‘Black Christmas’ Remake: Blumhouse Taps Sophia Takal to Direct Remake of 1974 Slasher
Blumhouse Productions is remaking a classic, and they’ve picked a hell of an intriguing director to bring fresh blood to a bonafide horror standout. The Wrap reports the horror house has tapped director Sophia Takal to helm a new take on “Black Christmas,” as inspired by Bob Clark’s 1974 original, which starred Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, and John Saxon and has long been hailed as one of the earliest examples of a slasher film.
Takal, best known for directing psychologically taut dramas like “Green” and “Always Shine,” wrote the script alongside April Wolfe. The feature will shoot in New Zealand. Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions, and Ben Cosgrove and Adam Hendricks of Divide/Conquer are producing. Greg Gilreath and Zac Locke of Divide/Conquer will executive produce.
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Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Brittany O’Grady, Lily Donoghue, and Caleb Eberhardt will star in the film.
Late last year, Takal joined the Blumhouse fray by directing an installment of its “Into the Dark” Hulu series with her New Year, New You,” an all-female slasher film that arrived as part of the innovative anthology series.
Takal was attached to the project months before Blumhouse head Jason Blum faced backlash for his comments in an interview where he addressed the company’s failure to hire women directors for any of its horror projects. “We’ve always been trying,” Blum said at the time. “There are not a lot of female directors period, and even less who are inclined to do horror.” He later apologized for the remarks.
Clark’s iconic film was originally released under the title “Silent Night, Deadly Night” and follows a group of sorority sisters who are terrorized and ultimately picked off by a deranged killer during the holiday season. In 2006, the film was remade by director Glen Morgan, though it was not well-received and, unlike Clark’s original, has not been subject to a generous reappraisal in the intervening years.
“Black Christmas” will hit theaters on December 13, filling a slot that was previously blocked out for an untitled Blumhouse feature. Curiously, Blumhouse is still holding another release date this year, with September 27 also earmarked as the home to an “Untitled Blumhouse Productions Project.” What other creepy tricks do they have up their sleeves?
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