Maybe Black Christmas is just one of those movies that's impossible to remake considering both remakes have missed the mark in major ways. Whereas that 2006 remake felt like a candy-colored, studio re-tooled fever dream of nothing but gore scenes and poorly drawn characters, this new stab at the story feels disjointed and in the middle of an identity crisis.
There are scenes in this film that work when isolated from the film itself, but the film's biggest issue is that it has no idea if it wants to be a serious-minded film about sexual assault and toxic masculinity or an over the top parody of social justice warriors and cults that worship the bust of a racist old white guy that drip black goo which brainwashes young men into hating women. Somewhere in the middle of these two are about 5 cursory minutes worth of scenes trying to remind us we're watching a slasher movie.
One could easily see both variations of this film working in their own ways, but together, it's like watching The War of the Roses as the mismatched couple realizes they just can't live with each other and are completely incompatible together.
I couldn't help but picture a film where sexual assault is still addressed and toxic frat boys still hold a sorority under its grip of terror for naming one of their own as a sexual abuser, but without all the silly cult stuff and poor attempts to be woke with that awful friend of Riley's who bristles every time a man walks by her or opens his mouth.
There are scenes in this film that work when isolated from the film itself, but the film's biggest issue is that it has no idea if it wants to be a serious-minded film about sexual assault and toxic masculinity or an over the top parody of social justice warriors and cults that worship the bust of a racist old white guy that drip black goo which brainwashes young men into hating women. Somewhere in the middle of these two are about 5 cursory minutes worth of scenes trying to remind us we're watching a slasher movie.
One could easily see both variations of this film working in their own ways, but together, it's like watching The War of the Roses as the mismatched couple realizes they just can't live with each other and are completely incompatible together.
I couldn't help but picture a film where sexual assault is still addressed and toxic frat boys still hold a sorority under its grip of terror for naming one of their own as a sexual abuser, but without all the silly cult stuff and poor attempts to be woke with that awful friend of Riley's who bristles every time a man walks by her or opens his mouth.