Every genre has cliches, but has well does Black Christmas (2006) follow the slasher film rules?
(2006) the bad remake for the The following analysis may contain spoilers for
Black Christmas (2006)
Rule #1
Unheeded Warning.
"Call the police!" ~ Heather.
"Please. The police are gonna do shit about one wack job phone call." ~ Lauren.
"Just dial *69." ~ Dana.
1a. Warnings will not be believed...
i. Source - Local legend.
ii. Dismissable - Local legend.
iii. Authorities - N/A.
iv. Crazy - N/A.
1b. Happened before - The house was the site of previous murders.
1c. General eeriness - The movie tried to, but it wasn't properly executed.
RULE #2
Sex & Nudity.
"Am I gonna show up on there? Isn't sex enough, Kyle? You need little visual trophies to get your thrill?" ~ Kellie.
2a. Nudity -
i. Female Nudity - Implied nudity of Megan in online video. Billy's mother during sex with his stepfather. Lauren in shower.
ii. Male Nudity - Implied nudity of Kyle in online video.
iii. Nudity Equals Death - Lauren is killed immediately after we see them. Billy kills his mother. Agnes eventually kills Lauren.
iv. Public vs Private Nudity - Billy's mother's is private but in a public era of the house, but is unseen. Lauren's nudity is private (showering) was watched from the floor. Kyle's sex tapes are shared online.
2b. Sex -
i. Death - All the characters having shown having sex die.
ii. Random Sex - Billy and his mother.
iii. Relationship Sex - Kyle and Megan previously had a sexual relationship (which he filmed), both are killed. Billy's stepfather and mother have sex, 8 years later Billy kills them. Kyle and Kellie have a sexual relationship, but she's only seen refusing sex with him.
iv. Rape - Billy's mother has sex with Billy while he is a child.
RULE #3
Death will be a punishment for...
"They're my family now." ~ Agnes.
...Transgression. Not directly a punishment for transgress. Agnes seems to be killing sorority girls as a form of effection. Most of Billy's kills are to get somewhere.
3a. Sex - All characters shown having sex are killed. Kellie survives but isn't actually shown having sex.
3b. Nudity - All characters shown naked are killed.
3c. Drinking - Most of the characters drink. Lauren gets drunk. Clair seems to have a drinking problem or something.
3d. Drugs - No drugs.
3e. Hitchhiking - No hitchhiking.
3f. Other Criminal Behaviour - Kyle films himself having sex with women.
3g. Being annoying/being cowardly/being a sleazy guy - Kyle is sleazy af.
3h. Being a bystander - Most of Billy's kills. And most of the sorority girls, too, really.
RULE #4
People will die when they go…
"If we go up there, the second we see they're dead we run the fuck out of this house." ~ Kyle.
4a. Down to the Basement - Dana is killed under the house.
4b. Upstairs - A lot of people are killed upstairs, especially Kyle going up into the attic.
4c. For a Shower - Lauren.
4d. Into old sheds or out buildings - N/A.
4e. Running off to the “safety” of the forest - N/A.
4f. Anywhere alone - A lot of people were killed while alone.
4g. Anywhere Remote, Isolated or Confined - The sorority house a little.
4h. Any Old, Abandoned or Presumably Haunted Buildings - The sorority house a little.
RULE #5
The Order of Death
"All right, all right, who's not here?" ~ Mrs. MacHenry.
"Um, like everybody." ~ Kellie.
5a. The First Person on Screen - Clair is first shown and first killed (in the film).
5b. The Black Man dies First - No minorities.
5c. The Stoner - Lauren gets drunk, dies while unconscious.
5d. The Bimbo - The nurse who has a sleazy flirtation with the fake Santa, she lives. We don't know know enough about the sorority girls, perhaps Megan. Billy's mother cheated on Billy's father and when Billy's stepfather fell asleep during sex she goes to Billy to finish.
5e. The Nerdy/Funny Guy - Eve is a creepy girl.
5f. Macho jerks - Kyle. The Guard and Santa. Billy's stepfather.
5g. The Strong Female Character - Dana, possibly Mel.
5h. The Protector - It was Mrs McHenry's job, but Leigh over took the role.
5i. The Sensitive Guy - Perhaps Billy's father in the flashbacks.
5j. Children and Animals - Nil (but Billy attacked Agnes as a child.)
5k. The Final Girl - Kellie.
Flashbacks
1. Billy's father (Billy's stepfather) [I]
2. [1] Billy's stepfather (Billy) [F]
3. [2] Billy's mother (Billy) [D]
Main story
4. (1) Clair (Agnes) [A]
5. [3] Guard (Billy) [F]
6. (2) Megan (Agnes) [D]
7. [4] Fake Santa (Billy) [F]
8. (3) Eve (Agnes) [E]
9. (4) Dana (Agnes) [G]
10. [5] Heather (Billy)
11. Mrs McHenry (accident) [H]
12. (5) Mel (Agnes) [G]
13. (6) Lauren (Agnes) [C]
14. (7) Kyle (Agnes) [F]
15. [6] Coroner (Billy) [F]
16. (8) Leigh (Agnes) [H]
17. Agnes
18. Billy
1. Billy's father (Billy's stepfather) [I]
2. [1] Billy's stepfather (Billy) [F]
3. [2] Billy's mother (Billy) [D]
Main story
4. (1) Clair (Agnes) [A]
5. [3] Guard (Billy) [F]
6. (2) Megan (Agnes) [D]
7. [4] Fake Santa (Billy) [F]
8. (3) Eve (Agnes) [E]
9. (4) Dana (Agnes) [G]
10. [5] Heather (Billy)
11. Mrs McHenry (accident) [H]
12. (5) Mel (Agnes) [G]
13. (6) Lauren (Agnes) [C]
14. (7) Kyle (Agnes) [F]
15. [6] Coroner (Billy) [F]
16. (8) Leigh (Agnes) [H]
17. Agnes
18. Billy
RULE #6
Especially When They Are Most Needed, The Following Things Cannot Be Relied On…
"We will call you when we were at the police station." ~ Mrs MacHenry.
...Anything. But especially:
6a. Communications devices - The phones (landline and mobile) work, and are used by the killers. They worked, but calling the authorities didn't help.
6b. Lighting - The power goes out.
6c. Vehicular Transport - A little difficulty starting a car. A windscreen needs to be cleaned. Two people are killed in cars.
6d. Your Own Legs - Especially with Kellie at the end when she drops the crutch next to Billy and he trips her with the it.
6e. The Authorities - Are too busy to come help. Also, don't seem to have thought warning them Billy had escaped.
6f. Weapons - Especially with Kellie at the end when she drops the crutch next to Billy and he trips her with the it.
6g. Escape Routes - Just the cars.
RULE #7
The Final Girl
"They're not your family... Agnes. I'm not your family, and your brother's not here." ~ Kellie.
Kellie
7a. Final - Yes.
7b. Girl - Yes.
7c. Boyish.
i. Uni-sex name - No.
ii. Masculine dressing - Not significantly.
iii. Flat-chested - Not significantly.
iv. Short-haired - No.
7d. Well Drawn -
i. Intelligent - A little.
ii. Curious & vigilant - Not until the end.
iii. Talented - Not really.
iv. Has a dark past - Just bad taste in boyfriends.
v. Have/gain inner strength - At the end.
7e. Virginal & innocent - In the movie, but doesn't seem to be.
7f. Will be reborn - Was.
RULE #8
The Killer has a Connection to…
"I'm really not okay with any of this. I mean, buying a Christmas present for a serial killer?" ~ Heather.
"No. You see, serial killers murder repeatedly for sexual thrill. Billy Lenz was a spree killer - dude just fucking lost it." Mel.
Billy & Agnes Lenz
8a. The Location - The house they grew up in.
8b. The Final Girl - No connection.
8c. The Protector - N/A.
8d. The Other Victims - No connection.
8e. Femininity - The reverse actually, Agnes is quite masculine.
8f. A Specific Look - Billy was born yellow for no clear reason. Probably because she's a child of incest Agnes looks like a female Billy.
8g. A Specific Weapon - Anything that comes to hand.
8h. The Camera - Yes, especially when looking from the walls.
RULE #9
Evil Never Dies
"Well, 'cause he wants us to identify all the bodies, and we've only done two." ~ Coroner.
9a. You Always Have to Kill the Bad Guy Twice - Billy and Agnes are actually put in body bags and shipped to the morgue by authorities.
9b. Even then the Bad Guy lives on - Doesn't appear to happen.
9c. Evil is Immortal - Not clear why the authorities thought they were dead when they weren't.
RULE #10
The Sequel Will Be Bigger/More Formulaic
"Not again." ~ Billy's mother.
10a. They will follow the rules more - The original was made before Halloween and so doesn't follow the rules that one created, this one does, strongly.
10b. They will be more formulaic - The first film had no formula. This one was all over the place.
10c. There will be more T&A - Not a lot, but some so beats the original.
10d. There will be more and bigger deaths of the victims - Yes, the blood and gore is far more extreme.
10e. The killer’s death will be bigger - Both the killers die, one very dramatically (impaled on a tree).
10f. The killer will be less realistic - For some reason Billy is now jaundice, and the addition of Agnes who is sister-daughter.
Results
The following rules are followed: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10.
The following rules are partially followed: 7, 8, 9.
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