The Best Horror Movies for Those Who Hate the Holidays
If you’re the type of person who hates the holidays, chances are the predictable formula of Christmas movies doesn’t suit you. But if you’re into horror, you’re in luck, because, it turns out, holiday horror is a separate subgenre of films. Just this week, a remake of the classic Black Christmas debuted in theater since, paying tribute to the Christmas horror films of yesteryear.
Below are some of the best holiday horror movies to watch while avoiding your family – including one about a house invasion during the holidays and another about an evil Santa wreaking havoc on one family’s Christmas.
Krampus
After seeing Krampus in 2015, I was very confused. What did I just watch? Well, after a few revisions, I realized the movie was pretty damn good. The box contains evil gingerbread men, evil deer and an evil Jack who – spoiler alert – eats people. If Elf had the opposite, it was Krampus . (And if anything, watch this because Toni Collette is gorgeous as always.)
P2
Be that as it may, the P2 premise is not all that original; a woman tries to leave her office on Christmas Day, but is grabbed by a lonely garage man who wants company for the holidays. The film takes place in the dark shadows of a garage, and our heroine must spend Christmas in her office, which is a terrifying scenario in itself.
Rare export
Rare Export is arguably the least known film on this list, and is a little slower than your standard horror movie. The film is set in Finland, and in it a team of researchers tries to uncover the origin story of the Finnish character who gave birth to the myth of Santa Claus. In a few minutes you will realize that this is an origin story, not a hilarious or well-known character in the story, but a cruel, evil villain.
Gremlins
Gremlins are so good that I included them on my other list . In case you haven’t seen the 1984 movie – despite my previous recommendation – this is essentially a horror story about asking for a pet for Christmas. If you are easily intimidated, it has no fear of jumping, and you will probably have a hard time being afraid of the Furby dolls that come to life.
You better watch out
At first it seems like Better Watch Out is falling into a standard slasher / home burglary movie; in the first half hour, the nanny tries to protect her and the teenager she is sitting at from an intruder – but, mmm, this is not what the film is about at all. I’ll leave the rest to you for you to watch and judge.