Written by Donato Totaro (READ FULL ESSAY)
Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film Meets The Sandman
[extract]For those interested in more documented analysis on the stalker/slasher film, a recent television documentary series called On Screen, which devotes single hour programs to examining important Canadian films, looked at Black Christmas in its first season (it is now in its second season), interviewing many of its cast, crew, and notable film critics. The question of the film’s pedigree as the first stalker/slasher film, and its influence on John Carpenter is touched on briefly toward the end of the documentary. (Information which was previously stated by Clark in his commentary track to the 2002 Critical Mass special edition release of the DVD, which reveals that Carpenter, who had seen and admired Black Christmas, asked Clark if he was considering making a sequel to Black Christmas. When Clark replied in the negative, Carpenter asked him, rhetorically, that if he were to make a sequel what would he call it? Clark replied with the title “Halloween” and added the plot fragment of the killer being caught and institutionalized at the end of the first film, and the sequel picking up with the killer escaping and returning to the same location to continue killing. To set the record straight, the self-effacing Clark has never made much of this handed down story information, and is quick to point out that Halloween has many more differences than similarities to Black Christmas and stands as its own film.)[extract]
There are obvious connections between Black Christmas and Haloween, but the later film is undoubtedly greater. BC set down many of the standard clichés and rules of the new genre, whereas Haloween added new psychological depth to antagonist and protagonist alike. I dont think Carpenter has surpassed Haloween in quality since, although The Thing and the Escape From films may be more worthwhile in terms of raw entertainment.
It would be interetsing to link in Scream to Haloween, as the film that spawned a sort of post-Slasher genre that whilst relying on standard genre clichés also plays with them and the audiences expectations that are based on them.