Black Christmas

Tis the season to get asphyxiated with a clear plastic bag. Just in time for Christmas comes the fifth DVD issuing of Bob Clark's proto-slasher classic about a sorority house terrorized by a mysterious psychopath on Christmas Eve. It's difficult to say what the significance of this version is, considering the last one came out just two years ago around the time of the horribly awful remake. Sure, there is a new documentary narrated by cast member John Saxon, which revisits the movie via interviews with cast members, but that's what anniversaries are for - like when it turns 35 in 2009. Still, if you haven't already bought one of the first four editions, this is a good one to begin with. First, it looks and sounds better than any version I've seen before, largely because of the anamorphic remastering. Usually these things don't matter but it's noticeable here. Then there is the doc 12 Days of Black Christmas, which doesn't feature any real surprises but contains some fond memories from Saxon, Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder and Art Hindle, who funnily acknowledges that his role was pretty insubstantial. Also included is a 2004 Q&A with Clark, Saxon and composer Carl Zittret, where among many answers, Clark admits to conceiving the idea of Halloween as a sequel but gives John Carpenter full credit for his film. The best bits though are not part of the DVD itself but of the packaging. Included are four official and very cool Black Christmas cards with envelopes to put that extra yuletide scare into your family members, and the original "Christmas is murder" movie poster used for the cover, which makes up for years of using the cheapest-looking artwork imaginable. Plus: interviews.