Black Christmas 2 (Remake)

Black Christmas 2 is a 2017 American-Canadian Slasher Film written and directed by Glen Morgan and starring Willa Holland, Shay Mitchell, Caity Lotz, Katherine Langford, Victoria Moroles, Britt Robertson, Bianca A. Santos, Brandon Flynn and Katie Cassidy. It is the sequel to the 2006 film Black Christmas. The film takes place ten years after the events of the first film, and tells the story of a now rebuilt Delta Alpha Kappa sorority who are being stalked and murdered by a masked killer on Christmas Eve.

Plot

The film opens with Kelli Presley (Katie Cassidy), now a campus security guard at Hollis University, sitting in an office watching an animated Christmas movie. She recieves a call from her father, who is worried about her mental health during the holidays because of the events that transpired ten years prior during her Christmas at Delta Alpha Kappa. After reassuring her father that what happened to her was the past, and promising to be home for the holidays in the morning, she hangs up and notices a figure standing outside of the office door. After opening it, the figure is gone, and a small gift box is left on the ground in it's place. Opening it, she sees a message that reads "I'll be home for Christmas". Knowing that the Delta house has been rebuilt and renovated, her memories from the night Billy and Agnes Lenz murdered her sorority sisters sends her into a panic, and tries to contact the new Delta housemother Cindy Queen (Courtney Cox), but is unable to do so because of the snow storm that is raging through the state. Determined, she sets out to the Delta Alpha Kappa house in hopes that she can reach them in time.

Back at the sorority, sisters Alicia Bradley (Britt Robertson), Mia Ford (Katherine Langford), and Jessica Mendez (Bianca A. Santos), are sitting in the living room discussing their plans for Christmas. Alicia is upset because her boyfriend Josh was supposed to take her to his parents lakehouse resort for the holidays, while step-sisters Mia and Jessica are at odds with each other because their corresponding parents have been contemplating divorce. Meanwhile, upstairs, Kira Pearce (Willa Holland) is getting ready to brave the storm in order to see her dying mother, but is convinced by her roommates Sara Jensen (Caity Lotz) and Melanie Vasquez (Shay Mitchell) to stay home where it is safe until the storm passes. Cindy, their housemother, gathers the sisters in the living room to open their gifts, as it is nearing midnight. The gift exchanges bring a lighter mood to the dreary fact that they are all stuck in the house for the holidays. The gift exchange is interrupted by Melanie's younger sister, Ellie, who arrives at the house to spend the holiday with her older sister. Bewildered at the fact that her sister drove to see in her a snow storm, Melanie reluctantly agrees to take care of her for the night. 

As the time grows closer to midnight, the house phone rings, and Alicia answers it. A distorted voice who claims they are the Son of St. Nick tells her that he is coming home for Christmas, and that he will "purify" the house with their blood. Angered, Alicia hangs up and tries calling the campus police, but there is no answer. Sara suggests to call the stranger back, but Cindy disagrees, and begins to tell them about the 2006 Massacre that led to the destruction of the original Delta Alpha Kappa house. At the end of Cindy's story, the lights in the house go out, and Kira, who suspects they might be dealing with the same killer, suggest they lock themselves in a room until the storm subsides enough that they can make it to the police station. Sara, who is an HVAC and Technical Engineering major, volunteers to go to the breaker in the back of the house to restore the power. During her attempt to turn the power back on, she is forcefully pushed into the breaker by an unseen figure and is electrocuted.

Melanie and Ellie go upstairs to her room, and discuss the reason why Ellie traversed from the bus stop to their house. It is revealed the Ellie's grades have been slipping, and has been behaving erratically at home which in turn made her parents come to the decision to send her to a mental health facility for treatment after the holidays. Back in the living room, Mia decides to check on Sara, who has still not returned from outside. Despite Jessica's pleas for her to stay, Mia travels outside where she sees a figure run to the back of the house. Believing it to be Sara, she follows it, but trips on an object and falls onto the floor. Noticing she tripped over Sara's body, she tries to get up but is forced down by a figure in a Santa Clause suit. The killer wraps a Christmas light chord around her leg, and walks away, leaving Mia on the ground. Seemingly out of sight, Mia tries to run back to the house to warn the other girls, but is stopped short when the killer turns on a Christmas Light Machine which begins to coil the light chord, dragging a screaming Mia to her death as she is shredded by the machine. 

Convinced that she heard her sister's screams and noticing that Sara has still not returned, Jessica rounds up the remaining girls and they decide to collectively look for both of their missing sisters. As they head out the door, Alicia's boyfriend Josh (Brandon Flynn) barges into the house wildly. Surprised by his presence, Alicia questions as to what he was doing. He explains that he got access to his father's Jeep, and used it's all-wheel drive to travel through the storm to pick her up and show that he can still make it to his family's lake resort for the holiday. Alicia asks if he had seen either Sara or Mia outside, but he declines, stating that he ran into the house as fast he could because the storm is getting stronger. He volunteers to search for them, and he, Jessica, Alicia, Kira and Melanie go outside in search.

Cindy stays in the house to look after Ellie, and after going upstairs alone to search for candles, is stabbed through the eye with a firepoker by the same stranger that murdered Mia and Sara. Discovering the bodies of both missing sisters, the search group hurry back into the house and this time decide to call the police, who reveal that the storm has been too strong and that they will be able to reach the house within two to three hours. They are interrupted by Ellie, who advises that they all leave in Josh's Jeep, as it is the only vehicle capable of making it in the storm. Suddenly, Cindy's body falls from the upstairs banister; the body, which was rigged with a wooden pole, lands on top of and impales Jessica. Knowing that the killer is inside the house, Josh, Kira, Alicia, Ellie and Melanie decide to try and run for the Jeep, but notice a figure walking up to the front door. They decide to hide upstairs in Kira's room, where they lock the door and decide to wait it out until the police get there. Josh, who decides they fight off the killer as best as they could, tries to leave the room but Alicia pleads for him not to, and upon opening the door, he is axed in the face by the killer in the Santa suit. Knowing they have nowhere else to hide, the killer begins to walk into the room before knocked out by Kelli, who had finally managed to make it to the sorority. They begin to leave the room when they notice that the killer's body is gone, and decide to try and make it to the Jeep outside. Alicia, distraught over Josh's death, and knowing that their killer is still alive and hiding, decides to burn down the house as a distraction while Kelli, Melanie and Ellie make it to the truck. 

Alicia tells them to wait until the fire has been started so they can use the smoke to hide themselves as they run outside. As she runs to the first floor to set fire to the Christmas tree, she is strangled to death by the killer with a Christmas light chord. The fire begins to spread throughout the house, and Kelli, Kira, Melanie and Ellie are cornered by the killer, who reveals himself by taking off the Santa mask he had been wearing all night. He reveals that his name is Edward Lenz, and he is the secret son of Billy and Agnes, who were also in an incestous relationship many years prior to their 2006 massacre. Distraught by the murder of his parents and with his heredity mental health issues, he made it his mission to "purify" the house his parents had cherished once and for all. Kelli decides to face Edward alone, which gives Kira, Melanie and Ellie the time to escape in the Jeep. After a lengthy physical fight with Edward, she finally manages to stab Edward through the throat with the wooden pole that he used to murder Jessica, but not before stabbing Kelli in the chest with a large kitchen knife. As the house burns around her, Kelli smiles, as she finally faced the fear that had left her scarred for the past ten years. Police sirens are heard approaching the house, and Kelli's fate is left ambiguous.

Cast

• Katie Cassidy as Kelli Presley

• Willa Holland as Kira Pearce

• Caity Lotz as Sara Jensen

• Katherine Langford as Mia Ford

• Bianca A. Santos as Jessica Mendez

• Shay Mitchell as Melanie Vasquez

• Victoria Moroles as Ellie Vasquez

• Courtney Cox as Cindy Quinn

• Brandon Flynn as Josh

• Britt Robertson as Alicia Bradley

Trivia

• Like in the 2006 film, several actors who were part of a franchise were brought together for the film. Crysal Lowe, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Kristen Cloke, who were in the first film, were all part of the Final Destination film series, whereas in this film, Willa Holland, Caity Lotz and Katie Cassidy, are all apart of the Arrowverse on the CW.
• Katie Cassidy and Caity Lotz play sisters in Arrow, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, and Flash.
• Sara, the character played by Caity Lotz, shares the same name as her Arrowverse character, Sara Lance.
• Brandon Flynn and Katherine Langford both have starring roles in the hit Netflix series, 13 Reasons Why.
• The first film's central theme was sisterhood, whereas in the sequel, the theme is mental health.
• Each actor/actress in the film is widely known for a successful TV series. Katie Cassidy, Caity Lotz, and Willa Holland are known for Arrow, The Flash, and DC's Legends of Tomorrow. Shay Mitchell is known for Pretty Little Liars. Courtney Cox had a starring role in Friends. Brandon Flynn, and Katherine Langford are best known for 13 Reasons Why. Victoria Moroles is known for her role in both Liv and Maddie, and most recently as Hayden in the hit MTV series Teen Wolf. Britt Robertson had a starring role in The Secret Circle and Life Unexpected. Finally, Bianca A. Santos is known for her on and off role on Freeform's The Fosters.