Supremely scary Canadian shocker predating _Halloween_ in its mixture of traditional holiday atmosphere with a psychotic killer's activities. This packs more suspense and shocks than a dozen of the post-_Halloween_ slashers combined, with a topnotch cast and a creepy open ending Clark later regretted. Once pulled from an NBC showing for being too frightening.

68.250

"If you've seen one slasher film, you've seen 'em all"...well in this case you actually have seen every slasher film ever made in the course of it's 98 minutes. It has it all: creepy phone calls, hockey masks, drunken college girls, meat hooks, killer's POV...you name it. Good photography, at least one great death scene and a creepy killer makes this an excellent start for slasher cinema. Oh, and for the love of god: "Don't go upstairs, Jess!!"

I dunno maybe it's because I heard all the hype but wasn't that impressed I thaught there would be a lot more gore however I will give it one thing the modern day slasher flick seem's to have forgotten mystery & suspene over all I'd have to say decent

The house of this story was astonishing. I loved it. The slashings and the end were okay, but actors or the story itself did not impress much. The poster was of course a hit.

Some well-done sequences and genuinely suspenseful moments don't make up for the long, boring second act and unsatisfying, off-screen finale.

Slow burning slasher horror. Good use of sound and the setting of the Victorian sorority house. Great to watch on a cold, winter's night.

I thought this would be a trashy slasher. It's not. this is a very well made horror film - it's very refreshing to see this good a slasher. It makes me wonder why everyone else has been making really bad slasher movies for the past 30 years.

I can appreciate this for starting a genre, unfortunately it's a genre I don't appreciate. Hmmm. Margot Kidder is a standout as...well, Margot Kidder but nothing made me jump like the first shot of that guy's Kotter fro. Wow! It's like a giant hair-planet with glasses. Terrifying.

The opening shot perfectly sets the mood for the rest of the film.

how creepy are the phone calls?

The seminal slasher movie. Camera work and atmosphere made up for some poor acting. Also a little baffled that the police didn't inspect the attic.

A lot of people mention this film as a proto-slasher film similar to many of the slashers that followed it, but to me it feels more like a Canadian giallo film. The film is slow paced and spends a lot of time establishing the characters. The acting is decent and the film gets a lot of the little things right with the soundtrack and creepy cinematography. The ending is a little obvious but still effective and well written.

This is exactly what should happen to Margot Kidder when she's cast in a film. She should be killed.

Helped to jump start the slasher genre! It culminated a lot of horror techniques and served as a jumping board for movies like "Halloween". The Christmas season and snowy, dark weather create a very creepy atmosphere in this holiday horror classic. My favorite slasher film, without a doubt. The best part? You can watch it around Halloween...and Christmas! I myself prefer Christmas.

The scare-factor doesn't hold up imo--especially if you've seen most other slasher films before this. The ending is pretty good though.

I give this film credit, as most others do, for helping invent the slasher movie (along with films like Bava's Twitch of the Death Nerve). It drags a little bit, and it doesn't have many of the iconic slasher cliches that would come later, but it definitely set the tone for films like Halloween.

since it's a mid 70's slasher flick it obviously goes the route of cutting away any time anything violent is about to happen. so it's a slasher movie with no gore, that leaves all the other stereotypes, bad story, writing, and vaguely unimpressive direction. there's a purpose that the roots of slashers have been generally forgotten, that's because the 80's did it better, and more of it--and hell even those movies weren't that hot.

Incredibly dull and clunky out of the gate, the Holiday element people mention so often is used to almost no effect (save the caroling scene), it eventually builds into something fairly creepy. There's a ton of slasher movie cliches and tropes on display, some originated here while others were snatched from Italian giallo flicks-- anyway, it does most of those cliches and tropes fairly well with a bit of atmosphere. Pretty typical slasher otherwise.

Incredible Killing stalker film with top notch direction, an great attention de atmosphere and some pretty good ideas.

Best slasher film of it's kind....ever. Yes, it was before Hallowen. It may not have the iconic imagery, but it has more tension.

Periodically engaging.

Deservedly a Canadian horror classic with (gasp!) actually well developed female characters who are funny and interesting and we are actually remorseful for when they are inevitably murdered. Margot Kidder is a standout as the drunk and hilarious Barb.

Seemed just like every other old horror movie. Not sure why they chose to remake this when they could be spending their time remaking earth girls are easy!

OK, so it's older than all the other lame slasher movies. It still sucks

Why is this considered a classic? I'd guess it's probably the first slasher flick to use killer POV shots, but other than that it's pretty boring and generic.

If you've seen Halloween or any of the many films that essentially follow the same formula, you'd do well to seek this little gem out. Despite nearly every facet of the film becoming convention, It still holds up quite well today. [Full Review]

A good old fashioned slasher flick. A precursor to so many others; not brilliant but tons of fun. Even to this day.