Top 10 Holiday Horror Movies
What do you get when you rearrange the letters in "Santa"? Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most memorable horror films that take place during a holiday. Warning - spoilers ahead!
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00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most memorable horror
00:12 films that take place during a holiday.
00:15 Warning, spoilers ahead.
00:25 Number 10, Anna and the Apocalypse.
00:37 Have you ever heard the old adage, "The show must go on"?
00:41 Well, apparently that also applies during a zombie apocalypse.
00:47 Anna and the Apocalypse is a coming-of-age Christmas zombie musical extravaganza full
00:53 of peppy songs, growing pains, and actual pains.
00:56 Because, you know, zombies.
00:59 Anna's tunnel vision as she sings out her dreams for the future, unaware that her neighbourhood
01:03 is being besieged by the undead, is a perfect encapsulation of the movie's humour and heart.
01:20 Even the most sceptical horror viewer might be turned.
01:23 And for the unimaginable horrors, stay for the catchy lyrics.
01:26 Number 9, Better Watch Out.
01:29 Babysitters protecting their charge from masked killers isn't exactly a novel concept.
01:34 This new horror classic turns that scenario on its head by making the kids the villains.
01:42 Twelve-year-old Luke starts the movie as an overly precocious cringe factory whose clumsy
01:47 flirting with his babysitter gets inappropriate real fast.
01:57 But it's the revelation that he's staged a home invasion plot to impress her that touches
02:02 off a chain reaction of bad decisions and sadistic games.
02:06 There's even a fun reference to the Home Alone brand of yuletide violence.
02:10 Let's just say it's not so charming this time around.
02:18 Kids just have no respect these days.
02:21 Number 8, Terror Train.
02:23 Set on an excursion train during a fraternity's New Year's Eve celebration, the story follows
02:28 a group of college kids paying the piper for a prank they pulled several years before.
02:37 The killer is able to use the cover of a costume party to switch identities at will.
02:47 With some good performances, genuine scares, and great cinematography from frequent Stanley
02:52 Kubrick collaborator John Alcott, it deserves a serious reappraisal.
03:02 It's not as well-remembered as Jamie Lee Curtis's other horror movies from the period, but Terror
03:06 Train adds some new wrinkles and style to the slasher formula.
03:11 Number 7, Krampus.
03:13 If this dysfunctional family can't come together for the holidays, they might just die trying.
03:18 In this intense horror-comedy, a family has lost the Christmas spirit, and really, all
03:23 patience for one another.
03:27 A little boy named Max writes a letter to Santa that's intercepted by Krampus, a demon
03:37 from hell with the ability to possess toys and gingerbread men.
03:45 Krampus begins spiriting away members of his family one by one.
04:01 It's got yuletide thrills, tongue-in-cheek humor, and genuinely shocking deaths, because
04:07 nothing says "Christmas spirit" like running for your life from killer elves.
04:12 Number 6, Silent Night, Deadly Night.
04:15 Watching your parents be slaughtered by a deranged killer in a Santa Claus suit is enough
04:19 to drive anyone over the edge.
04:29 Between that and growing up in an abusive orphanage, Billy Chapman hasn't had the best
04:34 luck.
04:35 But when he's forced to wear a Santa suit at a local toy store, it sends him on a murderous
04:39 rampage.
04:47 Billy's not like other faceless slasher killers, though.
04:50 There's a moody and wounded Norman Bates-like quality to him, which just makes his killing
04:55 spree all the more psychologically haunting.
05:02 Silent Night, Deadly Night was not the first movie to feature a killer Santa Claus, but
05:16 it earned the ire of concerned parents across the country when it was first released.
05:21 Number 5, My Bloody Valentine.
05:23 We do love a killer with a flair for poetry.
05:35 In this underrated Canadian slasher, a killer in mining gear and a gas mask terrorizes the
05:40 working-class town of Valentine Bluffs with menacing valentines and a pickaxe.
05:46 For such an understated movie, My Bloody Valentine takes some wild swings.
05:51 Pun intended.
05:52 It's got revenge, torn-out hearts, cannibalism, and even a folksy original theme song that
05:58 plays over the end credits.
06:10 With other slashers focusing on teenagers and taking place in more middle-class surroundings,
06:15 this change of pace is refreshing.
06:23 Plus the scenes in the coal mines add a brooding and dark atmosphere to the entire movie.
06:28 Number 4, Trick or Treat.
06:30 It's been said that scary movies featuring kids generally spare them from harm, but not
06:35 this one.
06:40 No one is spared from the horrors of poisoned candy or school bus disasters in this innovative
06:46 and darkly funny anthology film.
06:48 Trick or Treat is a celebration of the spookiest holiday of all, telling four overarching stories
06:54 that take place on the same Halloween night.
06:59 From demon children to werewolves to good old-fashioned stalking and killing, these
07:03 tales really shine a light on all the things that make Halloween horror so timeless.
07:09 Although it didn't have a traditional theatrical release, it found a devoted cult audience
07:14 on DVD.
07:22 Number 3, Gremlins.
07:28 Introducing the Mogwai species, a species of critters who multiply when water touches
07:33 them and cause general mayhem and murder.
07:39 Yes, Gremlins is a deceptively garish movie.
07:45 The creatures are a fantastic example of expert puppeteering and sound design.
07:49 They seem so lifelike that you really start to root for their demise.
07:54 Due to its violence, cartoonish as it may be, the movie is frequently cited as one of
07:58 the movies that would justify the creation of the PG-13 rating in the mid-1980s.
08:09 It may be a horror film, but it has enough crossover appeal to be a real Christmas classic.
08:15 Number 2, Black Christmas.
08:19 1974's Black Christmas was one of the earliest forerunners of the slasher genre.
08:26 Here, we're treated to shots from the killer's POV, a group of sorority girls being picked
08:31 off one by one during Christmas break.
08:37 There's also the archetypal "final girl" who must outwit the killer in the final act.
08:52 A 2019 remake took a fresh look at the story, but nothing comes close to the original.
09:02 Despite the genre, it's a pretty classy movie.
09:05 It looks great, it's witty, and it boasts a legendary cast.
09:08 What's truly terrifying about Black Christmas, though, is that we have zero information about
09:13 the villain.
09:18 He has no name, no past, no chill, and definitely no mercy.
09:24 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
09:27 Rare Exports - A Christmas Tale
09:30 A Finnish horror-comedy offers an alternative origin story for Santa Claus.
09:37 The Lodge
09:38 Two children suspect their future stepmother hasn't left her religious cult past behind.
09:43 Christmas Evil - A Santa suit-wearing killer leaves a trail of bodies behind.
10:05 Tales From The Crypt - Christmas and Valentine's Day get their due in this British anthology
10:10 film.
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10:34 Christmas Killing
10:44 Our number one pick is the independently produced masterpiece that made millions switch out
10:50 turkey for ham at Thanksgiving dinner.
10:52 Okay, okay, just kidding.
10:55 Number 1.
10:56 Halloween
10:57 Horror fans can argue about which movie was the first to do this or that, but John Carpenter's
11:02 masterful and economical Halloween is the crowned jewel of holiday frights.
11:11 Not only is it Jamie Lee Curtis' film debut, it's also the movie that unleashed masked
11:16 menace Michael Myers on unsuspecting moviegoers.
11:21 Originally called The Babysitter Murders, it was producer Erwin Llablanc's idea to set
11:26 the movie on Halloween.
11:28 He was shocked it had never been done before.
11:30 Its premise and concise thrills are often imitated, but never duplicated.
11:35 "I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked
11:41 up because I realized that what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply
11:45 evil."
11:48 What holiday-themed horror flick is your favorite?
11:50 Tell us in the comments.
11:52 "Christmas is fast becoming my least favorite C word."
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12:04 [music]
12:14 you