For some individuals, hearing Mariah Carey warble the words “I don’t want…” in mid-November is a call for joyous celebration. For others, it’s a sign to start filling your ears with stuffing. Whichever side you fall on, there is no doubting the appetite out there for movies that go against the festive grain.
In fact, the subgenre of Christmas horror only seems to deliver more bold, bloody, and bah-humbugy presents as the years pass by. The ten films we’ve arranged below range from genuine festive favorites to truly demented horror—some of which will get you on the naughty list, others that are merely horror-coded interpretations of confirmed Christmas crackers. Read on to discover more and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.
Gremlins (1984)
Let’s kick things off with a couple of movies that keep a toe in both festive and horror camps. There’s no doubting that Joe Dante’s Gremlins takes place at “the most wonderful time of the year” and, aesthetically and vibes-wise, has more than enough of that Amblin Entertainment juice (think movies like Goonies and Poltergeist) to make it a durable family classic.
On the other hand, this is also a movie about freaky monsters in which more than a few characters die. With all that in mind, Gremlins is almost the perfect Creepmas movie to get you started. As we said, almost.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Of course, no movie in the history of cinema can claim to be both an autumn and a Christmas classic quite like The Nightmare Before Christmas, Tim Burton (think Edward Scissorhands) and Henry Sellick’s (think Coraline) animation classic.
On top of inspiring an infinite number of art student halloween costumes, this is a movie that manages to deliver a genuinely festive emotional punch while staying firmly in the Creepness movie canon. Oh, and bonus points for all the great tunes.
Terrifier 3 (2024)
Now, with all the family friendly stuff out of the way, let’s move on to the sicko stuff: if you’re looking for something to ruin the after dinner mood, or maybe to help get rid of a few lingering relatives, you can’t go wrong with Terrifier 3—a movie that will be more pleasing to fans of Bone Tomahawk and Saw than appreciators of Miracle on 34th Street.
This is the one where Art the Clown shoves a load of rats down a nice lady’s throat using a blowtorch—a scene that might make you less fussy about whether or not the turkey is a little dry.
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)
Still firmly in the realm of Creepmass, though more in the lineage of dark comedy and folk stories, is the Finnish movie Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale. This is the story of a young boy who thinks he has happened upon Santa’s tomb but finds an evil version of Father Christmas instead.
Rare Exports is the kind of movie that balances its sinister plot with some good natured (and decidedly Scandinavian) humour—so if you’re a fan of monster movies from that part of the world (think Troll Hunter and Border), this could be the one for you.
Krampus (2015)
Similar to Rare Exports, the 2015 movie Krampus puts a dark and twisted spin on well worn Christmas folklore. As the title suggests, this one focuses on the European myth of the Krampus—a demonic, horned, anti-Santa who enjoys torturing and abducting children.
The movie stars Toni Colette alongside Adam Scott, so if you like either of their work in stuff like Hereditary or Severance, you should definitely give this one a go!
Black Christmas (1974)
Black Christmas holds a place in the record books for boasting one of, if not the first examples of the “final girl” trope in horror. It’s also credited with helping to revive the slasher genre. For the benefit of our list, however, it’s also worth mentioning that this was, if I’m not mistaken, the first holiday-based horror movie—so if you’re into movies like Thanksgiving and Halloween, you might enjoy going back to check it out.
The story takes place among a group of sorority girls during the Christmas season and I believe was the (yet another) first movie to use the immortal line: “The calls are coming from inside the house.”
The Lodge (2020)
Naturally, there are a number of horror films that simply take place in winter without needing to dip too much into festive iconography. A great recent one is The Lodge, which comes from the indie studio A24—and if you like the stylish horror that’s usually associated with the production house (think The Babadook, The Witch), I would highly recommend this one.
The story follows a soon-to-be stepmother (played by Riley Keogh) who gets stranded with her soon-to-be stepchildren in a family lodge at Christmastime—which, let’s be real, sounds scary enough even without all the other mad stuff that starts to happen.
The Shining (1980)
Even more so than The Lodge, The Shining doesn’t engage with Christmas stuff on any real level, but there is certainly plenty of snow, some iconic knitted sweaters, and at least one mention of a fateful New Years Eve party—all of which makes it eligible, IMO, both for this list and any Creepmass watch party.
Regardless, it’s always a good time to recommend Kubrick’s scariest movie—especially if the person you are recommending to is into the director’s spookier stuff, like Eyes Wide Shut and A Clockwork Orange.
Violent Night (2022)
If you’ve made it through all the scarier stuff and need a palette cleanser, Violent Night could be a nice way to finish the party—it’s not scary exactly, but it takes a decidedly different approach to the festive season than what you might be used to seeing in a movie that features old St. Nick.
Starring David Harbour as a gun-toting Santa Claus, this is a movie that basically answers the age-old question of what would happen if Die Hard and Home Alone had a baby.
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Lastly, we’ll end our list with the greatest Christmas movie of them all, It’s a Wonderful Life—a film that, were you to squint the eyes a little, or cut a couple of scenes and replace them with something slightly darker, would easily feel like a particularly grim episode of Black Mirror or The Twilight Zone.
Yes, the people of Bedford Falls eventually rally and Clarence gets his wings, but not before Jimmy Stewart’s anguished journey through a nightmarish version of reality. Ho ho ho.
