The Best Christmas Horror Movies
Christmas movies are their own special little seasonal genre. Like the slogan, “Christmas comes but once a year”, so do its films. It’s a Wonderful Life, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Elf, the many Christmas Carol imaginings, and A Christmas Story all fill the streaming platforms and cable channels from Thanksgiving to New Year. However, let’s be honest, stress can be at an all-time high during the holiday season. By the time the presents are done being opened on Christmas morning, most of us are tapping out from the craziness of the season.
It’s good to stop for ninety minutes during the holiday rush and relieve some of that built-up anxiety. There is no genre out there that gives people catharsis like horror, and it just so happens that there is a long list of horror films that take place during the holiday season. Holiday horror is a very popular sub-genre with popular examples such as Halloween, My Bloody Valentine, and Trick ‘r’ Treat to name a few. But this sub-genre might as well have its own sub-genre as there are dozens of horror films set on the most wonderful time of the year.
Christmas horror movies tap into that jarring contrast between bloody and wholesome. It provides a stark juxtaposition while poking fun at the least pleasant parts of the holiday itself. As such grab yourself some hot chocolate, get comfy, lock your doors and join us as we go over the seventeen best Christmas horror movies of all time. Enjoy!
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P2 (2007)
Runtime: 1 hour, 38 minutes
Rating: R
The only thing more terrifying than being alone is realizing you’re not. Directed and written by Franck Khalfoun with additional writing by Alexandre Aja as well as Grégory Levasseur, P2 follows a businesswoman who is pursued by a psychopath after being locked in a parking garage on Christmas Eve. The film stars Rachel Nichols, Wes Bentley, and Simon Reynolds. P2 is an incredible Christmas horror film that should be on everyone’s watchlist.
P2 is an incredibly good time, especially if you’re a horror movie fan. With stellar kills, great holiday atmosphere, and plenty of dread… P2 will leave you never wanting to park in a garage again. The situation is terrifying and one we’d never wish to be in. Give this underrated Christmas horror flick a chance this season!
Blood Beat (1983)
Runtime: 1 hour, 27 minutes
Rating: R
What do you get when you take a French filmmaker making what feels like a regional horror film in Wisconsin about a ghostly killer samurai? You get the cult film, Blood Beat. Released in 1983, but definitely feels like it was shot in the seventies. The film is basic in its set-up; a girl goes to meet her boyfriend’s family in rural Wisconsin during Christmas break. And becomes possessed by the ghost of a samurai who goes out on a killing spree on the family she is staying with. Yes, you read that correctly. A killer Samurai on the loose in Wisconsin during the holidays.
The film really doesn’t show much holiday cheer. It is a midnight movie at best. Hard to take your eyes off the special effects of the killer samurai. A trigger warning is in effect for the film. The main character, although alone in the scene, does become possessed by this ghost through what seems to be a sexual assault.
Black Christmas (1974)
Runtime: 1 hour, 38 minutes
Rating: R
This may be the one that started it all. Directed by Bob Clark, who went on to craft another holiday classic that’s more for the whole family, A Christmas Story. Black Christmas kicks off right at holiday break for a group of sorority sisters who begin to get obscene phone calls from someone. Then they all begin to be picked off one by one. It’s easy to make assumptions about a slasher like Black Christmas; these films sometimes have their fair share of not-bright characters. This one feels smart and ahead of its time.
The women in the sorority house are not just there to die; you care about them and feel for them in their dreadful situation. This film has been labeled the original slasher by many film critics and scholars. Black Christmas also has one of the most dreadful tense final scenes in any horror movie, ever. The cast includes the great Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, and genre legend John Saxon, who went on to play a slightly similar role of a detective in A Nightmare on Elm Street. And apparently, there is speculation out there that John Carpenter took some notes on crafting his horror film of a certain holiday that would come out a few years later.
No other Christmas horror movie on this list has left a monumental impact on the genre as Black Christmas had! Released the same year as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and four years before Halloween, Black Christmas is one of the earliest examples of a slasher film and it’s a damn good one! Both terrifying yet funny, Black Christmas is a must for both fans of slashers and Christmas horror movies as a whole.
RELATED: Unwrapping Black Christmas (2019)
Krampus (2015)
Runtime: 1 hour, 38 minutes
Rating: PG-13
This contemporary classic is directed and co-written by Michael Dougherty. It was also written by Todd Casey and Zach Shields. The stars of Krampus include Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Emjay Anthony, Stefania LaVie Owen, and Krista Stadler with Lolo Owen, Queenie Samuel, Maverick Flack, and Sage Hunefeld in their movie debuts. Krampus follows a dysfunctional family Christmas dinner that soon becomes horrific as a young boy’s disillusion of the holiday summons the ancient Germanic demon Krampus.
Come for the holiday horror; stay for the dysfunctional family. Or maybe it’s the other way around, whatever you find more entertaining. Either way, Krampus delivers on that. For those who may not have a clue about the mythology of the film, let’s fill you in. Krampus is a European folklore tale in which those who made the naughty list get visited by a half-goat half-demon monster and are punished if they were the ones who were bad all year.
Krampus is one of those films that knows what it wants to be: a fun Christmas season creature feature. Dougherty’s ability to play with holiday iconography was already apparent in Trick ‘r’ Treat and is on full display here with Krampus. From killer gingerbread men, man-eating jack-in-the-box, and the titular Krampus himself, it’s easy to see why this film has become a modern classic of the Christmas season. We recommend seeking out Scream Factory’s ‘Naughty Cut’ of the film as it adds much-needed character moments to give it more heart.
Gremlins (1984)
Runtime: 1 hour, 46 minutes
Rating: PG
Let’s start out nice and easy; you at least have heard of this classic gem from the eighties. Directed by genre icon, Joe Dante, and executive produced by Steven Spielberg. Gremlins tells the story of an inventor who returns home from China with a new pet called Mogwai, who then gets the family name, Gizmo. There are three rules with Gizmo: don’t let him get sunlight; no drinking water, and don’t feed him after midnight. The results of doing that create evil disciples, hence the title, Gremlins.
The film takes place a few days before Christmas in a snow-covered town that you can now clearly tell is just a Hollywood studio backlot covered in fake snow. The first forty-five minutes to an hour feel like a family comedy. The last chunk of the film turns a little dark when the gremlins take over the town. There are kill scenes that happen that feel like they’re out of a cartoon, but there is still unsettling danger lurking around. And who can forget Phoebe Cates’ dark story as to why she doesn’t celebrate Christmas anymore.
Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
Runtime: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Rating: R
Silent Night, Deadly Night is directed by Charles E. Sellier Jr. and the screenplay was written by Michael Hickey. The film stars Robert Brian Wilson, Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero, Linnea Quigley, Britt Leach, and Leo Geter. Silent Night, Deadly Night is about a young boy who is traumatized from seeing his parents brutally murdered by a criminal in a Santa Claus costume. His trauma is further exasperated when growing up in a strict Catholic orphanage which soon leads to a mental break for the now-adult protagonist.
One of the most infamous and controversial Christmas horror movies on this list, Silent Night, Deadly Night is a slasher classic that was rather ahead of its time. Upon release, angry parents protested the film due to having the killer dressed up as Santa and demanding the film to be banned. Despite its schlocky reputation it somewhat deserves, Silent Night, Deadly Night actually addresses issues still relevant today such as the effects of trauma and how the lack of a support system can exacerbate mental health issues.
You could make an entire Christmas eve marathon out of this whole franchise that the original film created. Silent Night, Deadly Night has an iconic poster that shows the audience what they were in for. A rooftop chimney with the arm of a Santa-dressed killer holding an ax and ready to do harm. Naughty!
Jack Frost (1997)
Runtime: 1 hour, 29 minutes
Rating: R
Jack Frost is written and directed by Michael Cooney. It stars Christopher Allport, Scott MacDonald, Marsha Clark, and Shannon Elizabeth in her film debut. The plot follows an execution transfer of a mass killer named “Jack Frost” who while surviving a car crash with a tanker containing experimental chemicals, is exposed to said chemicals. Jack would soon mutate into a being made of snow and would set out to get revenge on his arresting officer.
Let us preface that this is technically not a good movie, but it sure is a hell of a ride! For a film about a killer snowman, Jack Frost (not the one starring Michael Keaton) takes full advantage of the premise. It’s clear the cast and crew were having a fun time and honestly what do you even want from a killer snowman movie than fun?
The Jack Frost VHS box cover had a hologram of a normal cute looking snowman, but when you walked past it, it turned into an unpleasant terrifying snowman that was out for blood. The film utilizes the Child’s Play method of a psychotic serial killer who by out-of-the-ordinary events gets trapped in the body of, well in this case, a snowman. The marketing for this straight-to-video horror film makes it look more menacing than it actually is. The film falls under the category of “camp”, which isn’t a bad thing. There’s a lot of entertainment in this film knowing that Jack Frost utilizes his carrot as a weapon.
The Lodge (2019)
Runtime: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Rating: R
Coming from Good Night Mommy’s directors and co-writers Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala with additional writing by Sergio Casci. The Lodge stars Riley Keough, Jaeden Martell, Lia McHugh, Alicia Silverstone, and Richard Armitage. The plot of The Lodge follows a soon-to-be stepmother going on a Christmas camping trip with her fiances two children. Soon the trio is trapped in their lodge as seemingly supernatural events happen around them.
While we recommend going into this film completely blind, just know you are in for a depressing trip. The Lodge comes to us from the co-directors of Good Night Mommy so be prepared to watch some of the most chilling and depressing film experiences you’ll ever partake in. Despite the very dark tone, The Lodge is a very well-crafted film that captures the brooding cold of its setting and has a standout performance from its lead actress Riley Keough.
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)
Runtime: 1 hour, 24 minutes
Rating: R
This Finnish horror flick is directed and written by Jalmari Helander. The cast includes Onni Tommila, Jorma Tommila, Per Christian Ellefsen, and Jonathan Hutchings. Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale follows a small town in Finnland that is experiencing strange events around the Christmas season that seems to be centered on the excavation of a massive mountain nearby.
This film has begun to gain cult status as it is now over a decade old and is so good you don’t even need to bother waiting for the holidays to watch it. This fantasy horror film with a touch of comedy was produced in Finland and tells a story that has been in some ways compared to John Carpenter’s The Thing. Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale is one of the most criminally underrated Christmas horror movies of all time! Director Jalmari Helander uses many Finnish and other Eastern European Christmas traditions and mythologies to craft a great horror-comedy! Its defining sense of humor is how it’s dead serious on the mythos around Santa Claus that is both ludicrous yet doesn’t become a farce of itself.
Better Watch Out (2016)
Runtime: 1 hour, 29 minutes
Rating: R
Better Watch Out is directed and co-written by Chris Peckover with Zack Kahn as co-writer. The cast includes the likes of Olivia DeJonge, Levi Miller, Ed Oxenbould, and Patrick Warburton. The basic plot is that when a teenage girl is sent to babysit a 12-year old boy, they have to survive an apparent intruder who wants them dead. However, it soon becomes much more sinister as the young woman has to fight for survival.
Better Watch Out is another film to go in completely blind! That’s it! Just trust us in knowing this is one of the best recent Christmas horror movies and just check it out! You will thank us for not saying any other details on this flick!
Inside (2007)
Runtime: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Rating: R
Inside is directed by the duo Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo with Bustillo also writing the screenplay. The film stars Alysson Paradis and Béatrice Dalle. This home invasion film follows a young soon-to-be mother having to survive and evade a mysterious manic woman wanting to take her unborn baby. Inside is by far one of the best Christmas horror movies on our list!
We have now entered the territory of French Extremity aka a wave of very violent French films that had risen during the mid-2000s. Inside is a well-known example of French Extremity as it’s an hour and twenty-five minutes of anguish and pain. Though not gratuitous in its violence that many associates the sub-genre with the term “torture porn”, Inside is truly a horror film with a harrowing tale that is on par with The Lodge on this last as the darkest of the Christmas horror movies.
Santa’s Slay (2005)
Runtime: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Rating: R
Santa Slays is written and directed by David Steiman. This horror-comedy stars Bill Goldberg, Douglas Smith, Emilie de Ravin, and Robert Culp. Santa’s Slay tells the story of a now homicidal Santa Claus who is revealed to be the son of Satan and is now free of his Christmas duties to begin a murderous rampage.
Like Jack Frost, Santa’s Slay is a great so-bad-it’s-good Christmas horror flick! It’s clear WWE’s Bill Goldberg is having a fun time as a brutish Santa who kills people via wrestling and you can’t help but laugh at how silly it is. Despite the stupidity, there are elements of cleverness in Santa’s Slay with the highlight being the Rankin-Bass-inspired sequence telling the origins of this version of the Jolly Old Elf.
Christmas Evil (1980)
Runtime: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Rating: R
This psychological thriller is written and directed by Lewis Jackson. Christmas Evil stars Brandon Maggart, Jeffrey DeMunn, Dianne Hull, and Andy Fenwick. The plot follows a low-level manager of a toy factory becoming obsessed with Santa Claus and soon becomes a madman dressed as Santa when his madness takes hold.
Christmas Evil (originally titled You Better Watch Out) is a film that may seem to be a schlocky slasher film but is actually a rather smart psychological horror thriller. One of the earliest examples of a “video nasty“, Christmas Evil is more of a character study of one man’s obsession with the concept with Santa and his progression into insanity. It’s less of a slasher and more of a very dark drama that becomes a horror film in the final act. A true classic and among one of the best Christmas horror movies.
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A Christmas Horror Story (2015)
Runtime: 1 hour, 39 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
The final highlight of our list of Christmas horror movies, A Christmas Horror Story is directed by Grant Harvey, Steven Hoban, and Brett Sullivan. The film’s writers include Jason Filiatrault, James Kee, Sarah Larsen, Doug Taylor, and Pascal Trottier. Starring William Shatner, the film tells three different Christmas-themed horror shorts interwoven by a framing tale of a radio DJ trapped in a mall during Christmas.
On the topic of Krampus, he makes an appearance again in a film that has multiple storylines woven throughout it. It’s very easy to gloss past this film; the cover art does give off that “straight to video” feel. Or maybe it’s trying to capitalize on the era of superhero showdown movie posters as it displays Krampus and Santa about to do battle with one another. Fast forward to the final five minutes of that movie for that scene. Turn your brain off and give it a chance though.
The film follows multiple families on Christmas eve dealing with their own holiday dread. A little boy lost in the woods who returns to his family not as he once was. A group of teens hiding from a ghostly spirit in an abandoned building where something horrifying happened, a family being picked off one by one by the evil half goat half demon creature. And of course, Santa versus evil elves.
To All A Goodnight (1980)
Runtime: 1 hour, 27 minutes
Rating: R
If you are looking for an early eighties slasher that doesn’t overdo itself but also doesn’t underwhelm. Look no further than the 1980s, To All A Goodnight. At what looks like a prep school somewhere in southern California, a group of young women is being stalked by a killer dressed in a Santa Clause costume. If you blink or look at your phone during the opening credits of the film, you may miss what sets off the chain of events with the murders as the killer is someone out for vengeance.
In an era where imitation was happening weekly at the box office, you can’t help but wonder if To All A Goodnight was capitalizing on the success of films from a few years prior like Black Christmas, or even Halloween. Friday the 13th, as well as another Christmas horror franchise, wouldn’t come later in the decade. Regardless, the film has a fun “whodunit” atmosphere to it and does not get too exploitative.
Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972)
Runtime: 1 hour, 21 minutes
Rating: R
This film does have more of an atmosphere to it that audiences can get into. Silent Night, Bloody Night is spooky and gothic with a setting that makes for a great backdrop oozing with 70’s horror cinema. Directed by Theodore Gershuny and starring Patrick O’ Neal and James Patterson. The film tells the story of a man who inherits a mansion that was once used as a mental hospital. With plans to sell it, a lawyer makes his way up to the house to assist in selling it. Suddenly locals begin to end up dead, and as the body count gets higher and higher you can’t help but wonder if it has to do with what used to happen at the house.
All The Creatures Were Stirring (2018)
Runtime: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Rating: R
If you’re not an avid horror fan that is in tune with all the films that come out even at an indie level. This one may have slipped past you. All The Creatures Were Stirring takes two subgenres and combines them, Christmas horror and anthologies. The husband and wife directing pair of Rebekah McKendry and David Ian McKendry deliver on everything in these short stories of holiday hell. From boring holiday office parties, last-minute shopping, stalkers, immortal demons, and the fun wrap-around segment of a couple on a date on Christmas Eve who enter a strange theater. The film clocks in at eighty minutes and doesn’t overstay its welcome as it leaves you wanting more.
What Are Your Favorite Christmas Horror Movies?
We hope you enjoyed our list of the best Christmas horror movies. Did we miss any of your favorites? Let us know what you think the best Christmas horror movie is on social media today!
