Michelle Trachtenberg

Slasher flick to debut on Christmas Day

Are holiday filmgoers ready to trade fuzzy fare such as "Miracle on 34th Street" for the likes of "Nightmare on Elm Street"?

Backers of the R-rated "Black Christmas" are hoping ’tis the season to be scared out of your wits as they prepare to release the gory sorority-house slaughter tale on Dec. 25.

Michelle Trachtenberg stars in the horror film coming out Dec. 25.

Marketed with dark slogans such as "the ultimate slay ride," the movie might be just the ticket to lure scare-happy teens against the backdrop of Halloween in October . . . but as carols play on Christmas Day?

"It’s wrong," says psychologist Joyce Brothers. "No matter what your faith, this is a time for peace and understanding. It’s dreadful to do something like this that exploits the ugliest and most negative of human emotions, on a holiday."

Catholic groups were outraged. "It’s not showing any sensitivity to Christians. It’s the birth of Our Lord. . . . It’s out of line," said Kiera McCaffrey, spokeswoman for the Catholic League.

Christian media watchdogs also took a dim view.

"It’s always abhorrent when people take a sacred event and turn it into something gruesome," said Ted Baehr, publisher of the Christian-based Movieguide.org.

"But forewarned is forearmed," he said. "People can caution their children and families not to waste a Christmas seeing something that is bad for them."

Baehr, who also chairs the Christian Film and Television Commission, called the release date a deliberate marketing ploy. "Controversy sells movie tickets."

Some folks polled last week outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York blasted the timing.

"It’s demonic. It’s definitely coal in the stocking," said Jaida Blackwell, 30, of Roselle, N.J.

"Me being Catholic, I think it’s defaming some of my beliefs. And releasing it on Christmas Day is just a publicity stunt," said Carlos Diaz, 34, a security guard from Bridgeport, Conn.

Dimension Films, the flick’s U.S. distributor, says it’s strictly business. "There is a long tradition of releasing horror movies during the holiday season as counterprogramming to the more regular yuletide fare," a spokesman for the company said in a statement.

The nail-biter, which stars Katie Cassidy ("When a Stranger Calls") and Michelle Trachtenberg ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), is a remake of the 1974 cult classic of the same name, which featured Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder as frantic students whose sorority house is stalked by a killer during Christmas break.

Warner Bros. chose a Dec. 20 release date in ’74, allowing some breathing room before Christmas.