Kelli Presley

Kelli Presley
Black Christmas character
Katie Cassidy as Kelli Presley in Black Christmas
Created by	Glen Morgan
Portrayed by	Katie Cassidy
Information
Full name	Kelli Presley
Gender	Female
Occupation	College student
Family	Mr. Presley (father) Mrs. Presley (mother)
Significant other(s)	Kyle Autry (boyfriend, deceased)
Nationality	American

Kelli Presley is a fictional character in the Black Christmas franchise. The character, created by writer-director Glen Morgan and portrayed by actress Katie Cassidy, serves as the primary protagonist and final girl of the Black Christmas remake, acting as a replacement to Jess from the original film.

In the film, Kelli is depicted as a member of the Delta Alpha Kappa sorority. Due to being an only child and not having a large family, she decides to spend Christmas with her sorority sisters. Unfortunately, their sorority house was once the childhood home of notorious murderer Billy Lenz. During Christmas, Kelli and her sisters begin getting obscene phone calls. Realizing that Billy has returned home, the girls attempt to survive the night as, due to a snowstorm, help is unable to reach them.

Critical reception towards the character was polarizing. Some considered her to be a likable and sympathetic protagonist, whereas others criticized her for being bland, generic and unoriginal as well as being inferior in comparison to Jess from the original Black Christmas. Despite these criticisms, Cassidy herself was generally praised for her performance.

In Black Christmas, Kelli first appears with her boyfriend Kyle, telling him that she intends on spending Christmas with her sorority sisters. After having gotten back to Delta Alpha Kappa sorority house, while opening up presents, Kelli and her sisters are called by an unknown caller who, initially, uses Clair's phone and later Megan's. Worried about Megan, Kelli goes to her room only to find Kyle there. While attempting to find clues about her disappearence the power goes out, causing Megan's computer to switch on from standby mode, revealing a recording Kyle made of himself having sex with Megan. After kicking him out of, she meets Clair's elder half-sister Leigh who came to the house looking for her.