PopHorror Let's Get Scared
It’s that time of year again! December is upon us, and that means watching films full of holiday nostalgia. For most people, Christmas classics means movies like It’s A Wonderful Life, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Carol. For us horror fans, holiday standards means something else entirely. We like our Christmas movies to be a little bloody and creepy. Read my Top 5 Christmas Horror Movies list below to see if your favorite holiday flicks made my list.
1. Black Christmas (1974)
The first film on my Top 5 Christmas Horror Movies list is Bob Clark’s slasher masterpiece, Black Christmas, which has always been my favorite movie of all time. I really can’t see any flaw in this film. From Billy’s disturbing phone calls to each amazing kill scene, Black Christmas is holiday horror at its best. If you only watch one movie from this list, make it Black Christmas.
2. Christmas Evil (1980)
Lewis Jackson’s Christmas Evil (read our retro review here) has to be one of the weirdest Christmas horror movies out there. Genre fans familiar with Jackson’s work will attest that his movies are definitely odd, but that’s why it’s on my Top 5 Christmas Horror Movies list. I’ve often compared Christmas Evil to a really bad LSD trip, because that’s exactly how the movie feels. You basically get inside of the head of a man who is mentally broken, and then you go on a journey with him as he slowly loses his grip on reality. A highly recommended Christmas horror classic. Probably one of the weirdest endings to any movie I’ve ever seen.
3. Gremlins (1984)
Joe Dante’s Gremlins holds a special place in my heart because it was one of the first horror movies I’d ever watched in the theater as a kid. I feel like this one is a good Christmas horror movie for young kids. It’s not too scary and has plenty of comedy throughout. If you’re looking for a fun Christmas movie that is light on horror and will make you laugh, then Gremlins is your best choice.
4. Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
There has to be one super sleazy, trashy slasher on my Top 5 Christmas Horror Movies list, and none is sleazier than Silent Night, Deadly Night. (read our retro review here) You have a kid who watches his parents get murdered by a crazed man in a Santa Claus outfit, along with a power-mad dictator nun who abuses children, plus plenty of skin and some of the finest kill scenes in the slasher subgenre. Silent Night, Deadly Night should contain plenty of depravity for your sick minds. It’s a slasher classic that I watch every December.
5. I’m Dreaming Of A White Doomsday (2017)
As a lover of all things indie horror, I wanted to mention one recent non-mainstream Christmas genre flick. There have been a lot of independent holiday horror movies to come out in the last few years. Unfortunately, most of them haven’t been that good, but Mike Lombardo’s I’m Dreaming Of A White Doomsday (read our review here) is, in my opinion, the best one. I don’t want to give away too much, but this is an end of times apocalyptic Christmas film, but deeper than that, it is a story about a mother’s love for her son. The film has great cinematography and a beautiful look. Lombardo is becoming one of my favorite indie directors, and I’m looking forward to what he does in the future. Definitely check out I’m Dreaming Of A White Doomsday.
Did your favorite holiday flick make my Top 5 Christmas Horror Movies list? If not, comment below and let me know what movie is your favorite! I hope you have a Creepy Christmas!
