab, unimaginative remake. The remake neither pays perceptive tribute to the original nor updates it in anything but hackneyed form." Joe Leydon of Variety goes on to say " there can be no argument regarding the scant merits of its slapdash, soporifically routine remake, suitable only for the least discriminating of gore hounds." "Lazy, perfunctory and free of tension, the new version will satisfy neither the admirers of the original nor anyone looking for a gory respite from seasonal good cheer," Jason Anderson of The Globe and Mail agrees.

Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle, however, said "This film is an evocative, effective entry into the holiday blood-spray subgenre in its own right. And if it doesn't make your skin crawl ... you probably ate too much Christmas dinner." Reviewers also praised the acting of several of the lead performers, in particular Crystal Lowe, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. The flashback scene which showed Billy killing his mother also earned praises from critics.

Horror review website Bloody Disgusting gave the film six out of ten and decried moviegoers and critics for comparing the original to the remake, saying "this reviewer doesn’t care if a remake isn’t as good as the original. The original is still there. It makes a lot more sense to judge a remake the same way the original was judged: ON ITS OWN MERITS. If the remake pales, fine. If it doesn’t, that’s fine too. A decent horror movie is a decent horror movie, remake or not" concluding that the film is "a pretty good modern slasher. There’s no self-referential humor, there’s no annoying pop stars playing sassy friends, and no obvious re-editing. Instead, there’s gore, a few decent creepy moments, and some well implemented dark humor, which is more than you can say for most slashers of the past decade". The Radio Times also gave the film a positive review, giving the film three stars out of five and calling the film a "cheeky but no less brutal remake."