The Top 10 Best Christmas Horror Movies
5. Black Christmas (1974)
Home invasion gets the holiday treatment in one of what is probably the best of the “classic” Christmas horror movies. This movie is so well known that it’s even had 2 remakes (2006 and 2019). The original revolves around a maniac breaking into a sorority house and hiding in the closet. The film takes inspiration from the classic urban legend of the Baby Sister and the Man Upstairs. He terrorizes one of the girls (Margot Kidder) with obscene phone calls taunting her with details that could only be known by someone listening in on her. Of course, he also kills several members of the sorority proving that he’s not a threat to be taken lightly. Critics weren’t big on this flick, but it scooped up a ton of awards including a Saturn Award for Best Horror Film (1976) and a few Canadian film awards too. So, it’s prestigious and junk too.
4. Better Watch Out
Hey, another creepy Christmas movie featuring a kid. This time around the kid is a little older, and it’s his babysitter he’s determined to terrorize. The 12-year-old (like so many of us at that age) is seriously crushing on his babysitter and tries to impress her by faking a home invasion. This doesn’t go over too well, and the little psycho decides to get back at her for rejecting him. He puts together a terrifyingly well thought out plan to kill her without implicating himself. It seems legitimately foolproof, and he sets out to make this the most terrifying night of her life. Better Watch Out earns such a high spot on this list because it reminded me of that creepy affluenza defense scumbag rich boy Ethan Couch used. More than that, Levi Miller is absolutely chilling in it.
3. Krampus
Hopefully, you all know the story of Krampus. While Santa rewards all the good boys and girls, Krampus is the guy who punishes the bad ones. He’s pretty much a walking Yuletide nightmare, especially with his evil versions of elves and terrifying toys working for him. He sets upon a family that seems to have forgotten the spirit of Christmas and slowly snatches them up one by one, despite their best efforts to fight him off. Krampus has a surprising cast with the likes of Adam Scott, Toni Collette, and David Koechner. It’s a great blend of horror and comedy with some really twisted takes on holiday traditions (killer gingerbread men for one). Production-wise, it’s easily one of the biggest and craziest Christmas horror movies ever made. It’s still not number one though…
2. Gremlins
Okay, so Gremlins isn’t exactly the scariest horror movies ever made. However, it is one of the best Christmas horror movies. The film has a very Spielberg-ian vibe thanks to director Joe Dante. He tells the tale of a young man who gets a strange new pet for Christmas, the adorable Mogwai, Gizmo. There are rules when it comes to raising a Mogwai though. Keep them out of sunlight, don’t get them wet, and don’t feed them after midnight. Of course, two of those rules are broken almost immediately and soon there are lots of little Mogwai running around. Like a Pokemon though, they evolve into Gremlins rampaging across the sleepy town. This is legitimately one of my favorite Christmas movies and I have fond memories of watching it over and over again growing up. Great movie for horror fans to share with their own little ones.
1. Rare Exports
When it comes to Christmas horror movies, there’s one that I watch every year without fail. We’ve had a few “cult classics” on here, but the best of the best is the Finnish film, Rare Exports. It centers on a small hunting village that’s disturbed by blasting being done on a nearby mountain. The company excavating it is searching for something buried deep below the ice and, unfortunately, they find it. Turns out that jolly old Santa Claus is based on a darker legend that existed centuries ago. Once imprisoned in the ice, this horrifying version of Father Christmas sets upon the town. Determined to gather up all the bad little boys and presumably devour them. The villagers set out to stop him, but soon discover even the legend about this Santa didn’t get the story right. It’s an incredible film and easily the best Christmas horror movie I’ve ever seen.
Honorable Mention: Home Alone
A budding psychopath maims and terrorizes a pair of men attempting to rob the wealthy while they’re out of town. He sets up a gauntlet of elaborate and gut-wrenching traps that will scar them both physically and emotionally. In the end, he bats his puppy dog eyes and no one is any the wiser to the true horror that lurks behind the human mask he wears.
Hopefully, that list of Christmas horror movies will keep you entertained this holiday season. If there are any great ones I forgot, let me know in the comments below. I’d also really like to hear your opinions on the films that earned a spot on here. As always, I’ll be updating this list as newer and scarier Christmas horror movies hit theaters. Make sure you check back in the future to see how the rankings might change. Until then, I hope you all have a bloody great Holiday!