The holidays tend to bring with them a warm sense of familial belonging, a sweet, comfortable coziness that encourages love, happiness, and celebrations. Funnily enough, this makes holiday settings a perfect foil for horror cinema, with the joy of festive cheer clashing with the blood and the guts and the terror of scary movies with such a violent juxtaposition that tends to work a twisted treat.
While Halloween, naturally, gets the bulk of the holiday horror glory, the resurgent popularity of horror movies over the last 10 years have seen fun and ferocious flicks made about a great range of holidays. From Christmastime killers to mid-summer mayhem and everything in between,these films are perfect for fans looking to celebrate their holidays with a horrific touch.
15’Silent Night' (2021)
Directed by Camille Griffin
Mixing apocalyptic horror with black comedy and more than a splash of skewering social satire, 2021’sSilent Nightmakes for an engaging albeit flawed 92-minute thrill fest. It follows married couple Nell (Keira Knightley) and Simon (Matthew Goode) as they host a Christmas dinner for their friends and acquaintances at their country estate. However, the onset of an apocalyptic poisonous cloud killing everything in its path sees personal grievances pour out in a series of confrontations.
Christmas is considered a time of family connection and forgiveness in many cultures, andSilent Nightplays with these themes in interesting ways to bea biting horror-comedy that takes great pleasure in flipping the holiday on its head. Defined by the strength of the characters and their moral qualms, the Christmas chiller is a creative gem of festive horror in recent years.
Silent Night
14’All the Creatures Were Stirring' (2018)
Directed by David Ian McKendry and Rebekah McKendry
One of several holiday horror films in recent years to have employed an anthology story to maximize on the festive thrills,All the Creatures Were Stirringrevolves around an awkwardfirst date on Christmas Eve that sees the young couple at a strange theater where they watch a series of short movies. Covering everything from murderous office Christmas parties to a demonic summoning, and even to vengeful spirits, the audience is treated to the same night of festive fights as the young couple.
Given its sporadic presence, the film is prone to drastic sways in quality depending on the strength of the short being unveiled. However,with a runtime of just 80 minutes, it stays fun and light and never threatens to overstay its welcome. It may offer more laughs than scares, but its heart is in the right place and many horror fans will appreciate its vast collection of bite-sized terrors.
All the Creatures Were Stirring
13’Christmas Bloody Christmas' (2022)
Directed by Joe Begos
Christmas Bloody Christmasis one of many holiday horror movies that has blended slasher suspense and graphic gore with the color and vibrancy of the festive season to enrapturing effect. Transpiring on Christmas Eve, it follows Tori (Riley Dandy) as her hopes of drinking and partying are interrupted by a nearby toy store’s robotic Santa Claus (Abraham Benrubi) that goes haywire and launches into a blood-crazed killing spree.
Embracing the ridiculousness of its premise with unadulterated pride and glee,Christmas Bloody Christmasis modern exploitation cinemaat its most energetic and hysterical. Granted, even in its condensed 87-minute runtime there are a few flat spots, but there is more than enough entertainment on offer for horror lovers hoping to enjoy the holidays in the most bloody and manic way possible.
Christmas Bloody Christmas
12’The Advent Calendar' (2021)
Directed by Patrick Ridremont
This French-Belgian production retraces familiar steps of horror to present an accessible yet unique Christmas horror packed with plenty of nasty treats for horror lovers to indulge in. Eva (Eugénie Derouand) is a paraplegic woman who receives a mysterious antique advent calendar for her birthday. In the lead up to Christmas, each new day sees the calendar unveil a new horrific surprise, with the days becoming increasingly bloody and deadly in the build up to Christmas day.
Not only doesThe Advent Calendarcircumnavigate the air of sillinessthat permeates through many holiday horror films, but it alsothrives with a narrative dare and a terrific lead performance. It is as engrossing as it is unpredictable right up until the end, and it stands as one of the most intriguing Christmas horror movies of recent years, even with its occasional lulls.
The Advent Calendar
11’The Lodge' (2019)
Directed by Verokina Franz and Severin Fiala
Christmas meets cultist extremism in the contained chillerThe Lodge. Six months after the suicide of their mother, two youths are taken on a family Christmas vacation to a remote lodge by their father and their soon-to-be stepmother, Grace (Riley Keough). Grace’s efforts to connect with the two children prove to be to no avail, while a series of strange occurrences at the lodge threaten to bring back many sheltered and dangerous secrets from her traumatic past.
With its isolated setting and its tight focus on its characters,The Lodgethrives asa bleak, unsettling, and dark atmospheric horror anchored by Keough’s spectacular lead performance. From past fears re-emerging to the profound possibilities of purgatory, the film is a gripping and emotional journey of pain and torment sure to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
10’Red Snow' (2021)
Directed by Sean Nicholes Lynch
With a quaint story idea re-enforced by a sensational sense of fun,Red Snowisa vampire horror moviemade for fans of vampire horror. It focuses on Olivia (Dennice Cisneros), a struggling vampire romance novelist who heads to a cabin in Lake Tahoe to spend her Christmas alone only to make an unlikely and dangerous acquaintance with a dashing vampire named Luke (Nico Bellamy).
As the two start to form a bond, they are soon interrupted by a vampire hunter and members of Luke’s coven, enthralling Olivia in a deadly and violent scenario where no one is to be trusted. Granted, it isn’t the most subtle genre satire, and it does have some clunky moments, but whenRed Snowhits its stride it is a wild and wickedly fun horror that engages with its holiday settingwell while also adding a spot of taboo romantic flair into the mix.
9’It’s A Wonderful Knife' (2023)
Directed by Tyler MacIntyre
Image via Shudder
Taking more than just its title fromthe beloved Frank Capra Christmas classic,It’s a Wonderful Knifefocuses on Winnie (Jane Widdop) who, a year after saving her town from a psychotic killer on Christmas Eve, makes the wish that she had never been born. This prompts her to be transported to an alternate reality where she never existed, and thus the killer was never stopped.
While it does rehash a lot ofIt’s a Wonderful Lifein its plot points, the Christmas horroradds in enough slasher thrills to distinguish itself from being merely derivative of Capra’s classicand finds a certain degree of unwholesome festive fervor in the process. The end result is a tightly crafted horror which is surprisingly sharp and invests just enough into its life-affirming story to be quite charming as well.
It’s a Wonderful Knife
8’Holidays' (2016)
Christmas Segment Directed by Scott Stewart
A perfect film foranyone looking for some holiday horror,Holidaysran as an anthology film with eight separate short stories revolving around different holidays. Covering everything from horror holiday stalwarts like Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day to tackling less defined celebrations such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day,Holidayscast its lens far and wide as itenlisted eight different filmmakers to ensure each story had its own unique punch.
Delightfully, there isn’t a weak link in the film either, though the Easter chapter, directed byNicholas McCarthy, was a standout success with its mixing of holiday traditions, simple plotting, and a disturbing depiction of the Easter Bunny. Macabre, twisted, shockingly horrific, and armed with just a hint of cynical comedy,Holidaysoffers up a range of bite-sized horrors which are easily enjoyed.
Watch on Shudder
7’Krampus' (2015)
Directed by Michael Dougherty
While Christmas is a time for families to come together in united celebration, for some families the festive season can be a little more difficult. That is the basic premise ofKrampuswhich follows Max Engel (Emjay Anthony), a young boy eagerly awaiting Christmas only to have his excitement drained on account of his dysfunctional family, thus inadvertently summoning an ancient demon known as Krampus who punishes those who have lost their Christmas spirit.
With thecreature effects being handled by Weta Workshop, the film has a sensational grasp on horror with its astounding visuals and intense gore working with its black comedy to serve up a treat for genre lovers. It also boasts an impressive supporting cast withToni Collette,Adam Scott, andDavid Koechnerappearing as members of the feuding Engel family.
6’The Blackening' (2022)
Directed by Tim Story
A rather pointed horror comedy which uses Juneteenth – the annual holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in America – as a catalyst for its satirical thrills,The Blackeningwas a thoughtful spin on the slasher genre.The Blackeningfollows a group of friendswho aim to celebrate the holiday at a remote cabin where they find themselves trapped in a twisted killer’s game, forcing them to rely on their smarts to survive.
The movie’s eagerness to function as a comedy does rob it of some of its scares, but horror fans can appreciate the fun it has with the genre and the manner in whichit plays with caricatures and stereotypes. In doing this, it also manages to be a wonderfully subversive film which casts a couple of fresh ideas into the slasher formula.
