The 12 best Christmas horror movies to watch instead of tacky comedies

‘Gremlins’ (1984)

It’s not quite an absolute horror like some others on the list, but there is a ton of terror influence in this film. In fact, it is more deadly than you can remember. Gremlins kill people right away, and people kill them back in very creative and horrible ways.

The film follows Billy (Zach Galligan) taking care of Gizmo, a mogwai, but things go wrong when he doesn’t follow the strict rules on how to take care of the creature.

‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’ (1984)

This horror film influenced many previous Christmas horror films and was so popular that it spawned five sequels.

The film follows a traumatized boy who witnesses his parents slaughtered by Santa Claus, but the boy grows up to be like Santa Claus himself in this violent Christmas tale.

‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ (1993)

Again, this is not your classic horror, but “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is full of so many horror images that it deserves to be on this list. It references several classic horror stories, including “Nosferatu” and “Frankenstein”, and features a villainous jazz singer named Oogie Boogie trying to kill Santa Claus.

The film itself follows Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, going through a kind of midlife crisis and trying to hijack Christmas for himself.

‘Rare exports: a Christmas story’ (2010)

This strange Christmas movie takes place in Lapland, but here Santa’s magic house is actually an ancient tomb that keeps an evil being safe. But the old secret is discovered after a group begins to excavate the site.

What follows is a morbid Christmas tale with evil elves, a cannibalistic Santa Claus and a ton of slaughtered reindeer.

‘Sint’ (2010)

This horror comedy is very similar to a Christmas Jeepers Creepers, with Santa Claus reimagined as a mythical figure who returns every number of years to wreak havoc, violence and death in a local city.

Specifically, Santa Claus here is a murderous bishop who was killed by villagers on December 5 (Sinterklaas) in 1492. He returns whenever the date of his death coincides with the full moon, and a police detective whose family was the victim of the bishop’s last violent act the rampage must try to put the curse to bed once and for all.

‘A Christmas Horror Story’ (2015)

Another Christmas horror anthology. These frightening festive tales are collected by a radio announcer, who tells them one by one. Among the various segments are: Santa and Krampus facing off; a student documentary going wrong; and an evil Christmas spirit inflicting terror anywhere it can.

‘Krampus’ (2015)

One of the most visible films on this list, Michael Dougherty’s Christmas joke features an excellent cast, including Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman and Conchata Ferrell.

A dysfunctional family is terrified by Krampus and his evil minions, including a giant Jack-in-the-box, after the family’s son accidentally summons the demon by giving up on Christmas.

‘Better Watch Out’ (2016)

This mysterious film about a home invasion follows a nanny taking care of a 12 year old boy at Christmas time.

She is forced to defend him, however, when invaders force her way into her home – but it is not her normal home invasion, nor her normal home invasion movie.

‘Anna and the Apocalypse’ (2017)

This film brings together five different genres: comedy, horror, Christmas, musical and zombie. Yes, Anna faces the end of the world when a zombie apocalypse takes place over Christmas, but she doesn’t just face the undead with axes – she faces them with sharp candy canes and live music as well.

‘Black Christmas’ (2019)

This 2019 update is actually a remake of a remake. The film is loosely based on the 1974 film of the same name, which was also the basis of the 2006 film of the same name.

This time, a feminist touch is given, with a group of sisters from a college fraternity pursued by an assassin and forced to defend themselves. They soon discover a larger conspiracy in action, however, with their fellowship and their faculty as part of it.