I know, I know…Christmas was weeks ago, but that doesn’t stop us from staying in the holiday spirit, does it? I finally had the chance to sit down and check out It’s Me, Billy, a crowdfunded, fan-made unofficial sequel to Bob Clark’s 1974 Black Christmas. The 42-minute short is written and directed by Bruce Dale and Dave McRae and stars Victoria Mero, Malaika Hennie-Hamadi, Shelby Handley, Caro Coltman, and the duo of Bryan Charles Peter and Dave McRae as the body and voice of the psychopathic serial killer Billy.
The filmmakers do note that the short film is in no way associated or affiliated with Blumehouse Productions, Universal Pictures, or Divide/Conquer Productions. It’s Me, Billy is a not-for-profit fan film and a work of fan fiction.
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In regard to why they made the film, McRae and Dale wrote:
“As Canadian filmmakers living in Toronto, the city where the original Black Christmas was filmed, we grew up on a healthy dose of the movie and have a great appreciation for what Bob Clark (director) was doing during a time when more and more gratuitous violence was making its way into the genre. And, although Black Christmas had two remakes that took the mythology and story in two different directions, it’s never had a sequel. We want to bring Billy back. It’s important to understand the value of the original film, and what now appears to be a lost art; scare an audience in their minds before you show them anything on screen. Our intent is to capture the same mood, atmosphere, and slow-burn that the original did.”
It’s Me, Billy takes place roughly 50 years after the events of Black Christmas, and follows Sam (Victoria Mero), the granddaughter of Jess Bradford (Olivia Hussey) from the original film. Sam and her friends decide to stay at Sam’s grandmother’s country house for Christmas Eve. As the night goes on, Sam starts to receive frightening phone calls, unaware that Billy, the man responsible for the murders at Jess Bradford’s sorority house 50 years prior, is now stalking her granddaughter.
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Right away, I was a fan of the premise. Although we’ve gotten two different Black Christmas remakes/reboots, we’ve never gotten a direct sequel to the original film, which ended with a lot of questions. It’s Me, Billy (unofficially) answers several of them, including that after the events of the original film, Jess Bradford fully believed her boyfriend was the killer, and Billy was never considered or caught. This felt right along the lines of David Gordon Green’s Halloween continuation.
With this being a fan film, I expected amateur camera work and lighting but was extremely pleased with the professionalism the short provided. In a perfect love letter to the original, It’s Me, Billy used shadows, negative space in lighting, and Christmas lights to set the mood and capture the eerie moments of its predecessor.
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Some of the most terrifying parts of the original film were the phone calls from Billy. Bob Clark used multiple voices to bring out the madness in Billy’s multiple personalities, and honestly, It’s Me, Billy made these moments even creepier. The scary part of Billy’s character was always his unhinged madness, and lack of clear motivation. That insanity is tapped into perfectly here and leads to some extremely brutal moments in the short film. Filmmaker Dave McRae does a fantastic job with the voice work, and Bryan Charles Peter goes full-on nuts, physically.
If I were to ding the film for anything, it would be some of the lead and supporting acting was a little raw. It’s clear that the entire small cast is talented, yet unpolished, as this film is one of the only acting credits for most. With that being said, to expect seasoned, polished professional actors in a crowd-funded short film is unrealistic, and this really is a minor grievance.
Like the original, It’s Me, Billy leaves the audience with questions of what’s next, and could absolutely lead into a second part, though no announcement has been made regarding a sequel. I wished it was longer because I wanted to see how the story unfolds, but that is just a testament to how strong the short was. Overall, this is one of the best fan films I’ve seen, and easily just as strong as the remakes that were released. If you want to check out It’s Me, Billy, it can be found here for free.
