Some seeing red over ‘Black Christmas’ opening date

Thu., Dec. 21, 2006

Michelle Caruso New York Daily News

Are holiday filmgoers ready to trade fuzzy fare like “Miracle on 34th Street” for the likes of “Nightmare on Elm Street”?

Backers of the R-rated “Black Christmas” are hoping ‘tis the season to be scared out of your wits as they prepare to release the gory sorority-house slaughter tale on Monday.

Marketed with dark slogans such as “the ultimate slay ride,” the movie may be just the ticket to lure scare-happy teens against the backdrop of Halloween in October … but as carols play on Christmas Day?

“It’s wrong,” says psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers. “No matter what your faith, this is a time for peace and understanding. It’s dreadful to do something like this, that exploits the ugliest and most negative of human emotions, on a holiday.”

“It’s demonic. It’s definitely coal in the stocking,” Jaida Blackwell, 30, of Roselle, N.J., said outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.

Christian media watchdogs also took a dim view.

“It’s not showing any sensitivity to Christians. It’s the birth of our Lord. … It’s out of line,” says Kiera McCaffrey, spokeswoman for the Catholic League.

“It’s always abhorrent when people take a sacred event and turn it into something gruesome,” adds Ted Baehr, chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission and publisher of the Christian-based Movieguide.org.

“But forewarned is forearmed,” he says. “People can caution their children and families not to waste a Christmas seeing something that is bad for them.”

Dimension Films, the movie’s U.S. distributor, says it’s strictly a matter of business.

“There is a long tradition of releasing horror movies during the holiday season as counterprogramming to the more regular yuletide fare,” a spokesman for the company said in a statement.

“Black Christmas,” which stars a bevy of cuties including Katie Cassidy (“When a Stranger Calls”) and Michelle Trachtenberg (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), is a remake of the 1974 cult classic of the same name that featured Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder as frantic coeds whose sorority house is stalked by a killer during Christmas break.

Warner Bros., which distributed the 1974 version, back then chose a Dec. 20 release date, allowing some breathing room before Christmas.

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