Released on December 20, 1974 in the United States, Black Christmas was the precursor to slashers of the late 70’s and early 80’s. Watching the film, you can easily see the influence it had on Halloween and many other holiday horrors. Directed by Bob Clark, better known for his comedies including the other holiday favorite, A Christmas Story, his humor is felt throughout the film. The title was originally switched to Silent Night, Evil Night as Warner Bros. was scared people thought it might be a blaxploitation film, which ironically is exactly what happened when they title the remake Black Xmas. In 1984, a similarly titled film, Silent Night, Deadly Night, would face even more severe backlash.
While I was in Toronto a few years ago, I visited a few of the locations, but just now getting around to posting them. Enjoy!
First up is the sorority house, located at 6 Clarendon Crescent in Toronto, Ontario. As you can see, I was there during a season where the trees were in full growth, so the foliage unfortunately hides the house in the pictures. (Set-Jetters take note, this is just down the block from Harold & Kumar’s apartment!)
The school is located at the University of Toronto. Horror would return to campus many years later in Urban Legend. The first scene begins on Soldier’s Tower near the heart of the campus.
Connected to the tower is Hart House. The foliage is covering up the windows shown in the film, but in the last two shots, I show a similar window to show how it looks.
The police station is on the corner of Swanwick Avenue and Main Street. I wish finding all locations were this easy. Now a community center, the building is located at 97 Main Street in Toronto.
One final look at the house and the infamous attic window…
I have been fortunate enough to meet a couple of the actors in the film including John Saxon and Andrea Martin, who came back to appear in the remake.
