WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Black Christmas, in theaters now.
Avengers: Endgame consisted of many monumental moments, from Captain America wielding Mjolnir to all the heroes assembling before Tony Stark's death and last but not least, Sam Wilson getting the shield. But there were some smaller moments such as Peter Parker hugging his mentor, Tony, that felt very emotional and powerful.
One of these less heralded, but equally important sequences, comes when the female Avengers team up in the battle against Thanos' legion in the final act. It's a very powerful scene of female empowerment but while it's an epic take on feminism and how women can save the day, Black Christmas actually has a fight with a similar essence and drive that's a whole lot better.
Endgame's moment was pretty badass, as Carol Danvers got backup from Okoye, Scarlet Witch, the Wasp, Mantis, Rescue, Valkyrie, Gamora and Nebula as they protected the Infinity Gauntlet from the Black Order and Co. It was something to be celebrated by fans of the studio and also young women in general in a time where toxic masculinity still rears its ugly head. But Black Christmas' take on feminism is a lot more palpable due to its real-world spin and lack of escapism which could dilute these sociopolitical statements.
Black Christmas takes a big swing for the #MeToo movement early on when Riley (Imogen Poots) and her group of Sexy Santas perform a rendition at a frat party on the Charles Hawthorne campus. Except rather than undressing a sexy single, they sing "Up in the frat house," a number about rape culture and the patriarchy being unchecked on a campus where women are ignored, victim-blamed or not given enough security.
This leads to the frat house, DKO, using dark magic to create an army of masked killers to hunt the women down during the holiday break, with Riley being targeted as the ultimate sacrifice. It gets even scarier when the audience discovers it's not just her MKE sorority house, but houses all across campus being attacked. The anti-feminist cult wants these strong, independent women dead and when Riley's bestie, Kris (Aleyse Shannon), panics and flees, the star's left to attack DKO by herself. However, right when Riley's about to be sacrificed an arrow flashes by her ear and straight into one of the evil pledges as if it were Hawkeye on the case.
It's actually Kris, who didn't leave. She rounded up survivors and now, they're taking back control. It's a scene akin to Marvel's A-Force as these women wield household items, as if to throw shade on those jokes of women belonging in the kitchen or doing other chores. One's wielding a heater, the other a fireplace poker and such, with a mean intent on their faces. They're here for revenge and they go to town on the frat boys.
It's a totally organic sequence and doesn't feel cheesy at all like the Endgame one (which again, doesn't devalue it). In this case, director Sophia Takal crafts a moment steeped more in substance than style as this is an issue close to her heart, and outdoes what we see in comic book movies and superhero films in general. This clap back is very real and very relatable, and feels more like an artsy move with a message than a pop culture money shot for audiences to applaud to because it looks cool. This sorority assault's all about making a male-driven world remember women shouldn't be taken advantage of and if men push hard, expect an equal pushback. Such a powerful message, when couched in a superhero epic will get lost in translation, but in this case, it's very prominent and the heartbeat of the plot. What results is a more brutal and bloodier brawl where, as expected, the women emerge the victors by channeling years of rage after unnecessary oppression.
Directed by Sophia Takal (Always Shine) from a script she co-wrote with April Wolfe (Widower), Black Christmas, currently in theaters, stars Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Brittany O’Grady, Lily Donoghue and Caleb Eberhardt.