Here is a collection of 25 Christmas themed horror movies that I watched over the past 2 years. Many of these are classics while others are movies I simply enjoyed.
Secret Santa (2018)
A Christmas dinner for a wealthy but dysfunctional family gets rather violent after a dispute leads to the death of a guest. Tempers flare as the family begins to turn on one another as the eldest daughter tries to calm the situation only to find a more significant threat to their safety at play.
All Through the House (2015)
College student Rachel Kimmel comes home for winter break and offers to help a reclusive older neighbor Mrs. Garrett with her decorations. She then recalls the young girl who lived there that she tried to befriend until she disappeared one night. As she decorates the home with the help of some friends, the neighborhood is terrorized by a lunatic dressed as Santa, who kills Rachel's neighbors and friends, yet her greater fear maybe what she finds inside Mrs. Garrett's home.
Silent Night (2012)
A small-town deputy investigates what turns out to be the murder of a missing colleague; she then finds that other brutal deaths are happening in her town on Christmas Eve. The mysterious killer is disguised as Santa Claus and can move about quickly due to the town's Christmas celebration that features a large group of people dressed as Santa Claus.
Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972)
A young man wishes to sell the mansion and estate that he inherited, yet the attorney sent to handle the matter is murdered in the house. Not knowing this event has occurred, the young man returns on Christmas Eve and meets with the local town officials who wish to purchase the estate for development. Yet, secrets come out about his grandfather, deceased mother, and other skeletons that the town's leaders don't wish to share.
Wind Chill (2007)
A young woman seeks a ride home during winter break and decides to ride with a classmate she does not know. Things take a darker turn when he takes a shortcut that strands them in the middle of nowhere outside of cell coverage and any means of help. As a winter storm makes it colder, the two begin to see apparitions that make them question their sanity along with their safety.
Home For The Holidays (1972)
A wealthy older man invites his four adult daughters to his house for Christmas and reveals to them that he fears he is being poisoned by his wife, who is their stepmother. It is shown that she had been accused of killing her first husband, and the sisters are suspicious when a storm traps them all in the remote farmhouse with someone killing the daughters one at a time.
All The Creatures Were Stirring (2018)
A young couple (Graham Skipper and Ashley Clements) on an awkward first date on Christmas Eve meet up at a small theater where they watch a series of horror-themed skits performed by actors that are shown to the audience in this holiday-themed horror anthology. The segments include a deadly office party, a stranded holiday shopper facing a curse, a single bitter man who hates his neighbors, a man who has a hit an run with a wild creature, and finally a surprise holiday party that is out of this world.
Santa's Slay (2005)
Former professional wrestler Bill Goldberg portrays a Santa who is the son of Satan, but a failed wager forced him to be the wonderful gift giver until now. We see the town of Hell Township, where a teen boy named Nicolas (Douglas Smith) lives with his eccentric his grandfather (Robert Culp) who dislikes Christmas and gives him a story that seems too crazy to believe. When Santa arrives looking for Nicholas and his grandfather, he and his almost-girlfriend Mac (Emilie de Ravin) will have to find a way to survive from the cruel actions of Santa Claus.
Saint (2010)
In the 15th Century, on December the 5th, a less than friendly St Nicholas led a raiding party on a small village in modern-day Amsterdam and demanded tribute. The town fought back and defeated him, but he placed a curse on the town. St Nick would return every December the 5th on a full moon and exact his revenge, and one such incident left a young boy orphaned after St Nick and his minions murdered his family. Forty years later, that boy now worries that St Nicks's return will spell the doom for Amsterdam as the town prepares for St Nicholas Day.
P2 (2007)
A young lady finding herself stranded in an office parking garage during a Christmas holiday weekend becomes the target of an obsessed security guard who kidnaps her and holds her hostage. A cat and mouse game ensues as the young lady escapes only to find that she is trapped inside the garage with no way out and no one to seek out help from while she is being stalked with no relief in sight.
Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
Silent Night has a young man who dresses as Santa Claus and goes out killing people. This event, of course, stems from the brutal murder of his parents at the hands of some drunken killer dressed as Santa when he was a little boy. The young boy then suffers at the hands of a mean nun and a cruel orphanage. As he gets older, he gets a job at a toy store and seems fine until Christmas comes, and he is asked to don the red suit to entertain the children. His murderous rampage is triggered by a warped desire to punish those who are naughty.
A Christmas Horror Story (2015)
This anthology is set around Christmas in the town of Bailey Downs, where four tales are shown as a radio DJ acts as the narrator tying the events together. The tales include high school students investigating ghosts, the perils of chopping a Christmas tree on forbidden land, Krampus harass a family for their bad behaviors, and the final story a confrontation between Santa and Krampus.
A Christmas Tale (2005)
During Christmas in a Spanish vacation town during the offseason, five young friends find a woman dressed as Santa trapped in a hole in the forest. They soon learn that she may have been part of a bank robbery, and one of the kids decides that instead of reporting her, they should try to get the money from her in exchange for assistance. What sounds like a simple plan begins to get complicated when she turns up missing.
Dead End (2003)
A family taking a trip on Christmas Eve encounter a bizarre series of events after the father takes a shortcut from their usual route. They pick up a hitchhiker and her baby only to learn that it is one of many dark and mysterious events that seem to occur on an endless road.
Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)
A young high school student hoping to escape her small town discovers that the world around her is falling apart as the dead come to life. As she and her friends look to help their family, they fight their way through the hordes with makeshift weapons and songs that help carry them through their fight.
Krampus (2015)
The Engel family is hosting a family holiday with the husband Tom, not looking forward to his wife's obnoxious brother in law Howard. Amidst the family disputes, the Christmas spirit for Tom's son Max has hit rock bottom, and he tears up his letter to Santa after his cousins mock him. A sudden blizzard traps the families in the home, and all attempts to seek help are thwarted by a horned creature and his minions who are set to kidnap the family members for their lack of faith and bad behavior.
Christmas Evil (1980)
This obscure horror film follows an emotionally unstable man who decides to dress up as Santa and keeps a list of the good and naughty kids in his neighborhood. After he sees the misplaced generosity of his employer, he steals toys and gives them away to children in the hospital. Still, a murderous streak counters his joyful spirit as he kills a number of people who he deems naughty.
Scrooged (1988)
A television executive with a cold heart and corrupt nature is visited by three ghosts who show him how his life and others around him are affected by his actions and lack of humanity. A modern interpretation of the Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" with plenty of dark humor and a creative retelling of a holiday classic.
Tales From the Crypt (1972)
Based on the horror comic book Tales From the Crypt is anthology movie with five tales of terror told by a mysterious crypt keeper. The film evokes the eeriness of the dark comic book it was based upon with tales that are violent and terrifying. One sequence features a woman who murders her husband only to encounter a deadly Christmas intruder.
Deadly Games (1989)
In the film, a young boy named Thomas is left at home with his ailing grandfather and a pair of servants as his widowed mother takes care of a holiday party. During the event, a man hired to play Santa Claus is fired for hitting a child, and he decides to get back at Thomas's mother by breaking into their house. Yet he is unaware that Thomas is a gifted child, and the house has a high tech set of cameras that he uses to set up traps and evade what he thinks is an angry Santa Claus.
Better Watch Out (2016)
Ashley is an attractive high school student who is called by the Lerner family to look after 12-year-old son Luke. Like most boys, his age Luke is attracted to Ashley and hopes the night will give him the chance to win her heart. His attempt to seduce her is stopped by one of his friends crashing the evening, yet he is not the only unexpected visitor as someone targets the home and threatens everyone inside. Ashley takes charge to defend Luke, but she will soon learn this is not the usual home invasion situation.
Rare Exports (2015)
This fantasy thriller directed by Jalmari Helander centers on a small community in Finland that encounters some genuinely bizarre circumstances when an international mining company digs into a local mountain and finds something unexpected. A pair of local boys sneak into the mining camp and learn that the company is looking for remains of Santa Claus. The boys leave for home as Pietari looks into the legends of Santa Claus and is shocked to discover that the target of the mining company may not be as jolly and friendly as they think.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown, grows bored of the usual Halloween celebration in his hometown. He soon discovers Christmastown and plots to kidnap Santa so he can take control but learns that its not as easy a task as it sounds.
Gremlins (1984)
A struggling inventor gets his son a unique gift called a Mogwai, it is cute and playful, but it comes with strict rules. Getting it wet causes more to be made; feeding it after midnight mutates them, and exposing them to sunlight will kill them. When those rules are broken, all hell breaks loose as an army of mutated Mogwai's takes over the town and causes all sorts of destruction.
Black Christmas (1974)
During the Christmas holiday, the girls of Pi Kappa Sigma sorority house are preparing for winter break only to encounter a mysterious caller who yells obscenities and nonsense. One of the sisters planning to leave is attacked by the mysterious figure who suffocates her and puts her body in the attic. This event goes unnoticed as the girls in the house continue to get harassing calls as the killer takes them out one at a time until the police can figure out where the calls are coming from that night.
