If you’re like me and cannot seem to get enough of the horror genre, then it’s possible you are scrambling to find scary titles to watch during the holiday season. Surprisingly enough, horror movies have been able to creep their way into the winter season and have over the years become eerily synonymous with Christmas — which is great if you’re a horror fan. Here are five horror films worth a watch during the most festive time of the year.
1. Krampus (2015)
Director Michael Dougherty already proved his ability to craft a modern horror classic with the 2007 Halloween hit Trick ‘r Treat, but with his most recent offering, Krampus, he decides to explore the more sinister side of the holiday spirit. In the film, the mythical anti-Saint Nick known as Krampus sends his evil legions to torment a dysfunctional family on Christmas Eve, causing them to quit bickering and unite in a fight for their lives. Nothing like fighting off possessed toys to teach a family the true meaning of Christmas.
2. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Producer Tim Burton’s claymation masterpiece successfully blends Halloween and Christmas with the story of Jack Skellington, a popular but misunderstood denizen of a realm known as Halloween Town, who learns about Christmas. Jack’s discovery inspires him to bring the holiday spirit to everyone, even if it involves kidnapping Santa Claus. The combination of brilliant musical numbers and beautifully modeled settings make this film a unique holiday treat for all ages.
3. Gremlins (1984)
A father gives his son a cute little creature known as a mogwai for Christmas and the rest is history. After being given three rules for handling the newly named Gizmo, the son commits a fatal accident which births several other mogwais who are not nearly as well-behaved. Chaos ensues throughout the small town as the spawned mogwais turn into horrifically mutated creatures known as gremlins. Containing one of cinema’s most iconic monsters, this film is the perfect blend of horror and comedy.
4. Black Christmas (1974)
Directed by Bob Clark (who also happened to direct the family-friendly classic A Christmas Story) Black Christmas is one of the first horror films to blur the motives of the killer. This early Canadian slasher flick helped inspire more famous films such as Halloween and Friday the 13th in developing their iconic villains. Set toward the end of a sorority’s Christmas party, members of the sorority are terrorized by a mysterious psychopath after receiving strange phone calls from someone threatening to kill them. The film managed to desecrate the holiday with its violent murders and ominous tone, delivering a unsettling but nonetheless effective horror film.
5. Christmas Cruelty! (2013)
In the spirit of Black Christmas, this film manages to out-gross viewers with sequences of brutal violence as a seemingly normal man goes on a killing spree on Christmas Eve. The worst part about this is that the targets of the Santa Claus sociopath are a group of likeable friends celebrating the holiday together, which makes you feel sick as you know what is going to happen while the killer makes his preparations. This film is definitely not for newer fans to the genre as its unrelenting violence will test people’s ability to keep their eggnog in their stomachs.
Honorable Mentions: Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), Jack Frost (1996), Sint (2010)
