The Script Lab Podcast: Sophia Takal — Director and Co-Writer of Blumhouse’s BLACK CHRISTMAS

The new Blumhouse movie Black Christmas is a remake of the classic slasher film from 1974. It’s directed by Sophia Takal, from a script by Takal and April Wolfe.

When a group of sorority women begins to be hunted down by a man in a black cape, a strange, medieval man with a bow and arrow, Riley (Imogen Poots), must gather her courage and strength to fight back.

The modernized story deals with themes of institutionalized misogyny and sexual assault while relying on classic jump scares and visual terror.

In this episode, Takal talks about why it’s been so hard for female directors to break through in the horror genre, the challenge of turning female slasher characters into empowered women while still fulfilling genre expectations, and explains the purpose of a scolds bridle and how it influenced the costumes.

Black Christmas opened Dec. 13.

Listen to the podcast below.

Shanee Edwards graduated from UCLA Film School with an MFA in Screenwriting and is currently the film critic for SheKnows.com. She recently won the Next MacGyver television writing competition to create a TV show about a female engineer. Her pilot, Ada and the Machine, is currently in development with America Ferrera’s Take Fountain Productions. You can follow her on Twitter: @ShaneeEdwards

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