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[Interview] Sophia Takal on Why the New ‘Black Christmas’ Replaces Billy With a Cult of Killers

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There’s a new Black Christmas in town, and this time it’s a very different film from the original. Even the killer is completely different this time. Instead of a mysterious creep named “Billy,” Sophia Takal’s remake is about sorority sisters who are hunted by a whole cult of homicidal misogynists.

It’s a giant change to the Black Christmas tradition, and in a new interview with Bloody-Disgusting Sophia Takal explained that the change came from a close reading of the original film, along with a serious thought process about this moment in history, and its place in the history of sexual politics.

“After Blumhouse approached me about making the movie I went back and I rewatched Black Christmas and one of the things that I was really stuck by this time, the thing that jumped out to me was that at the end of the movie when the main character kills her boyfriend – who we’ve come to believe is the killer – and then is kind of left alone in her room by the men who were meant to protect her,” Takal remembers.

“Then you find out the real killer is this shadowy figure, who you don’t actually know who it is. I was struck by how clear to me that was a metaphor for sexism and misogyny, and this idea that sometimes women think they’ve won a battle but this kind of misogyny is kind of waiting in the shadows to destroy us if we fall asleep,” she adds.

“Kind of going back to my mind state earlier this year, Bret Kavanaugh had just been confirmed [to the Supreme Court, amidst accusations of sexual assault] and that felt like such a… it just felt like such an important moment in our culture for so many reasons,” Takal explains.

“But one of the things that really struck me was how it was so similar to Clarence Thomas and how this idea of progress felt way more cyclical than a clear, straight-line trajectory of progress,” Takal says. “And all these predatory men who had been called out during the #MeToo movement, some of them sort of started re-entering society without totally reckoning with what they had done.”

“So I sort of started feeling the same feeling that I had as an audience member watching the original, this time, and just being like holy shit, they’re still in the shadows,” she says, placing the original film in modern context. “That just felt like that was about this moment in time. And that was the seed of the original that made it seem worthwhile to me to remake this movie.”

“With these multiple killers the idea is you can’t ever completely kill or destroy misogyny and sexism, so the killers came to represent that,” Takal concludes, pointedly.

You’ll learn even more about the new Black Christmas killers when you see the remake. It’s in theaters right now.

William Bibbiani writes film criticism in Los Angeles, with bylines at The Wrap, Bloody Disgusting and IGN. He co-hosts three weekly podcasts: Critically Acclaimed (new movie reviews), The Two-Shot (double features of the best/worst movies ever made) and Canceled Too Soon (TV shows that lasted only one season or less). Member LAOFCS, former Movie Trivia Schmoedown World Champion, proud co-parent of two annoying cats.

Interviews

‘Immaculate’ Director Michael Mohan on Religious Horror and Why You Can’t Pull Punches [Halloweenies Podcast]

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Immaculate SXSW Horror

This weekend, Neon is releasing its highly anticipated new slice of horror Immaculate. Directed by Michael Mohan, Sydney Sweeney stars as an American nun named Cecilia who joins a remote convent in the Italian countryside. What begins as a warm welcome quickly devolves into a living nightmare as Cecilia discovers her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors. You can see it with a crowd this Friday.

In anticipation, Halloweenies co-host/executive producer Michael Roffman sits down with director Michael Mohan to discuss how he approached making his first horror film. Together, the two chat about the effects of religious horror in 2024, Sweeney’s Scream Queen magic, the ending everyone’s going to be talking about, and why Horror needs zero rules. He also offers some choice Horror recommendations.

Stream the episode below or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, The Evil Dead, and this past year’s Chucky! This year? The Alien franchise.

You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Gremlins, Jaws), one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Invasion of the Body Snatchers ), and even spinoffs like their recent run Fortune & Glory: An Indiana Jones Podcast.

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