5 Christmas Horror Movies For Yuletide Fear

The bright cheeriness of Christmas may not seem compatible with horror, but there is a long history of scary stories being associated with the season. Writers have been publishing X-mas ghost tales and other spooky stories all the way back to Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol and Washington Irving’s The Sketch Book. Here are five Christmas horror movies that are sure to give you a nasty dose of yuletide fear!

What do we have under this tree? One candy cane murder weapon, two killer Santa’s, several creepy phone calls, and a metric ton of dead teenagers.

5. Silent Night Deadly Night (1984)

Silent Night Deadly Night is one of the most controversial slashers ever made. Its brief theatrical run was punctuated by protesters who picketed theaters that were showing the film. The source of the protesters’ outrage was the movie’s creepy trailer, which depicted Santa Claus as a psychopathic killer.

Maybe the picketers would have felt better if they had known that the movie’s killer is merely a Santa imposter. A young boy named Billy is traumatized after witnessing his mom being murdered by a criminal wearing a Santa suit. Years later, the now-grown Billy snaps during the Christmas season. He puts on a Santa costume and goes on a killing spree.

The people who protested Silent Night Deadly Night were probably unaware that the concept of a killer Santa was nothing new. The concept had been used in 1980 by Christmas Evil and several years before that in a Tales from the Crypt episode.

Related: The Five Best Killer Santa Movies

4. Christmas Evil (1980)

The people who protested Silent Night Deadly Night were probably unaware that the concept of a killer Santa was nothing new. The concept had been used in 1980 by Christmas Evil and several years before that in a Tales from the Crypt episode.

Christmas Evil is a dark character study. It’s a low-rent combination of Taxi Driver and Death Wish. Harry, a lonely and mentally disturbed toy store employee, begins to fantasize that he is Santa Claus. He creepily spies on neighborhood children to determine if they’ve been naughty or nice and keeps records of their behavior in a journal.

Harry eventually loses all sense of reality. After finding out that some of the employees at the toy store are involved in a corrupt donation scheme, he goes on a rampage against anyone who dares to violate the sanctity of the holiday season. Harry sees himself as an avenger who is protecting children from naughty grown ups.

After “Santa” dispatches several people with a hatchet, he is pursued throughout the city by the police and a vigilante mob. Can he find his sleigh and escape back to the North Pole before it‘s too late?

If it wasn’t already obvious, this is an exceptionally strange film. The plot is somewhat similar to Silent Night, but the tone is vastly different. Christmas Evil tries to be a serious drama and occasionally succeeds.

3. Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)

A small town in Scotland is attacked by zombies during the Christmas season. Anna, a local high school student, battles her way through hordes of flesh-eating undead as she attempts to reunite with her dad. Anna’s favorite zombie-bashing weapon is a giant candy cane prop.

Anna and the Apocalypse, which is one of the few horror musicals, is gory, funny, and entertaining. It has one especially entertaining musical sequence: Anna’s friend Lisa performs a provocative song about Santa Claus in front of a group of horrified parents and teachers.

Maybe it’s just because I’m not a fan of musicals, but I felt that the first half of the movie had way too much singing. Thankfully, the singing is toned down in the second half, when the movie takes a darker turn.

2. Better Watch Out (2016)  

Teenage Ashley (Olivia DeJonge) is babysitting 12-year-old Luke (Levi Miller) during Christmastime. While Luke’s parents are away at a Christmas event, the duo is menaced by a mysterious figure stalking them from outside the house.

After a series of frightening events, Ashley discovers the shocking truth about the perpetrator’s identity. Can she figure out a way to escape before it’s too late?

Better Watch Out is loaded with twists, so I’ll refrain from revealing too much. Nothing is as it seems, and no one can be trusted. Olivia DeJonge delivers a feisty performance as the babysitter. Levi Miller is incredibly annoying as Luke, but he was clearly intended to be that way, so he does a good job.

1. Black Christmas (1974)

Black Christmas is arguably the first modern American slasher movie, predating Halloween. It’s about a sorority that is terrorized by a giggling maniac over winter break. The mysterious killer incessantly makes creepy obscene phone calls. Of course, he isn’t satisfied with merely talking to the girls. He starts getting up close and personal, using a plastic bag, a crane hook, and even a glass unicorn figurine.

Olivia Hussey plays Jessica, the movie’s final girl. She’s dealing with an unwanted pregnancy and an ex-boyfriend who is trying to pressure her into having the baby. This is one of the few horror movies with the guts to tackle a controversial political issue. Margot Kidder, who later became famous for playing Lois Lane in the early Superman movies, plays Jessica’s rowdy sorority sister, Barb.

Black Christmas received little attention when it was initially released, but it became well-known after slashers exploded in popularity in the 1980s. It was remade twice, in 2006 and 2019. Olivia Hussey’s Jess remains one of the most underrated final girls in the subgenre.