MovieChat Forums > Black Christmas (1974) Discussion > One thing I didn't get... (spoilers)

One thing I didn't get... (spoilers)

posted 7 years ago by mtait237
7 replies | jump to latest

Maybe I missed something, but it didn't make any sense to me why Peter (knowing he's not the killer) would be literally busting through the basement window calling for his girlfriend like that?
Only thing I could think of was - he's been watching her from outside and saw she ran into the basement? But if so, than he would of seen the killer (Billy) chasing her also, right? Would be kinda cool/creepy and make total sense if he was in on it with, Billy... But guessing it's just a goof though, because they were wanting viewers to think it was Peter until the end. Any other ideas?

[–] Supervix77 7 years ago

I didn't get that either. He didn't seem concerned about her at all. He just seemed very desperate to get to her. I have actually always thought that there were 2 killers: Peter and Billy. Peter seems shocked when Jess tells him about the young girl killed in the park but not so concerned about Claire when Jess brings her up (this is when they are arguing in the living room about marriage and the baby). I don't think Peter killed the young girl but I'm suspicious that he may have killed Claire and Barb too. That really looks like him when they show the killer's face just before attacking Barb. I think Peter and Billy were unknowingly killing at the same time. That's just my twist/theory on it though! Either way, I love this movie.

[–] recklesscow 7 years ago

I like that theory.

[–] snparks 7 years ago

Peter was lurking just outside the house, so it's possible he heard the basement door slam, checked through the windows to be certain of what he thought he heard, and spotted Jess to confirm his theory.

[–] hurricane (1908) 4 years ago

Even though Peter isn't the killer, doesn't mean he's necessarily a sane, rational guy. Look at how he destroyed the piano after her failed his recital. Even being angry at Jess doesn't justify this behaviour. He'd obviously got issues of his own.

Whichever side you stand on the abortion debate, a lot of Peter's behaviour came across as somewhat unhinged. Look at the phone call that he made to Jess, he didn't sound right then either.

It didn't seem too out of character that he'd break a window in order to find her, even if he wasn't the killer.

[–] Stratego (29246) 4 years ago

There definitely was something wrong with him and he seemed drunk as well. I can see him busting through the basement window when he found all the doors and windows locked.

[–] hurricane (1908) 3 years ago

Remember that at one point in the movie, Phyl remarks that she's never been a big fan of Peter.

It's just a small thing that you might not even think about it. In fact, she was saying that she didn't think he was the killer at the time. But a very clever line too. It tells us that at least one of Jess' friends didn't like him. Quite a neat way of hinting at the sort of character that he was. Lots of small subtle things like this in Black Christmas. You notice these things more the more frequently you watch Black Christmas.

Ps. Sorry for such a late reply.

[–] Stratego (29246) 3 years ago

Lol, it's been at least two years, so things are a bit hazy. But I seem to have agreed with you back then, so you're probably right.😉