The Best Holiday Horror Movies for Every Occasion!
Juneteenth (June 19th)- Get Out
Juneteenth is a holiday that’s slowly picking up traction these days, which is weird considering it’s honoring the final day of emancipation in America (which happened a while ago). That’s why I’ve decided to fill the slot with one of the few horror holiday movies to feature a black protagonist. Of course, most films about systemic racism could be considered horror movies to the right audience, but Get Out not only features a black lead battling against a twisted version of racism but is the brainchild of rising black horror director, Jordan Peele.
Father’s Day (The third Sunday of June) – Knock Knock
There are a lot of films featuring terrible fathers out there, but hardly any are set on Father’s Day. To my knowledge, the Keanu Reeves erotic thrill might be the only one. Still, it’s one of the more twisted holiday horror movies out there. Reeves plays a (supposedly) happily married family man, who finds himself blessed with an empty house on Father’s Day. When two girls show up looking for a party, he tries to be a good samaritan and lets them use his wifi to look it up. That’s just the first of many bad decisions though in this gut-wrenching movie.
Honorable Mention: Stepfather
Midsummer (June 21st, 24th or 25th)- Midsommer
Now, I don’t personally celebrate Midsummer, but if you do, then I have a movie for you! Midsommer is a hard movie to watch because it knows just how to make you squirm. In it, a group of college students take a trip to an isolated Swedish village to observe and partake in their Midsommar festival. They decide to try to keep an open mind when it comes to things they might see and experience, but soon they’re pushed to their limits. As the festival goes on, it becomes clear not all of them will make it home. As I said, it’s hard to watch, but definitely worth it!
Independence Day (July 4th)- Jaws
Jaws is one of the greatest horror films ever made, so it was a no brainer to include it among these holiday horror movies. It features a killer shark terrorizing a small island community. While the sheriff is concerned about public safety, the mayor of dear old Amity Island is more concerned about reopening the beaches in time for the, you guessed it, 4th of July holiday. It might seem pretty crazy that a politician would put money ahead of the safety of citizens, but if there’s one thing that the recent pandemic has taught us, it’s that sometimes life imitates art.
Labor Day (The 1st Monday in September)- Mayhem
Sure, there are a lot of workplace comedies out there, but what about workplace horror comedies? Luckily, there are a few holiday horror movies that are perfect to watch on Labor Day. Since I have to choose only one though, I’m going with Mayhem. When there’s an outbreak of a virus that causes intense aggression and a total lack of inhibitions, two people decided to take advantage of an 8-hour window in which they won’t legally be held responsible for their actions to get revenge on the bastards on the top floor. Enjoy your day off and live vicariously through this office slaughter fest!
Honorable Mentions: The Belko Experiment, Blood Sucking Bastards, and Severance
Halloween (October 31st)- Halloween
This is the big one! There are dozens of holiday horror movies set around Halloween, but it would be blasphemy if I listed anything other than Halloween here. The classic John Carpenter film pits one of the greatest big-screen slashers against one of the greatest final girls of all time. Michael Myers and Lourie Strode were doomed from that moment on to circle each other in a deadly dance that could cost countless lives over the course of multiple sequels. The Halloween franchise is, in itself, a perfect marathon of holiday horror movies for All Hallows’ Eve.