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Barbara "Barb" Coard is a secondary protagonist in the 1974 psychological horror film, Black Christmas. She is one of the sorority sisters, and is portrayed as a loud-mouthed and promiscuous alcoholic. She is portrayed by Margot Kidder.


History[]

Barb is introduced as a loud-mouthed alcoholic with a pessimistic attitude, though this is hinted to hide deep insecurities, such as her sadness over her poor relationship with her mother, who is seemingly aware of her daughter's alcoholism. When Jess answers a call from a sexually violent and unstable man dubbed the Moaner by the sorority sisters, Barb listens in, along with Phyllis, Clare, and some other girls, and eventually takes the phone from Jess, provoking the caller, who eventually threatens to murder her.

The calls do not bother Barb but rather amuse her, making jokes over the sexually aggressive manner of the caller. Clare and Barb briefly argue, where it is revealed there is a mutual dislike between the girls, possibly rooted in either jealousy or hypocrisy. When Clare disappears, Mr. Harrison arrives and Barb tags along with him and Phyllis to the police station. She gives Nash a fake exchange for the sorority house: Fellatio.

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The bodies of Barb and Phyllis

Barb spends the rest of Christmas Eve drinking; in a drunken stupor, Barb angrily admits in front of Clare's father and Mrs. Mac that she feels guilty over her argument with Clare and that she feels as though she is to blame for her disappearance. Phyllis eventually orders her to go to bed, due to her being drunk. A dejected and embarrassed Barb goes to her room to lay down; at some point, Clare's killer entered her room, only to hide in the shadows when Jess appeared to administer some medicine from her inhaler, revealing that Barb has asthma. When Jess later opens the door to Christmas carolers, the killer takes the opportunity to enter Barb's room again, where he stabs her to death with a glass figurine of a unicorn. Her blood-soaked body is later discovered by Jess, along with the body of Phyllis.

Notes[]

  • In the 2006 remake, Barb's name is changed to Lauren Hannon and her character is rewritten as a mean-spirited sorority girl with a drinking problem.
  • Barb is revealed to suffer from asthma, possibly triggered by anxiety. This explains why she had an asthma attack when she saw the killer in her room, but shrugged it off as a dream.
  • Barb could have possibly pushed the killer over the edge during the first onscreen phone call, though this is unlikely, as he had already murdered Janis Quaife, and possibly raped another local girl, according to Clare.
  • Barb originally had plans to spend Christmas with her mother, who later derailed these plans to spend the holidays with her current boyfriend. This caused most of the other girls to cancel their plans to go skiing with Barb, whom they felt sorry for.
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