Notable for being one of the first slasher horror films, predating both Halloween (1978) and Friday The 13th (1980), seasonal chiller Black Christmas sees the occupants of a sorority house terrorised by a deranged killer who enjoys taunting them with obscene phone calls, provoked by friends of Jess (Olivia Hussey), who is distracted by the reaction of her boyfriend (Keir Dullea) to the news that she’s pregnant. Set (in a nod to Frank Capra) in the college town of Bedford, director Bob Clark would go on to make something much more in keeping with the spirit of the season, A Christmas Story (1983).

Notes by Kevin Coyne.

Screening as part of IFI Festive Favourites 2015. Click for more seasonal screenings this December.