Movies
The ‘Black Christmas’ Phone Calls Ranked From Terrifying To Also Terrifying
We ranked the most terrifying calls from Black Christmas (1974). They’re all terrifying, but the question is, which ones are the most terrifying? To get us in the festive spirit, I thought I’d rank the six phone calls the killer places throughout the movie. So kick back, put on some holiday tunes, pull out the bottle of sherry the house mother, Mrs. Mac (Marian Waldman), hid between the cushions of the couch, and come with me on a deeply disturbing journey. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good fright.
“No Clare, that’s the Mormon Tabernacle Choir doing the annual obscene phone call.” This is how casually Margot Kidder’s tart-tongued Barb treats the killer at the beginning of Bob Clark’s 1974 holiday horror masterpiece Black Christmas. Before the end of the movie, she will learn just how wrong she was not to take this particular obscene phone call seriously. As it turns out, the calls received by Barb, Jess (Olivia Hussey), Phyl (Andrea Martin), and their sorority sisters, are coming from a killer who has holed up in the attic of their sorority house. He only picks up the phone after he has committed yet another murder.
He never gets a name. He’s referred to by the characters as The Moaner, and by most fans as Billy (the calls do heavily imply that he is Billy, and that he has a dark backstory regarding something terrible happening to his sister Agnes), but he remains an amorphous, unknowable presence even at the end of the movie. Hell, he’s not credited, and he’s never even properly seen except as a shadowy figure with a single visible, staring eye. But the killer looms large over the movie as he picks off the main cast one by one, and this is largely because of the contents of the calls he places to the sorority sisters.
They’re all terrifying, but the question is, which ones are the most terrifying? To get us in the festive spirit, I thought I’d rank the six phone calls the killer places throughout the movie. So kick back, put on some holiday tunes, pull out the bottle of sherry the house mother, Mrs. Mac (Marian Waldman), hid between the cushions of the couch, and come with me on a deeply disturbing journey. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good fright.
The 6 Phone Calls From Black Christmas (1974) Ranked
#6 Call 2 (Clare’s Death)
“Where did you put Agnes, Billy?”
While it’s creepy, this call pretty much sets the template for what the rest of the calls in the main body of the movie are going to be. It offers a little glimpse into a potential backstory for the killer, and showcases his seemingly inhuman ability to contort the pitch of his voice, playing multiple characters with such little space between them that they almost seem to be talking over each other. However, this call is much too short to put up much competition against the others, as Jess (wisely) hangs up on him after about four lines.
#5 Call 3 (Mrs. Mac’s Death)
“Please, stop me! Oh God, please!”
Call 3 is another shorty with some Agnes backstory, so it’s pretty similar to Call 2. But the fact that it starts with a plea for someone to stop him highlights the fact that the killer isn’t fully in control of his own faculties. If the killer himself desperately wants to stop his own reign of terror and isn’t able to, how the hell is anybody else supposed to do it?
#4 Call 5 (Phyl’s Death)
“You left Billy alone with Agnes!”
Call 5 isn’t exactly the creepiest of the bunch. It also mostly follows the standard “Agnes” script. However, it’s one of the more prolonged calls because it takes place when Jess is trying to help the police track where the killer is calling from, and it allows the killer the chance to show off his vocal calisthenics the most, and his one-man audio drama about two parents screaming at a shrieking child is quite a compelling and eerie listen.
#3 Call 4 (Barb’s Death)
“Just like having a wart removed…”
Call 4 does get a little repetitive, I’m not gonna lie. But that’s what makes the final line pack such a punch. The killer, in a hideously shrieking voice, repeats something that Jess’ boyfriend Peter (Keir Dullea) said earlier that night about her desire to have an abortion. While this line is partially meant to implicate Peter as a red herring, it is also a chilling early revelation to Jess that the killer has been nearby the whole time and overheard her conversation. She has no reason to trust her creeper of a boyfriend, but if only she had, she might have put two and two together and lived to tell the tale.
#2 Call 1 (Janice’s Death)
“I’m going to kill you.”
The first call the killer makes in the movie starts off innocently enough. Well, innocent on the type of scale Bob Clark’s later movie Porky’s might judge it upon. There sure is some judicious use of the “C” word, but at first, he seems like your typical down-home sex pest, attempting to shock his listeners with raunchy and sexually aggressive talk. Hence Barb’s comment from the beginning of this article. She’s a woman in the 1970s, she’s heard worse.
The call might be spiced up with some slurping and animalistic grunting, but for the most part, it’s run of the mill. Until the very last line, when he intones “I’m going to kill you,” with a sudden cold, casual clarity that is the total opposite of the manic, intense energy of the rest of the call. It’s not a warning, just a statement of fact. If the snowstorm outside didn’t already put a chill down your spine, this call sure will.
#1 Call 6 (Jess’ Death)
“…”
The final call of Black Christmas is by far the most disturbing because it goes unanswered. The movie ends with the police leaving Jess alone to rest in her room, assuming that the newly dead Peter was indeed the killer. Because of this, they are blithely unaware that the real killer is still lurking in the attic. Although we don’t ever see what happens to Jess because the camera cuts to an exterior shot of the house, the fact that the phone is ringing off the hook unheeded certainly implies that some awful fate has befallen her. The killer is continuing his ritual of placing a call after a murder, but now there’s nobody left to hear him after his bloody rampage.
The fact that the phone just keeps ringing while the credits roll in their entirety is the icing on the cake. There is no more story to be told here, for Jess, or for anybody else who we’ve come to know and perhaps even love over the course of the film. It’s a shockingly grim way to end a movie, and the shrill jangling of the phone, which gets louder and louder as time goes by, just keeps rubbing salt in the wound.
Halloween season is over, and many streamers have forgotten about us horror kids. While they take their 11-month hiatus from the genre, we can be grateful that we still have an app that cares. We are so lucky that Shudder remains that girl year-round. Whether you’re finishing their new original show Guts & Glory, catching up on The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Titans, or running at some of their deep cuts like I am, Shudder has your best interests at heart. As usual, she has quite a few titles fighting for our attention. Which is why I am here with five titles I think should be at the top of all of our watch lists this November. So, cancel your holiday plans and pick up your remote because we have got horrifying things to watch.
The Best Movies to Stream on Shudder This Month
Habit (1995)
An alcoholic unwittingly enters into a relationship with a succubus in New York City. If you ever wondered what Larry Fessenden was getting up to in his youth, you need to see this ’90s gem. I lucked out and caught it at Brooklyn Horror Film Festival last year, and I lived my best life. While watching it on the small screen will not be the same, I plan to hit play anyway. Mostly because I love to see 1990s succubi leaving their mark on men…and also the horror genre. Shudder is also adding The Last Winter and Depraved, so we can spend a whole day with Uncle Larry’s work.
Sew Torn (2024)
A seamstress happens upon a failed drug deal and steals a briefcase. She soon finds herself caught in a deadly situation where all roads lead to death. I caught Sew Torn at SXSW last year and have been wondering what happened to it. So, I am very happy this odd little bird has found her way to Shudder. I cannot wait to make my friends who are looking for something cute and deadly watch. I knew nothing when I hit play on this, and I encourage you to know as little as possible, too. I fear I have already written too much in this blurb to be completely honest.
You can watch Sew Torn on November 1st.
The Retreat (2021)
A couple goes on a pre-wedding retreat and unwittingly becomes targets of a group of serial killers. We have seen too many movies about retreats, and I thought this one would be more of the same. This title does not completely reinvent the wheel, but it does set itself apart within this oversaturated subgenre. The Retreat is a surprisingly fun and tense little thriller that feels made for the winter watches. Come for the lesbian characters leading the film, and stay for the violence. I also encourage you to check it out while it is on Shudder, because it is usually on apps with ads.
You can watch The Retreat on November 1st.
The Creep Tapes (Season 2)
Peachfuzz returns with more tapes, chaos, kills, and WTF moments. Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice have reentered the TV arena and are making things weird again. If award shows were real, this duo would be leading the Emmys charge. I saw the first three episodes, and Josef/Peachfuzz is still the serial killer after our own hearts. Our Wolfie is still cutting up (literally and figuratively) in the most amazing ways. Guest stars in danger this season include David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil), Katie Aselton (The League), and Robert Longstreet (The Haunting of Hill House).
You can watch The Creep Tapes (Season 2) on November 14th.
Krampus (2015)
A kid accidentally summons demons during the holidays in this horror comedy. Krampus remains one of the top-tier Christmas horror titles for me. It is also my favorite Michael Dougherty film. Not only because it has the star power of Adam Scott and Toni Collette, either. This movie is wicked, and even the kids are in danger. I do not have many holiday horror movies I revisit every year, but Krampus is one of the very few. It still holds up, and I cannot wait to rewatch it with a festively boozy beverage.
You can watch Krampus on November 15th.
Those are a few reasons I am grateful for Shudder this holiday season. While the rest of you are fighting with your family and friends, I will be parked in front of my TV. You can have your turkey because I would rather gorge myself on episodes of The Creep Tapes anyway.
Let me know what Shudder shenanigans you have got your little eye on. I am nosy and want to make sure I am not missing anything on my favorite streamer.
The year is winding down, and I don’t know about you, but I am trying to pack in as many 2025 horror movies as I can. Is this because I love making end-of-the-year lists? Yes. Is it because I am an unhealed overachiever? Also, yes. So, I am assuming some of you are also cruising the streamers to see what you may have missed. While Netflix has had my favorite new slasher Heart Eyes for a bit, and I have mentioned that in previous streaming guides, they also have other new horror titles to show you.
I do not talk about them as much because I did not have a good time with them. However, that does not mean you won’t enjoy some of these titles. That’s why I am taking the high road and finding something to be grateful for about each of them. That way, you will know there is a silver lining if you do watch them. Allow me to help you figure out what to prioritize this month and what to skip. Check out this chaotic Netflix hitlist below!
The Best Movies to Stream on Netflix This Month
28 Years Later (2025)
A group of survivors on a small island has built a fortress to protect them from the rage virus. However, a young boy discovers what is really outside the walls of their community and sets off to find a cure for his sick mother. We all loved 28 Days Later, and some of us liked 28 Weeks Later. So, 28 Years Later was never going to live up to the hype with almost thirty years of anticipation. While I didn’t love it, I did enjoy seeing Danny Boyle helm another zombie installment. What he does in the subgenre is top-tier, and we are welcome (even if the script left me wanting more). That might have gotten buried in all the talk about the dicks seen in the movie, though.
Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025)
A group of girls competing for prom queen starts disappearing, leaving the underdog to figure out what is happening to her competition. I had a lot of thoughts about this lackluster installment in Netflix’s Fear Street adaptations. As someone who grew up reading Fear Street books and wanting to adapt them myself, I do not understand how this movie came out so badly. Which made it hard to find something nice to say about this title. However, the soundtrack slaps, and it is not the soundtrack’s fault that it was wasted on a low-energy bottom-tier slasher. So, if you hit play on this, you can at least look forward to hearing some retro bangers selected by music supervisor Nora Felder. If you are familiar with her work on Yellowjackets and Stranger Things, you know Felder does not miss.
Maa (2025)
To battle a demon’s curse, a mother transforms into the legendary goddess Kali. As usual, Netflix did not advertise an international horror movie that seemed to have some potential. If they had told us Maa was an Indian Hindi-language mythological horror movie, most people who yell for intersectionality and originality would have run at it. Instead, we had to find out about it months later while looking for something we hadn’t already seen on the app. This movie is too long, and I cannot say it is good by any stretch of the imagination. However, it also made me realize how little I know about the goddess of destruction. If you are a nerd like me, this might lead you down a cool rabbit hole. You can also say you gave a view to a horror movie starring Brown people. Who knows, maybe you could be one of the few who enjoy this chaotic film.
Until Dawn (2025)
A group of friends find themselves trapped in a time loop where they keep getting killed in gruesome ways. I love the video game and was so bummed this adaptation was so bad. However, the practical effects are very cool and should be celebrated more. I think the stuff that the SFX team pulled off might be the only reason to watch the movie personally. I’m happy the actors whose work I enjoy got paid, and that’s another positive thing I can say. However, if we want to see young people in deadly time loops, we have so many movies that do it better. Excuse me as I look right at Happy Death Day and all of the movies that have tried to copy her.
Ziam (2025)
A Muay Thai fighter battles through a zombie apocalypse to save the woman he loves. Netflix fumbled the advertising for this one too, because who doesn’t want to see a Thai zombie film? So, I was excited to watch it, but then sad I did not like it. However, I think this one is on me. It is an action-horror with a lot of heartfelt moments, and that’s not my bag. I wanted more violence and zombie action because I am a broken and heartless ghoul. So, Ziam might be the only movie on this list that does not deserve my bombastic side eye. I am waiting for other people to watch it and let me know if they have a better time with it, though.
While I was not the audience for these movies, I am assuming some of you will dig them. Worst-case scenario, you cross off a few more 2025 horror movies and have something to talk about at Friendsgiving. Happy Horrordays! I will see myself out now…
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