Black Christmas (1974)

 "If this movie doesn't make your skin crawl...it's on too tight!"

The plot is familiar but effective: A group of sorority sisters are harassed by increasingly bizarre and disturbing phone calls during Christmas break. As the local police attempt to trace the source of the calls, an unseen killer begins to dispatch the girls who have stayed home for the holidays.

Even though I absolutely adore slasher movies, I’ve never found them to be particularly scary. Black Christmas, however, still retains the ability to seriously creep me out no matter how many times I’ve watched it. The phone calls made by the killer Billy are genuinely unnerving as they go from merely obscene to absolutely psychotic. Seriously, play that shit while wearing head phones and it will make your skin crawl (hey, just like the tagline promised!). We never get to see what Billy looks like, only catching occasional glances of his hands and, in one of the film's best scenes, his eye. Billy could be any creep off the street, which is so much scarier than watching a hulking brute in a mask chase screaming teenagers around. Sorry Friday the 13th parts 2-8, I love you but I'm just not in love with you like I am with Black Christmas.

What really makes Black Christmas stand out for me are the extremely likable characters. One of the main reasons why I don't like a lot of modern horror films is that the characters are usually bland or obnoxious. The sorority sisters of Black Christmas seem like women I'd want to be friends with in real life, especially Barb, an outspoken girl with a wicked sense of humor and a penchant for cursing (and drinking) like a sailor. Whether she's feeding small children booze or explaining the dynamics of turtle sex, Barb steals the show anytime she's on screen. Sure, she might not make the nicest friend, but she'd definitely be a source of constant entertainment.

I'd also want to be Jess's friend so I could borrow her amazing hand sweater.

Jess (Olivia Hussey) is a great final girl. She's more restrained and poised than Barb, but she's just as headstrong. She's pregnant by her super-intense pianist boyfriend, Peter, and she's pretty sure she doesn't want to keep it, no matter how many fits Peter throws. I love that when she senses danger in the house, her first instinct is to pick up a fire place poker as a weapon. Way to go, Jess.