The 1974 film follows the character of Jess Bradford as she and her sorority sisters begin receiving threatening phone calls from an unknown stalker.

The first in the series was the 1974 Canadian slasher film, Black Christmas (1974), which was directed by Bob Clark, and based on a screenplay by A. Roy Moore.

[1] Upon its release, the film received a mixed critical response and was a moderate financial success, and has since gained cult status.

[3] Both Morgan and producer James Wong revealed that the film suffered studio interference with Dimension executives Bob and Harvey Weinstein pushing for numerous re-writes and re-shoots to add more violence, which contrasted with Morgan's original vision for the film and caused an inconsistency in tone.

[6] Shortly after the release of the 2006 remake, a direct sequel to the 1974 film was in development, which would have focused solely on Olivia Hussey's character.