Christmas Horror Flicks to Ring in the Holiday Season Right With

Ever Wonder What Christmas Is Like for The Millions Of Pine Trees Chopped Down Each Year?
Photo by: Jason Eisener, via Vimeo.

The holidays are right around the corner, and if you're a lover of all things horror then you're in for a festive treat - there's a ton of awesome holiday horror flicks to enjoy this holiday season! There are a ton of Holiday Horror Movies, ranging from downright classics, to too campy to pass up on (seriously).

So if you're ready to put some ho-ho-horror into your holiday season, then buckle up - here are our top choices for holiday horror movies to watch this Christmas!

1. Gremlins (1984) - So, the holidays are a time that often include mixed company - little nieces and nephews and cousins running amok, and if you're looking for a real horror movie that's also a real Christmas movie, then, you simply have no better choice than the holiday classic Gremlins. Let's be honest - any of us who grew up in the 80s or 90s secretly (or maybe not so secretly) wished they'd get a Mogwai for Christmas, even though the little buggers multiply infinitesimally when they're wet, oh and they tern into straight up monsters when you feed them after midnight (much like small children who have stayed up well past their bedtime eating sweet treats to watch the Ball Drop on NYE).
   
   Gremlins has it all - insane horror scenarios, campy gore, and best of all, little green Gremlins going door to door caroling in Santa hats - fun for the whole family! Plus who could forget Gizmo, the adorable little Mogwai who totally wasn't evil, driving his Malibu Barbie Dream Car to save the day!
   
   
2. Santa's Slay (2005) - From here on out, nothing on this list is going to be as lighthearted as Gremlins - let's get that straight (i.e. please don't submit the little ones to watching any other films on this list).  In Santa's Slay, a millennium after being a benevolent creature who doles out gifts to the good kids, it turns out that Santa is a demon, and being a nice guy who gives gifts to everyone was just his punishment for the past thousand years.
   
   But nobody realizes this, because who would ever expect Santa to be so terrible? Well, one boy suspects - the aptly named Nicholas Yuleson, who's grandfather confirm's the boys concerns with a book called "The Book of Klaus", which details how Santa is not only the Spawn of Satan (Santa...Satan...get it?!), and how he went from demon to gift giver after losing a curling match (yes really) with an Arch Angel.
   
   Well, things get pretty crazy from there, Nicholas is framed for the murders, Santa keeps on slaying, and there's an epic showdown of good an evil with quite the twist.
   
   
3. Don't Open Til Christmas (1984) - A Scotland Yard Inspector is on the case after it is discovered that there's a serial killer on the loose stabbing men (and women!) dressed in Santa Suits. One Santa is even killed literally as he's roasting chestnuts over an open fire. The movie is definitely on the more gory side, with Santa getting snuffed out in all sorts of strange scenarios left and right, but if you love a good Christmas caper, and you're into campy, over the top, extreme gore, well then you're in for a treat.
   
   In their pursuit of the Santa Stabber, several officers even go undercover as Santas, and you can imagine how well that went - they were snuffed out by the Santa Serial Killer just like the rest. Things get kind of hairy from there, but it takes quite a while before the authorities are able to hunt down and figure out who the Santa Killer really is.
   
   
4. Treevenge (2008) - Ok, so this one is actually a short film that runs about 16 minutes, but it is absolutely worth the watch - especially since it's readily available on Vimeo (Jason Eisner, the film's creator, writer, and director uploaded it here). Have you ever wondered what Christmas is like from the perspective of the Christmas Trees? It's a bloodbath, that's what it is. This film shows Christmas from the perspective of the Christmas Trees that are brutally being cut down from their woodland home, and dragged into the "Pick Your Own" Christmas Tree Farms.
   
   The  trees talk in their own language (which is thankfully subtitled), and you know what? They've had enough with humanity slaughtering them by the millions each year, and then humiliating them by decorating them in frilly ornaments and baubles each holiday - The Christmas Trees are a tall, majestic, and proud - er - people. And they've had enough.
   
   It wouldn't be called Treevenge unless the trees got revenge, right? Correct. I won't spoil the ending for you, but I would recommend strongly that you go watch this film that has won tons of awards, including Audience Award for Best Short Film at the NYC Horror Film Fest, Toronto After Dark Film Fest, and the Fantasia Film Festival - to name a few, as well as Honorable Mention at Sundance. Seriously. This is an epic story, and humanity makes a pretty spectacular villain.
   
   
5. A Christmas Horror Story (2015) - Do you love anthologies that tie themselves together somehow at the end? Are you a fan of the absolutely iconic William Shatner? Well, then A Christmas Horror Story just might be the perfect flick for you his holiday season. Throughout the film, four Christmas Horror stories (that to be honest, do not really intertwine all that much), are presented to us by our narrator, none other than local shock jock DJ Dangerous Dan (played by Shatner).
   
   The stories are all pretty gory, dark, and campy, but they've saved the best for last, when there's an epic showdown between Mr. Claus himself, and The Krampus, and let's not forget that these two are basically demi-gods, so you can imagine - this battle is one for the books.

What's Your Favorite Christmas Horror Movie? Let Us Know in the Comments Below!