We Wish You a Scary Christmas: 12 Christmas Horror Movies to Watch This Holiday Season
For horror fans, the most wonderful time of the year came and went about two months ago. But just because “comfort and joy” has replaced “trick or treat,” that doesn’t mean the scares have to end. The spookiest cinephiles know that horror can, and should, be enjoyed year-round, and these 12 movies prove that Christmas doesn’t have to be all cookies, hot chocolate, and angels getting wings.
Black Christmas (1974)
This is the most obvious entry on this list, but it’s impossible to have a conversation about Christmas horror films that doesn’t begin and end with director Bob Clark’s original classic. To watch Black Christmas is to watch iconic, essential horror tropes be invented, or at least popularized, before your very eyes. Set in a sorority house adorned with twinkling lights and tacky wreaths, it’s a deceptively simple stalker-slasher movie, where each victim is picked off in increasingly horrifying ways. But under its tinsel-covered exterior lies one of the defining films of the second-wave feminist movement. Themes of bodily autonomy, societal discrepancies based around gender, and the predatory nature of the patriarchy are sprinkled throughout the film, impossible to ignore. From the moment the sorority girls gather around the phone to hear the first of many obscene, terrifying phone calls from the killer, their lives are destined to be forever changed by the selfish, violent acts of one unhinged male.
Part of what makes the villain so scary is the absolute lack of backstory or explanation. We hear him whispering names that seem to suggest the subjects responsible for his psychological break, but it’s never explained, almost as if to do so would allow the men in the audience to understand, and perhaps even sympathize, with this killer of women. And furthermore, his face is never shown. The film begins with a chilling sequence where the camera depicts the killer’s point-of-view as he enters the house (four years before John Carpenter would use the same tactic to open his own holiday-set horror, Halloween), and the most that viewers ever see of him is a single illuminated eyeball. Black Christmas is a masterpiece of horror with excellent cinematography and an unyielding scary tone throughout. If it’s not already, make it a yuletide tradition in your household.
Christmas Evil (1980)
This low-budget, less-than-B-movie is a favorite of legendary cult director John Waters, and after watching the film, it’s easy to see why. It’s a trashy, campy time that’s equal parts wonderfully stupid and wildly entertaining. Harry (Brandon Maggart) is an overworked and undervalued manager at a toy factory who, in his home life, is obsessed with Santa Claus. In fact, he wants to be the jolly gift giver so badly that he sleeps in Santa pajamas, keeps track of which neighborhood children are naughty or nice, and even superglues a white beard to his face. Eventually, his mania tips over into full blown, pop psychology-style insanity, culminating in him tearing through his town with gifts for good children and punishing misbehaving adults in violent ways.
His yuletide rampage is a blast to watch. Most of the grown-ups he encounters, strangely, immediately make a mockery of his (admittedly impressive) Santa Claus costume, leading to hilariously over-the-top interactions and ridiculous situations. He chops up a group of nasty churchgoers who clearly missed the message of the mass, uses a tree-topping star to slash a throat, and even gets stuck going down a chimney in a shockingly stressful scene. By the time a knife-wielding child comes to his defense, despite her parents’ objections, it’s impossible not to be delighted by the absurdity on screen.
Horror fans may notice that this bears a resemblance to the more well-known Silent Night, Deadly Night, which would be released four years later. They both center around a homicidal man dressed as Kris Kringle, who has been traumatized by a childhood incident where he witnesses Santa in an upsetting sexual situation. Both have their merits, but Christmas Evil (or, as it was originally titled upon release, You Better Watch Out) is more perversely fun, culminating in an ending so ridiculous that it circles back around to feeling joyful. And what’s more Christmas-y than that?
Gremlins (1984)
This is definitely the most family-friendly film on this list, although it has just enough upsetting imagery and themes to scare kids in a way that’ll open their eyes to the wonders of the horror genre. In fact, it pushes the limits of its PG rating so severely that it was part of the reason for the creation of the PG-13 rating. The titular creatures, once they go bad and turn from cute Furby-like pets to devilish little monsters, wreak joyful havoc on a small town that just wants to celebrate their perfectly snowy Christmas. They’re tricksters, hellbent on causing as much chaos as possible, and their exploits are both shocking and hilarious.
The film begins as a typically Spielbergian 80s story, featuring a slightly askew but loving family unit whose lives are changed by the arrival of Gizmo, a furry creature known as a “mogwai.” While he’s cute and docile, things start to change once he gets wet and begins multiplying, with the additional mogwai quickly turning evil after eating after midnight. Despite the film’s family-friendly first act, once the mogwai become malevolent, the movie suddenly becomes wildly explicit once the family’s matriarch (Frances Lee McCain) fights back against them. She’s relentless, mashing one of the mogwai up in a blender, spewing green blood all over her kitchen, and exploding another one in a microwave. It’s a shocking moment that must’ve gotten vocal reactions in the theater.
Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
Although it’s not as good as Christmas Evil, the infamous Silent Night, Deadly Night is still required viewing for horror fans, if for no other reason than it inspired a panic amongst concerned 80s parents. The imagery of a killer Santa Claus in the film’s marketing was too much for some, leading to complaints and censorship of the television commercials and protests at theaters. The movie itself is a ridiculous story about a young man named Billy (Robert Brian Wilson) who, after witnessing his parents get murdered by a man dressed as Santa, has grown up into an unstable young man. Eventually, he snaps in a manner typical of exploitation horror, terrorizing his town dressed as Santa and wielding an axe. There are some memorable Christmas-themed kill scenes, including a notable scene involving a decapitated child on a sled. It’s not a great film, but it certainly scratches that Christmas horror itch.
Inside (2007)
French horror in the 21st century has constantly pushed the envelope, and Inside is no exception. The main heroine Sarah (Alysson Paradis) is a recently widowed pregnant woman on Christmas Eve, with a scheduled due date for the following day. Alone in her house, she finds herself terrorized by a woman (played by actress Béatrice Dalle, credited only as “La Femme”) who invades Sarah’s home and proceeds to violently pursue her for the rest of the film. She’s cloaked in flowing black like an angel of death and her motive is unknown. Using a variety of improvised weapons, most notably ultra sharp scissors, she turns what’s supposed to be Sarah’s “last night of peace and quiet” – as her doctor puts it – into a fight for the life of herself and her unborn child.
It’s an infamously and unyieldingly intense film, featuring some of the most upsetting imagery ever put on screen. The sadistic directing team of Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo even make the choice to show the fetus in visible distress during moments of violence. It’s an unrelenting ride that will challenge even the toughest of horror fans. But at its heart, it’s a darkly creative tale about a mother doing whatever it takes to guarantee the safety of her December-due baby, just like the very first Noel.
Krampus (2015)
Without a doubt, this is the most traditional of the Christmas films on this list, albeit with an obvious horror twist. Like so many other seasonal movies, it centers around a stressed out family who must overcome their differences to find the true meaning of Christmas. But unlike most holiday films, they’re being terrorized by a vicious demonic entity. The best thing about the film is director Michael Dougherty’s devotion to practical effects. Rather than using distracting CGI to conjure up the hellish creatures that ruin the central family’s Christmas, Dougherty favors puppets and actors in costumes. The film’s most memorable sequence takes place in the snowbound house’s attic, which has been invaded by an array of wicked toys brought to life, all of them designed and executed with devilish affection by the filmmaking team. It’s a fun ride and a modern holiday classic.
Better Watch Out (2016)
What starts out as a typical babysitter slasher film, set during Christmas, reveals itself to be something entirely different with Better Watch Out. Olivia DeJonge plays Ashley, a 17-year-old who’s in charge of her 12-year-old long-term babysittee Luke (Levi Miller) while his parents are at a Christmas party. But things take an unexpected turn when a masked assailant breaks into the house, stalking the pair as they fight for their survival. However, things aren’t all what they seem to be with this film, and several twists quickly occur, which I won’t spoil here. But suffice to say, it’s a gleeful movie that definitely belongs on the naughty list, featuring a villain who’s just so fun to hate.
Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)
Every holiday deserves a horror-comedy-musical, and Anna and the Apocalypse fills that slot for the Christmas season. The UK-set film takes an obvious cue from another zombie-invasion comedy, Shaun of the Dead, but this time centers around a group of singing teenagers. It’s one of the more outright enjoyable films on this list, featuring some hilariously peppy numbers that just happen to have the undead roaming around. And the film doesn’t skimp on the violence and gore just because the characters can hit a high C. One sequence set inside a bowling alley features a number of nauseatingly memorable kills that are sure to please any gorehound. The movie also isn’t afraid to tilt over into true gravitas in its latter portion. At times it may feel a bit too stretched thin trying to equally check the musical, comedy, and horror boxes, but it’s a blast nonetheless.
Black Christmas (2019)
This film is, almost shockingly, one of the more controversial ones on this list. It’s not the first remake of the 70s classic (an unpleasant 2006 reimagining got there first, but it’s best not to talk about that one), but many audience members, especially male viewers acting in bad faith, continue to object to its unapologetically feminist angle. In addition, the film is decidedly a PG-13 horror, meaning the violence and gore is muted. Much like the original film, it focuses on a group of sorority sisters being stalked and picked off one-by-one by an unknown killer. But where the original film places its feminist themes under the surface, where they are still easily discoverable, this post-MeToo version wears its gender ideologies loud and proud. The movie is light on scares, opting instead for some quick-but-creative kills and, ultimately, a triumphant action tone to finish things off. And it’s definitely not subtle, but neither is misogyny! If nothing else, it’s a good entry-level horror for younger fans looking to see their frustrations with the ways of the world reflected in a cathartic manner.
I Trapped the Devil (2019)
There’s nothing like simplicity, and writer-director Josh Lobo’s I Trapped the Devil is extra impressive for its ability to stress and scare viewers with a less-is-more approach. Set during Christmas (of course), it centers on married couple Matt (A.J. Bowen) and Karen (Susan Theresa Burke) who pay an unannounced visit to Matt’s troubled brother Steve (Scott Poythress). Rather than welcoming the surprise guests, Steve makes it clear that he doesn’t want them there because, as he eventually reveals, he believes that he’s quite literally trapped the devil in his basement. And sure enough, as Matt and Karen soon see, there is a desperate man imprisoned there behind a locked door that’s been adorned with a cross. What follows is a back and forth between the three of them, with Steve doing his best to convince a skeptical Matt and Karen that it really is the prince of darkness that he’s locked away.
It’s a sparse film by nature, and Lobo is able to do a lot with very little. In fact, the lack of obvious scares and frightening moments make the few times that he delves into horror imagery even more effective, as it almost seems as if such techniques wouldn’t be in the small scale film’s cinematic vocabulary. The film reveals itself to be a story about believing those you love when they tell you something unbelievable and having enough faith to stick with them, which is what the first Christmas was all about, after all.
The Lodge (2019)
For those who find the holidays depressing, The Lodge is exactly the kind of downer that’ll reflect that mindset. Centering around a young woman named Grace (Riley Keough) who was raised in a suicide cult and is now a traumatized, but medicated, adult. She becomes engaged to a man named Richard (Richard Armitage), whose ex-wife (Alicia Silverstone) takes her own life after hearing of his relationship with Grace. In order to get closer with his two children (Jaeden Martell and Lia McHugh), she spends Christmas with the young pair in the family’s remote lodge. The cabin is so snowbound that they may as well be inside of a snowglobe, and the unlikely trio have a hard time bonding. This difficult situation is only compounded once things start going wrong, such as the sudden disappearance of all of their belongings. And that’s only the start of their misfortune.
The movie will certainly make viewers feel appropriately wintery, but rather than the cold environ feeling enchanting and cozy, it’s instead just an additional stressful factor on top of the characters’ already terrifying situation. Watch it during a blizzard for a full 4D experience.
Christmas Bloody Christmas (2022)
This schlocky, trashy film serves as a throwback to the 80s era of unapologetically horny, nasty horror. It’s the gnarly tale of a killer Santa Claus robot terrorizing a young woman named Tori (Riley Dandy) and those around her, and there’s not much more to the story than that. It’s simple but effective, with a sarcastic, cynical tone throughout. From the synth-based score to the lack of motive for the murderous cyborg, this is pure junk horror. By the time an extended (and hot) sex scene is being intercut with a vicious axe attack while an electric guitar wails, it’s clear that this is a sugary sweet spiked eggnog rather than a well-rounded, substantial Christmas meal. And sometimes, the bad stuff is what you crave.
He currently resides in Chicago and is a proud member of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics. He also writes and podcasts for Next Best Picture and co-hosts his own podcast “Halloweeners: A Horror Movie Podcast.” You can follow him on Twitter and Letterboxd @codymonster91
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