Happy holidays from your friends at VictimofTime.com! We've got an incredible slice of 70s golden-era holiday horror for you here, starring Warhol 'superstars' (and Mizz Togar from Rock'n Roll High School!) Mary Woronov, as well as Candy Darling, in one of the era's most classic slasher films, still early enough in the canon to keep the genuine erieeness at peak levels, and stamping this rarely-seen and most unsettling Christmas film as a must-see. Director Gershuny, probably best known for Sugar Cookies (1973), knows how to build an atmospheric horror film. The wintry locations, especially the imposing house, are used to full effect and he gets great performances (particularly from Woronov) from his leads. The picture's highlight is a extended flashback, chronicling what happened at the estate in the 1930s. The sepia look and use of wide-angle lens makes the entire scene very creepy.
Although the similarly coveted Black Christmas (1974) was supposedly shelved for years, it's another stone cold classic just waiting for you, and part of an early xmas "two peas in a pod" knockout double-feature for this reviewer, so get ready for tomorrow's feature on that, and kick back and pop this film full screen, and try to keep visions of sugarplums dancing in your heads until next time.
