17 Damn Good Christmas Horror Movies You Can Watch Right Now
Although your knee-jerk reactions may suggest otherwise, there’s nothing inappropriate about combining Christmas with scary stories. For centuries in Britain, families gathered around the fire and protected themselves from the winter cold by sharing chilling tales of the supernatural – a tradition forgotten only to be revived by Charles Dickens and Mr. James in the Victorian era. Likewise, non-Christian traditions go back even further; Across cultures and religious traditions, dark winter nights seem to provide us with a particularly good excuse to scare our loved ones. Thus , A Christmas Carol is not an exception, but a particularly good example of this form. So grab a warm drink, lock the doors, and fire up the Roku. Speaking of fires, please check your chimney before lighting a fire. This is a smart security measure, especially if you’re not sure where Dad went…
Rare Export (2010)
Apparently I’m not the first to recommend Rare Export: A Christmas Tale , the Finnish film that became a nouveau holiday classic shortly after its release a decade ago, although it wasn’t. (But give it time.) In the film, a greedy government’s exploration team drills into land best left untouched: an ancient mound that legends suggest is the resting place of Joulupukki, the predecessor of our modern-day Santa Claus. Old Joulupukki is not much different from Krampus in that he is much more interested in punishing sinners than rewarding the good. It’s a gripping, darkly comic, cynical winter tale (pretty perfect for our times) that builds to a wild climax.
Where to watch: Hulu, Shudder, Fubo TV, Tubi, Vudu, Crackle, Pluto TV, Hoopla.
Black Christmas (1974)
One of the best slasher films, this groundbreaking film from director Bob Clark is also one of the best, with a simple, well-executed premise and a killer cast (Margot Kidder, Olivia Hussey, Andrea Martin, John Saxon, Keir Dullea). The director has legitimate holiday cred: After a story about a killer stalking a sorority house during winter break, he helmed the holiday cable program A Christmas Story nearly a decade later. There’s little here that we haven’t seen, but that’s only because many later films took cues from his style, but with less scary results. Neither of the two remakes (2006 and 2019) are bad, but neither reaches the heights of the original.
Where to watch: Shudder, Fubo TV, Peacock, The Roku Channel, Hoopla, Vudu, The Criterion Channel, Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex.
Christmas Evil (1980)
John Waters called A Christmas Evil “the greatest Christmas movie ever made” and, according to the guidelines, it could have been done a lot worse (he even wrote a commentary track that can still be found on DVD and Blu-ray). Given the source, this recommendation also gives you an idea of what you’re in for. In the prologue, the boy sees his mom kiss Santa Claus (and then some), and the experience sparks a lifelong obsession with Santa… and keeping track of who’s been naughty and who’s been nice. There’s a bit of social commentary present among the truly over-the-top death scenes that lead to a truly shitty ending.
Where to watch: Shudder, Fubo TV, The Roku Channel, Hoopla, Vudu, Tubi.
Gremlins (1984)
In the mid-’80s, you could buy Gremlins dolls, action figures, and storybooks, which, given the violence and nightmarishness of the film, is both impressively twisted and a profound indictment of the consumer culture in which we live. I will sell anything to anyone. Hey kids, gather around the TV to watch a movie in which murderous creatures are blended and exploded in microwaves, and one main character vividly describes how she found her missing father stuck in a chimney on Christmas Day. However, there is plenty of holiday cheer to be found here… including a truly lively group of carolers. Amazing!
Where to watch: HBO Max.
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Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
There’s nothing particularly groundbreaking about Silent Night, Deadly Night, about a child who watches his parents get killed by a man in a Santa suit and then grows up to become a Santa-style killer himself, just like everyone else. While this is by no means the first horror film to be associated with Christmas, the Reagan era was not the time for it. Or maybe it was the perfect time? Either way, he was boycotted and censored, which of course only created publicity that benefited him. On its own, it’s a competent slasher film, maybe even a cut above average, with just a hint of consumerism. However, as an interesting cultural artifact, it is more than worth a look. You can probably skip the sequels, although the second is very bad (and includes a full 40 minutes of footage from its predecessor), while the fifth stars Mickey Rooney (!), publicly attacking the first.
Where to watch: Tubi
Lodge (2019)
The story of a stepmother gradually losing her grip on reality, The Little House is a particularly heavy Christmas horror film. Some of us enjoy the fun of the holidays, while others enjoy immersing ourselves in the dark, depressing atmosphere of a dreary winter. Considering my own hesitations, I accept all options as correct! Riley Keough gives a great performance here as a woman recently married to a father of two. Their mother died tragically, and the adopted children are not in the mood to accept a new family member. After learning some disturbing truths about her past, they are perfectly happy to manipulate her emotions after the trio are stuck fatherless in a remote cabin full of over-the-top religious iconography. No Merry Christmas, no sire.
Where to watch: Hulu, Kanopy.
Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)
Simply put… zombies! In this mash-up of High School Musical and Shaun of the Dead that you never knew existed, main character Anna just wants to make it through the Christmas show at her high school in Little Haven, Scotland. She is so busy with her own problems that she does not notice the infection of the undead spreading around her. It’s a strange mash-up of styles, no doubt, but it’s filled with gory fun and surprising, seasonal heart.
Where to watch: Hoopla, Kanopy, Pluto TV.
Advent calendar (2021)
A woman receives a beautiful but creepy Christmas gift: a cool advent calendar her friend bought at a Munich market. It’s good and all, except it has some very clear instructions that end with a variation of “…or you die.” (Germans, amirite?) This is a unique and nightmarish film, full of wild ideas and phantasmagoric images. Even if it doesn’t all come together perfectly, the ride is still impressive, and that centerpiece calendar is as neat as a damn movie prop can be.
Just a note: while the film gets points for having a disabled protagonist (who is not the hero), it stars a non-disabled actor and the character’s main motivation is to walk (and dance) without assistance, which is quite retrograde in Terms of Representation.
Where to watch: Shudder
Alien Raiders (2008)
Ignore the truly terrible title, which makes the film sound like something you’d find in the bottom aisle of your local Redbox. On Christmas Eve, a group of masked assailants storm a grocery store. They take hostages, but it’s clear there’s something else going on (hint: alien raiders are involved). It’s all quite enjoyable, and the acting and effects are better than you’d expect. Despite a significantly lower budget, this could serve as your next Die Hard-style Christmas story .
Where to watch: digital rental.
Game Over (1989)
Also known as Deadly Games . And dial the Santa Claus code . And originally the code was 3615 Pere Noel . The French film is an impressive blend of pure horror and sweet holiday themes. It’s the story of a child prodigy who tries to use technology to contact Santa, but instead comes into contact with a killer intent on gaining access to the child’s (pretty posh) home. You’re absolutely encouraged to think of this as a horror -style Home Alone , a comparison made by that film’s director (Rene Manzor) when he threatened a plagiarism suit against Chris Columbus and company. in the old days.
Where to watch: Shudder
Children (2008)
When a mysterious infection sends a group of children into full murder mode just before New Year’s, their parents must decide how far parental love extends. The Killer Kids subgenre of horror always deals with such issues, but rarely (if ever) as effectively as it does here. The film makes clear how terrible it would be to fight with your own children, and offers a powerful metaphor for the most common real-life situations in which parents and children find themselves at odds. All that aside, it’s a well-directed slasher film with memorable kills that feel uncomfortably real without being overly violent.
Where to watch: The Roku Channel, Vudu, Tubi, Plex, IMDb TV.
I Caught the Devil (2019)
Bearing similarities to the Charles Beaumont short story “The Howling Man” (adapted as an episode of The Twilight Zone ), “I Caught the Devil” tells the story of Matt and Karen, a couple who go to visit Matt’s troubled brother, Steve, for the holidays. Increasingly alarmed by his disturbing behavior, they soon discover that there is a lock on the basement door, and behind it is a man who Steve claims is the real devil. Which sounds completely normal and reasonable. If the story can’t quite sustain its time, it’s still a tense and stylish Christmas mystery.
Where to watch: Hulu
Fart! (2018)
There’s a hot new toy out just in time for Christmas… Pooka, a very strange, incredibly temperamental doll that basically does what she wants. The kids love it! An unemployed actor (Nyasha Hatendi) isn’t thrilled when he’s offered a job selling dolls in a giant Pooka suit, but the money is good. Naturally, this is when things start to go from weird to downright surreal. Director Nacho Vigalondo ( Colossal , Timecrimes ) has a lot of fun veering off in unexpected directions from the concept, which ends up becoming a twisted, inverted riff on A Christmas Carol .
Where to watch: Hulu
Bloody Rhythm (1983)
I have no idea what Blood Beat is. I’m not sure anyone does that. The whole family gathers at a young couple’s house when the ghost of a samurai (or something like that) starts killing people, all while sweet synth music plays in the background. Are some people psychics? The film’s cult status comes not from the hidden depths of its plot, but from its often impressive visual effects and hypnotic tone. To that end, I might suggest it as a smart pairing with some peppermint edibles… but only if you’re not easily confused. Or perhaps he’s afraid of samurai.
Where to watch: Shudder, Tubi
Krampus (2015)
Among the best films of the decade that revive ancient, scary European traditions featuring much less jolly versions of Santa, Krampus is a Gremlins -style horror-comedy with creative creature effects created by the folks at Weta Workshop. It may not be the darkest or creepiest of holiday-themed horror films, but it’s a lot of fun, with effects that feel like a twisted winter wonderland as we follow a family being hunted by a major demon.
Where to watch: Fubo TV, FX Now
Killing Santa (2005)
Have you ever thought about how terrible Santa’s job really is? He needs to deliver toys to billions of children, and he has one night to do it. The heady 1985 blockbuster The Santa Claus: The Movie shows that this is only possible because for Santa, the night drags on forever until the job is completed, which is pretty terrifying if you stop to consider the consequences. 2005’s clever sleaze Santa’s Slay makes clear the undesirability of this position by revealing that Santa (wrestler Bill Goldberg) was actually Satan’s least favorite son, who was saddled with a yearly task after losing a bet – but only for 1,000 years, and his time was up. up.
Where to watch: digital rental.
Cruel Night (2022)
It’s probably more of an action-comedy than an outright horror film, but if you’re looking for some Christmas bloodshed, it’s still a safe bet. Stranger Things’ David Harbor plays good old Saint Nick, who decides to protect the lives of a wealthy family from murderous intruders (all with holiday aliases like “Mr. Scrooge”) on Christmas Eve. The highlight is a Home Alone style booby trap scene that takes a much gorier and more realistic look at the chaos little Kevin McCallister unleashes in this oddly violent holiday classic, with Harbor having some good fun with an obvious (but still funny) Santa the role is a depressing joke.
Where to watch: Prime Video