It’s Me, Billy: Black Christmas Revisited
Published by BearManor Media, 2022. 299 pages.
By Paul Downey & David Hastings

Black Christmas is a film that should have so much more attention than it usually gets. I know it’s a fan favorite, but it just seems like that it should be brought up and referred to, anytime the horror genre from the early ‘70s, or the slasher sub-genre is being discussed.

Thankfully, we have this wonderful book by Paul Downey and David Hastings that delves a lot deeper into the film. There is a ton of interviews with both the cast and crew, with articles and references about the movie, from the initial release, original review quotes, and a lot more. We get to read about the origin of where the initial idea came from, originally called Stop Me!, and how it transitioned into a screenplay. For a story that is really shrouded in mystery, specifically who “Billy” is, it does a good job giving readers more details but really without spoiling anything.

At least half of the book is dedicated to the original 1974 film, with the rest dealing with the 2006 remake and the 2019 version. Once again, with the other two titles, there are plenty of interviews to give a little more insight into the making of it. There are also some really nice bits on director Bob Clark, who’s impact on the horror genre cannot be overstated enough. There is also a pretty detailed synopsis of each of the films.

It does give props to Dan Duffin, who started the Itsmebilly.com website, working really hard to keep the fanbase alive and informed about his favorite film. He writes the Foreword to the book and needs to get the credit he deserves for his hard work over the years.

There is a chapter on the novel with the same name, by author Thomas Altman, that has nothing to do with any version of the film, giving us a detailed story of what happens. Not sure the reasons of putting this in here since it clearly is only connected by the name only. Then again, so is the 2019 film.

One other issue I had is that while there are some really interesting facts that are given out in the different interviews. But when we get to the text about the making of the film, those exact quotes from those interviews are used again, word for word. If you’re going to have the quotes during the interview, don’t use it again later on. It was done more than a few times, to the point that I really noticed it and felt redundant.

At the back of the book, you get a nice couple of pages that list different Christmas horror films, which is a nice added bonus for those planning to make a little holiday horror marathon!

Overall, if you’re a fan of the movie, then I think you’ll find some really good information here, plenty of stories about the making of the original, hearing the different actors and their thoughts about it, then and more recent reflections.