‘Black Christmas’ Trailer: Sophia Takal and Blumhouse Do Frat Bro Slasher
Jason Blum is finally putting his money where his mouth is. After an unfortunate gaffe about the dearth of women horror directors landed him in hot water late last year, the producer backed actress-turned-filmmaker Sophia Takal’s third feature, a remake of Bob Clark’s 1974 horror classic “Black Christmas.” The recently released trailer teases a pro-sisterhood take on the original, which starred Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, and John Saxon and has long been hailed as one of the earliest examples of a slasher film. Takal’s version features Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Brittany O’Grady, Lily Donoghue, and Caleb Eberhardt.
For those unfamiliar with the story, here’s the official Blumhouse synopsis: “Hawthorne College is quieting down for the holidays. But as Riley Stone (Poots) and her Mu Kappa Epsilon sisters… prepare to deck the halls with a series of seasonal parties, a black-masked stalker begins killing sorority women one by one. As the body count rises, Riley and her squad start to question whether they can trust any man. … Whoever the killer is, he’s about to discover that this generation’s young women aren’t about to be anybody’s victims.”
Takal, best known for directing psychologically taut dramas like “Green” and “Always Shine,” wrote the script alongside film critic April Wolfe. Takal joined the Blumhouse fray last year when she was taped to direct an installment of its “Into the Dark” Hulu series titled “New Year, New You,” an all-female slasher film that arrived as part of the innovative anthology series.
“We’ve always been trying,” Blum said last year about the lack of horror films directed by women he’d produced. “There are not a lot of female directors period, and even less who are inclined to do horror.” He later apologized for the remarks. Takal came aboard this project earlier this year.
Under his Blumhouse Productions, Blum produced “Black Christmas” movie along with Ben Cosgrove and Adam Hendricks of Divide/Conquer. Greg Gilreath and Zac Locke of Divide/Conquer executive produced.
Clark’s iconic film was originally released under the title “Silent Night, Evil Night” and follows a group of sorority sisters who are terrorized and ultimately picked off by a deranged killer during the holiday season. In 2006, the film was remade by director Glen Morgan, though it was not well-received.
Universal Pictures will release “Black Christmas” in theaters on the auspiciously spooky Friday, December 13. Check out the trailer below.
