The Ghostly Countdown -- 4

[Pamela Troy]

The countdown to Christmas continues with this nicely done 10-minute chiller from Ireland called The Ten Steps.

It's interesting to observe the way these kind of stories adapt to changes in technology -- the classic automobile-age story of the phantom hitchhiker, for instance, seems to have evolved from the 19th century story of "Frozen Charlotte," about a girl who died of cold while riding in a horse-drawn sleigh. The babysitter story that always ends, "He's in the house, get OUT!" could only have taken place in the era of telephones. And this creepy tale could not have been told as convincingly in the era before cellphones --



"You'll have to go and check the fusebox. It's in the cellar..."

[pinboy3niner]

1. And a classic 'he's in the house' slasher flick is "Black Christmas"

It's a 1974 Canadian film set in Quebec at Christmas, starring Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, Marian Waldman, Andrea Martin, and John Saxon (Gilda Radner was set to be in it, but dropped out due to SNL's shooting schedule). It has also played under two other titles, 'Stranger in the House' and 'Silent Night, Evil Night.' Not your grandma's Christmas movie.

:scared:

[Pamela Troy]

2. Oh I remember that one.

I was surprised to see Andrea Martin in the role.

John Saxon, natch. He was in lots of movies like that.

[pinboy3niner]

3. I liked it--much better than the gorier slashers that followed

It was more on the Hithchcock model, with the violence more inmplied, rather than being shown in detail. The film is somewhat dated now, but still a good thriller. : :scared: