The Best Holiday Horror Movies for Every Occasion!
Veterans Day (November 11th) – Dog Soldiers
Military horror is an underutilized sub-genre if you ask me. That didn’t stop me from finding a scary movie you can enjoy on Veteran’s Day. Now, I’m a big fan of werewolves in general, which might explain why I picked Dog Soldiers. However, this film has become a cult classic over the years in its own right and is pretty popular among horror fans. The fact that it features British soldiers being hunted by a pack of werewolves in the Scottish wilderness makes it a win-win overall. You can enjoy some badass soldiers taking on badass monsters as a nod to all those who served.
Honorable Mention: The Guest.
Thanksgiving (The 4th Thursday of November) – Kristy
There are a few holiday horror movies out there that could go in the Thanksgiving spot, but most of them are, quite simply, God awful (Blood Rage, Thankskilling, etc). Luckily, Kristy is actually a pretty intense horror film set during Thanksgiving break. When a student decides to stay on campus during break, she has the sprawling campus all to herself. At least, that’s what it seems until a trio of thrill kill psychos appears out of nowhere planning on hunting her down as part of a sick online fad. As bad as your family might be, hopefully your Thanksgivings aren’t as bad as hers.
Honorable Mention: Escape Room
Hanukkah (The 25th day of Kislev) – The Possession
There’s not only a shocking lack of Jewish horror films but Hanukkah movies in general. However, I didn’t want to simply ignore a major holiday just because it was going to be a little hard to find a movie for it. That’s why I decided on, The Possession. It features an element in Jewish folklore known as a dybbuk box, which is used to seal away evil entities. When a young girl buys one at a garage sale and opens it, she becomes ensnared by a malevolent spirit, and her father has enough sense to turn to a Rabbi for help saving her from the possession.
Christmas (December 25th)- Rare Exports
If you thought there were a lot of holiday horror movies set around Halloween, wait until you get a load of Christmas. Despite that, I immediately knew what film to pick for the holiday: Rare Exports. The Finnish film takes place in a small village that finds itself in for a less than silent night when an ancient evil being that was the basis for Santa Claus is unleashed from its frozen prison. I watch this movie every year (along with a few other alternate Christmas flicks) and love it every time. It’s a wonderfully twisted film perfect for horror fans on Christmas eve.
Honorable Mentions: Any of these Christmas horror movies.
New Year’s Eve (December 31st)- Terror Train
Jamie Lee Curtis is an icon when it comes to the horror genre. That’s probably why she stars in two of the holiday horror movies that earned spots here. Instead of a babysitter, this time she’s a med student at a New Year’s costume party. Everything is going great until they discover that there is a killer murdering people and taking their costumes in order to pass undetected. As the night goes on, more people disappear, and soon Curtis is fighting for her life once more. This flick is everything you could want from an 80s horror film and it’s perfect for New Years Eve!
Honorable Mention: Friday the 13th- Friday the 13th
To be fair, people usually get pretty excited whenever the bad luck day of “Friday the 13th” pops up. There’s no set date for it (except for the whole “Friday” and “13th” parts), so this can happen any month of the year. When it does, you better be watching Friday the 13th. Like it’s slasher protagonists, Jason Vorhees, this franchise refuses to die. So, you have plenty of options when it comes to which of these holiday horror movies you want to watch. Vorhees is one of my favorite big screen slashers, so I had to include this “holiday” on the list.
Hopefully, I was able to find the perfect horror movie for your favorite holiday above. I’m always open to suggestions and you can let me know your thoughts in the comments below. As always, I’ll be updating this article as new holiday horror movies hit the big screen. So, be sure to check back from time to time to see how the entries might change.