By Ernie Magnotta

1974... Producer/director Bob Clark’s (Deathdream, Murder by Decree, A Christmas Story) frightening and entertaining suspense-thriller Black Christmas is released and is lovingly devoured by a horror-hungry audience. Expertly written by A. Roy Moore (The Last Chase), who was inspired by the urban legend “The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs” as well as a real life murder case, this excellent, Canadian-made horror film details a group of sorority sisters who are terrorized and slaughtered during the holiday season by a mysterious psychopath who, unbeknownst to everyone, is hiding in the sorority house attic.

More than just a marvelous piece of horror cinema, the Gialli-influenced film went on to become quite influential in its own right. Predating John Carpenter’s immortal and amazing Halloween by four years, the smart and stylish Black Christmas (aka Silent Night, Evil Night and Stranger in the House), which has already had two inferior 21^st century remakes, contains many elements that would not only find their way into the Carpenter classic, but into the slasher sub-genre as well. Elements such as a mad killer murdering on a beloved holiday; attractive teen victims; the POV shot as a stand-in for the killer; nail-biting suspense; a female protagonist who fights back, and the killer still being alive in the final scene can all be traced back to Clark’s masterwork. The enjoyable film is also partly responsible for the glut of Christmas-themed slashers which, each year, only seem to be growing in number.

Featuring a top-notch cast—Margot Kidder (1972’s Sisters, Superman: The Movie), Olivia Hussey (1968’s Romeo and Juliet, Psycho IV: The Beginning), Keir Dullea (2001: A Space Odyssey, David and Lisa), Andrea Martin (SCTV, My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Art Hindle (The Brood, 1978’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers) and the legendary John Saxon (Enter the Dragon, 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street) as well as incredibly talented character actors Doug McGrath, Les Carlson, Marian Waldman, James Edmond and a very creepy score by composer Carl Zittrer—Black Christmas is not only a must-see, humorous and quite terrifying film, but, as already stated, an important and, in my opinion, still underrated piece of horror history.

I was extremely fortunate to be able to speak with gifted actress Lynne Griffin who not only plays the sweet and low-key first victim, Clare Harrison, but whose now iconic image—a dead Clare sitting in a rocking chair in the sorority house attic with a clear plastic bag over her head—was used to promote the film. A veteran of stage, screen and television, the Toronto native appeared in several other memorable films after Black Christmas including the comedy classic Strange Brew (1983) and the underrated slasher film Curtains (1983). Although she was extremely busy, the lovely, gracious and insanely funny Lynne took time out of her hectic schedule to chat with me about her fond memories of Black Christmas.

Ernie Magnotta: How did you get involved in the film?

Lynne Griffin: It was just a general audition. I think the reason I got the part was because I told them I was a good swimmer and that I could hold my breath for a long time.

EM: Because they needed you to wear the plastic bag over your head?

LG: Right. Which is pretty funny when you think about it. That’s how you get a part? (Laughs) Also, I mean, look at that face. If there was ever one that was going to play the eternal virgin it was me. But yeah, just a general audition. I don’t even remember if I met Bob Clark at the audition or not, but it was a wonderfully fun shoot. And Bob Clark is Uncle Bob. He just made every day really fun to be there; especially all my days in the attic.

EM: A lot of people don’t realize that, besides the horror and suspense, he was also responsible for some of the lighter moments in the movie as well as for keeping the ambiguous ending which Warner Bros. wanted him to change. And he made the college student characters more realistic which only helped with the suspense and scares. I’m such a fan of his and it’s a real shame what happened to him.

LG: Oh, so tragic. Oh, my God. And I know there was going to be more greatness to come from Bob. Cut short unfortunately.

EM: Now, you played someone very different from your usually funny, bubbly personality and you did it quite convincingly. Was that difficult or were you able to just slip right into it?

LG: Back then, I was actually very serious. I was studying Shakespeare and was doing very dramatic work, so, when I played Clare, I was in my element.

EM: Do you remember how long you worked on the film?

LG: It was actually quite substantial because we were doing all the initial party scenes and the phone call scenes and I remember that we spent a lot of time shooting the attic stuff. I was probably on it three, maybe four weeks.

EM: That’s longer than I thought.

LG: Yeah, because things weren’t shot in sequence. And I kind of remember it really being like a family/sorority sort of feeling because we were there a lot and we were really getting to know one another. There was always a nice feeling on set. And that always comes from the top. That was Bob.

EM: I thought it would have taken less time for you because I just assumed that they shot all the attic scenes at once.

LG: They did. I kind of remember being around it a lot, though. I don’t really know why that would be. It’s funny with some films. There was one I shot in Vancouver where I was on hold for like three weeks. I was sitting in a hotel room waiting for them to shoot some other stuff with me and they just kept throwing per diem at me. So, when that happens it feels like you’ve worked longer, but the actual filming that I was involved with didn’t take all that time. The attic scenes definitely didn’t take three weeks to film.

EM: I know that, throughout the film, several different people played Billy, the demented and horrifying, unseen killer, but do you remember who played him for both your murder scene and your scenes in the attic?

LG: Camera operator Bert Dunk (an unsung hero of the film who was also responsible for designing the equipment needed to film all of the killer’s POV shots) strangled me in the closet with the plastic bag, but Bob Clark rocked the rocking chair. Bob also did some of Billy’s voices, but that was mostly done by actor Nick Mancuso.

EM: Such a great actor. And I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more frightening or more insane-sounding phone voice in all of horror cinema.

LG: Absolutely not.

EM: Did you stick around the set even after your scenes were shot?

LG: Yeah, I think we all kind of hung out. And I remained friends with Art Hindle. We’ve worked together a lot since then. We once worked on an animated series where we played old lovers which was really funny. Art always likes to remind me that, in Black Christmas, he was my first screen kiss. (Laughs) So, the fact that we’re still sort of hanging out is very cool. And he’s one of the funniest people on the planet.

EM: Nice. He starred in a David Cronenberg film called “The Brood” which is a favorite of mine. I love that film and he was great in it. I also always loved Margot Kidder. Was she fun to work with?

LG: I adored Margot Kidder and I was enamored with her all the way through just because of the way she works. She was doing a lot of improv which was phenomenal, sensational and funny all the time. She wasn’t standoffish at all. She was lovely. So was Andrea Martin and Keir Dullea. Like I said, it was a very congenial and happy set. There wasn’t really any negativity which was wonderful. I was trying to think if there was anything juicy I could tell you, but no. They didn’t like tie the plastic bag around my head so that I couldn’t breathe or anything like that. (Laughs) Yeah, they were very sweet. When you shoot horror films, I think the general atmosphere is to keep it very light and fun even though you’re doing something that is really quite grotesque.

EM: It’s not real, so it becomes funny.

LG: Right. You know you’re playing pretend and it’s a bucket of fake blood or whatever. And that part of it I really like. If it were taken really seriously I probably wouldn’t like doing it.

EM: I agree. Tell me about working with Olivia Hussey.

LG: A lot of people think that Olivia is sort of like aloof or standoffish, but I didn’t find her that way at all. Of course, it was fascinating to pick her brain about working with Zeffirelli because she’d done Romeo and Juliet for him and, like I mentioned before, I had been working on a lot of Shakespeare too at that time. She was really lovely. And we’re Facebook friends to this day.

EM: Oh, that’s terrific. Now, unfortunately, we lost the great John Saxon. I know you didn’t have any scenes together, but did you get to meet him?

LG: Oh, yes. And you know, for the longest time, John Saxon came out and did the conventions and the panels with us. Art Hindle, myself and John were always on the panels for Black Christmas. John was fabulous. I remember doing one Comic-Con with him. I think it was a Comic-Con. Anyway, the line for people to see him was like around the building and he was so lovely with every single person. And, at that time, he was showing me the ropes about how I should behave at one of these conventions which was really cool. He was a lovely man.

EM: How about Claude, the cat? I heard he was difficult to get along with and pretty full of himself. (Laughs)

LG: (Laughs) Claude was not a happy cat. He did not work well with others. I was sitting in the rocking chair and Claude didn’t like being tossed onto my lap by Bob Clark. So he scratched me. Claude, not Bob.

EM: Thanks for clearing that up. (Laughs)

LG: (Laughs) Oh, and they sprayed catnip all over my face so that Claude would lick my face while I was sitting in the rocking chair.