Movies
‘Black Christmas’ Director Sophia Takal on Bringing New Perspective to a Slasher Classic
Younger fans may not have experienced this yet, but older Bloody Disgusting readers can attest to the genre going through stages of stagnation, and at times feeling bored with the constant cliches of horror cinema. We all know that feeling of repetitiveness that makes us roll our eyes, and many constantly scream that we need “more original horror.” Even when we’re getting just that (thanks, A24!), there are production companies developing faux sequels and remakes of horror classics. It’s an inevitability because they’re working from a proven structure and (usually) known intellectual property. It’s a business and they’re just trying to “play it safe”.
This brings us to Black Christmas, a remake of Bob Clark’s 1974 slasher film that set the stage for John Carpenter’s Halloween several years later. Interestingly, Blumhouse and Universal aligned to bring both franchises back to life, with the latter being an extraordinarily violent, canonized sequel to the original film. But with Black Christmas, the two have taken a much different approach, delivering (what looks like) a teen-friendly, PG-13 slasher that completely deviates from the original story.
With that said, here’s what makes Black Christmas interesting: perspective. Blumhouse and Universal were going to remake the film no matter what, so they could have either made another cookie cutter slasher or attempted to inject a renewed take on the source material. The original film, written and directed by men, was about a stranger creeping on a sorority house during Christmas break. All of the film’s situations were told from the perspective of males, which is fine (nobody is debating this). What makes the concept of 2019’s Black Christmas refreshing is that the new take is both written and directed by women (April Wolfe and Sophia Takal, respectively), and shares their perspective on a man – or men in this case – creeping on a sorority during Christmas break. All of the cliches and tropes you may have been expecting could become subverted in the eyes of the opposite sex.
When you step back and realize that Blumhouse and Universal are behind both Halloween and Black Christmas, two inherently similar films, it makes very little sense for them to make the same movie twice. A female-centric Black Christmas is different. It’s also interesting, and it’s always exciting when horror is given a new perspective to explore.
Digressing, Takal, who directed the seriously excellent Always Shine starring Mackenzie Davis, spoke with EW about Black Christmas this week, offering a phenomenal explanation as to why the female perspective should be exciting to horror fans.
“I hope to work with Blumhouse some more, but I’m also interested in maybe shifting away a bit from straightforward horror and finding other genres to work in, and also maybe making movies about some men and exploring that.
“I think some of the greatest movies about men are directed by women, just as some of the greatest movies about women are directed by men,” she elaborates.
“I actually think this movement of bringing female directors into the fold isn’t just about women telling women’s stories, but telling stories about people who are different from them too, just as men have done for hundreds of years.”
This is exactly what I’m trying to sell horror fans who are pushing back. Exploration. Newness. Fresh perspectives.
In regards to Black Christmas, Takal and Wolfe’s film aligns with the #MeToo Movement, offering a fresher take on recent social commentary.
“You know, this movie, even though it’s very, very loosely based on Black Christmas, I’d say the plot is extremely different. It’s more inspired by the feeling that Black Christmas made me feel watching it, this idea of misogyny always being out there and never totally eradicable. So that was the jumping-off point for how I came up with this plot.
“The original Black Christmas feels so contemporary and modern for the time,” she continues. “Since then I feel like there have been so many movies about sorority sisters where the women have been portrayed as dumb, bimbo-y idiots. What I love was this was a group of women who, even though there was some conflict and strife — you know, Margot Kidder was a real spitfire [laughs] — they were all very much three-dimensional, strong female characters. I wanted to make something that reflected our time right now, drawing more from what the original evoked for me rather than great plot points. For me, it was about what does it feel like to be a woman in 2019?
“[At] the beginning of the #MeToo Movement, it seemed like there was a really big reckoning, particularly in the film industry, but in lots of industries, where powerful men were being called out for their predatory behavior. And then, in early 2019, I sort of felt, and I know a lot of women who I know felt, the creeping back of these predatory men into positions of power and this feeling of like, “Oh, even when you’ve won the battle you still have to battle this patriarchal structure.” It seemed like everyone, the men and the women involved in the movie, on screen and off, were all really committed to exploring that feeling and were really interested in making a movie about that.”
Sure, Black Christmas could end up being a bad movie, but at least this remake is attempting to further the genre instead of merely repeating it. And to us, that’s pretty exciting.
Movies
‘Dante’ Review – A Paramedic’s Night Shift Turns Into A Blood-Soaked Nightmare [Tribeca 2026]
There’s something very special about horror stories that depict a single night that gets progressively out of hand and covers a lifetime of woe by the time the sun rises.
It’s a difficult balancing act, but one that’s magical when it’s properly executed, and this claustrophobic structure connects. Hugo Ruiz (One Night with Adela) rises to the challenge with Dante, a chaotic experience that’s pumping adrenaline, burning rubber, and snorting drugs from frame one and then rarely lets up. It feels like it starts in the middle of a film’s third act and then pushes itself to go to even more radical and exciting places.
Ruiz’s Dante is even more confident and accomplished than his freshman feature. It feels like a spaghetti western that’s trapped in a slaughterhouse. It’s Bringing Out the Dead by way of Quentin Tarantino after he’s come off a giallo binge session. It’s a white-knuckle, blood-soaked ride into hell that keeps its audience on edge until the credits roll.
Ruiz accomplishes something quite remarkable with Dante, a subversive take on Dante’s Inferno in which a paramedic ambulance driver, Eduardo (Chino Darin), gets embroiled in a vicious crime caper that pushes everyone involved closer to salvation. Dante, as its title suggests, isn’t exactly subtle with its allusions to Dante’s Inferno. That being said, none of the film’s efforts to match its source material’s themes and tone ever feels forced. It’s a bold, risky adaptation of the classic 14th-century epic poem, but it’s also a distinct film that stands on its own and becomes an incredibly satisfying sophomore entry in Ruiz’s career.
Eduardo innocently responds to a standard emergency call, only to find himself tending to a crime boss’s wounds and caught in the middle of a deadly feud between two erratic rival kingpins. Dante digs into an impossibly tense situation with a small cast of larger-than-life characters who really feel like they’re trapped in some layer of hell. Every minor victory is met with yet another physical trial and morality test for Eduardo to overcome. It also distills this harrowing encounter down to its most exciting elements so that Dante is a fast, easy watch that’s beautifully paced and always finds the right moment to heighten its mayhem.
There’s a shocking brutality here. It’s a visceral, gross, oozing horror film that’s often hard to look at. It’s a movie that lingers on not just pain, but how the human body can become such a disgusting mess. Ruiz lingers on gross visuals that reduce people to raw meat and emotion. However, this screaming, bloody mess is also an intimate chamber piece and character study. All this extreme subject matter serves a grander purpose and builds to a sweeping salvation rather than purely existing to be sensational. Dante is vicious, but it’s the film’s heart that stands out the most when everything is said and done.
Among the criminal capitulations is a deeper commentary on faith, passion, and identity. Eduardo is repeatedly confused for a doctor throughout, which is just one of several instances that reflect its themes regarding duality and labels. Eduardo’s wild night highlights life’s transactional nature and how everyone is the same in death. It’s the ultimate equalizer. Alternatively, Dante looks at the weird, unpredictable places in which people can find humanity, connection, and purpose in life, even if it’s surrounded by death and darkness. Everyone is looking for that spark and light that helps us heal.
In a film full of strong performances, Darin’s work as Eduardo is really spectacular. It’s a performance that’s so deceptively layered that it makes you want to immediately watch the film again as soon as it’s ended. Ruiz’s film is also really smart in response to when it digs deeper into Eduardo’s life and personality. It’s easy to picture Dante beginning with Eduardo carrying out several normal rounds to get a better sense of who he is before danger strikes with Mario. The film also excels as it asks the audience to make their own conclusions on this blank slate before the film begins to pull back the curtain on him.
Eduardo is a compelling moral compass throughout this dark night of the soul, albeit a character who is hardly infallible. Some of Dante’s strongest moments are when Eduardo’s mental state is unclear, and the audience is left to wonder if he’s actually getting a rush from this on some level. Eduardo is left to process many heightened emotions on his own. However, there’s also a real camaraderie between Eduardo and Mak (Ester Expósito) that’s genuinely sweet and progresses in a very natural, effortless manner. Their chemistry helps power the second half.
At one point, Eduardo muses that “a director must take risks.” This is a film that certainly adheres to its own advice.
Dante reaches a satisfying conclusion that feels like the natural endpoint of this story, only to then launch into such a wild turn that transforms the film into something considerably darker and a powerful meditation on the pervasiveness of pain and suffering. The ending guarantees that this is a movie that’s destined to be debated by both its lovers and haters.
There’s thankfully a lot more going on here so that Dante doesn’t live or die based on its ending alone. It’s just a brave step forward that reiterates why Hugo Ruiz is a filmmaker to look out for.
Dante made its world premiere at Tribeca 2026; release info TBD.
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