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Hey guys.

So I’ve been away from Throwback Thursday columns for a bit. I don’t know if any of you are actually disappointed by that (I know I am), but I decided it was time to make a return.

This movie isn’t an oldie — or even the original from 1974 — I just watched it this week and felt it fit two important categories for me: A Christmas movie and a slasher film.

“Black Christmas,” released in 2019, was the third iteration of this movie by the same name. Now, full disclosure, I haven’t watched the original movie (though it’s on my list) so I’m kind of basing this solely on the vibes of it standing alone.

I know based on my research MANY people weren’t happy about this one and how it “tarnished” the original. Those people might be correct. I just have zero basis on that.

The movie was released by Blumhouse Productions and follows a group of Sorority girls at Hawthorne College who suddenly find themselves feeling significantly less festive over winter break with masked murderers targeting them.

Though there are two Sorority houses that are targeted — we mostly follow Mu Kappa Epsilon and its traumatized sister Riley (Imogen Poots).

Riley, who was once a thriving and confident young woman, became a shell of herself after being assaulted by Delta Kappa Omicron fraternity president Brian Huntley. The key thing to know here is that Delta is the fraternity created by the college’s founder, Calvin Hawthorne.

Hawthorne, who is revered by the fraternity and men on campus, is instead seen as a controversial and horrible person by many of the women. This includes Riley’s sorority sister Kris (Aleyse Shannon) who was able to have a bust of Hawthorne removed from campus and was actively circulating a petition to have former DKO member and professor, Gelson (Cary Elwes) removed for only showcasing white, male authors in his lectures.

All this background to say, our girls are kind of targets right now to begin with.

When you toss in some black magic and a fraternity that becomes a bit more occult… well it means our girls are in for a rough night.

Is “Black Christmas” the best move I’ve ever seen? Absolutely not.

But is it a fun time with an important message regarding female empowerment and sisterhood? Sure it is.

It can be a little on the nose but — as many can understand about slashers — sometimes they aren’t nuanced. And that’s okay. Not every movie needs to make you think or be layered in metaphors before you get to the point.

There’s a place for silly slasher movies that decide to use Christmas as a backdrop to make things festive yet violent.

Like I said before, this movie is considered a “remake” of the original from the 1970s. But I can’t really comment on how it holds up. I do trust the negative folks who say it’s not the same and could even be a bit of an embarrassment.

However, I think when it comes to movies such as this — carrying the name of a cult classic — it’s likely best to go into it knowing it will likely be nothing like the one you may cherish. That way you won’t get disappointed.

Overall, “Black Christmas” is a fun little festive movie with some serious gore and kill scenes all with twinkling Christmas lights and festive cheer.

If you’re interested in watching it between now and Christmas Day, it’s available on Hulu or Disney Plus.

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Laura Jameson is Managing Editor of The Express.