For what might appear a ho-hum remake of an old-school slasher staple, forgotten by time but not by buck-turning movie execs, Black Christmas is a surprise. And if you think a psycho offing buxom babes in a sorority house during the mother of all snowstorms is old hat, keep in mind that the 1974 original arrived long before there was a Freddy, a Jason, or a Michael Myers. The pat plot has a few dicy twists — the pigment-challenged killer who’s escaped from a maximum-security lock-up for the criminally insane might not be the one hacking his way through the Alpha Kappa sisterhood on Christmas Eve. Then there’s the bit about abuse and incest taken to disturbing depths. Director Glen Morgan (co-creator of the Final Destination series) shows a deft hand behind the camera, and the updates with cellphones and PCs fall in seamlessly. All that plus David Cassidy’s daughter Katie as one of the imperiled coeds.

On the Web
Black Christmas Web site:  www.blackchristmas.com/