22
Metascore
17 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 50L.A. WeeklyChuck WilsonL.A. WeeklyChuck WilsonThe flashbacks are wittily gothic, and the present-day murder scenes have the absurdist, chain-reaction intricacy of the "Final Destination" deaths.
- 50Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovThis 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.
- 38Boston GlobeTy BurrBoston GlobeTy BurrSilly, obvious, clumsy, and just gruesome enough to keep jaded genre fans from angrily throwing popcorn at the screen.
- 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.
- 30The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenThe Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenThere are a couple clever touches here and there, including one sequence in which the end of a candy cane has been carefully licked into a highly lethal weapon, but for the most part the accompanying histrionics feel more regressive than retro.
- 25The Globe and Mail (Toronto)The Globe and Mail (Toronto)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.
- 20EmpireEmpireBad film fans will think Christmas has come early, everyone else should ask for the receipt.
- 20The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisWith a peephole-riddled set and a flashback-heavy screenplay, Black Christmas smothers terror beneath a blanket of unnecessary information, revealing too much and teasing too little.
- 10VarietyJoe LeydonVarietyJoe LeydonIt's debatable whether the original 1974 "Black Christmas" is, as its most rabid fans claim, the mother of all slasher movies. But there can be no argument regarding the scant merits of its slapdash, soporifically routine remake, suitable only for the least discriminating of gore hounds.
- 10Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonThe remake neither pays perceptive tribute to the original nor updates it in anything but hackneyed form.