Ho-H0-Horror is here for the holidays, and we don’t want you to miss out on any of the gory fun! Time to snuggle up with some hot cocoa, loved ones and let the festive blood bath begin!

10. ‘Don’t Open Till Christmas’

In this warm and fuzzy tale, a mad man dressed up as Santa goes around killing (wait for it…) anyone else dressed up like Santa! This campy horror film came straight from over the pond (and for those of you with confused looks on their faces, that means the UK) in 1984 and struck cheer (or should I say fear) into the hearts of many.

9. ‘New Years Evil’

In this 1980 slasher hit ‘New Years Evil’ punk rock goddess Diane Sullivan aka Blaze as she’s so affectionately known among her groupies, has people from all over calling  about parties, resolutions and lets not forget murderous intentions. Her phone stalker is making a very evil resolution – instead of kissing at midnight, he’ll be killing naughty girls  – one at midnight in every time zone,  ending with your hostess with the mostess. Will she live to see 1981 or will the killer keep his new years resolution!?

8. ‘Jack Frost’

Fate smiled upon serial killer Jack Frost as he’s on his way to his execution only to have his vehicle crash into a passing genetics truck. The result of some pretty high-tech science turned Frost into a homicidal snowman just in time to spread some Christmas cheer to the people of Snowmonton (kudos on the name guys). Police officials and scientists alike come up with some pretty fantastic ways to ‘melt’ Jack and put an end to his reign of icy terror in this 1996 treasure (not to be confused with the family friendly Michael Keaton version with the same name…might have some traumatized kids on your hands if you get it mixed up!).

7. ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’

I hope you’ve been good this year, or else Billy aka Psycho Santa will find you and PUNISH you! Poor Billy witnesses his parents being murdered by a man dressed up as Santa as a child in the 1984 classic ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’ and develops a slightly skewed vision of naughty and nice. He reeks havoc on those that have been naughty, and gives “gifts” (if you can call them that) to those that have been nice, example – one little girl is the proud recipient of a bloody box cutter Billy has been using on his victims for hours.  If you liked the original, be sure to check out the 2012 remake, ‘Silent Night’ for some more Christmas fun!

6. ‘Terror Train’

Fans of scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis  will love the 1980 holiday favorite ‘Terror Train’. Set on New Years Eve, a group of college kids are aboard a (you guessed it) train throwing a costume party when one by one they are picked off by a masked killer. Suspected fiend is  the shy recipient of a cruel prank the group had played on him years before – maybe they should have made it a New Years resolution to not be assholes to psychotic magicians.

5. ‘Silent Night, Zombie Night’

A zombie outbreak hits LA in this 2009 film ‘Silent Night, Zombie Night’. Well known among film festival crowds but less known to the general public, ‘Zombie Night’ is jam packed with love, holiday cheer and of course flesh eating zombies. Why its set in LA during Christmas is kind of a mystery, as the weather remains sunny and holds a very non-traditional Christmas feel the entire time, but it will still put you in the mood to gift wrap your brains.

4. ‘Santa’s Slay’

Our old pal Santa is actually the result of a virgin birth produced by Satan (say what?!) in the 2005 holiday classic ‘Santa’s Slay’. After Santa loses a bet to an angel, he’s  forced to bring presents to good little girls and boys for 1,000 years. Times up come year 2005 and then its no more Mr. Nice St. Nick and people start getting slayed (pun intended) in some pretty amazing yule-tide ways.

3. ‘Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas’

Its got catchy songs, stop motion animation, and severed heads – what more could you want from a Christmas movie? Not particularly “scary” per-say, however this 1993 film shouldn’t be overlooked come holiday family movie night. Jack Skellington aka the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown has decided that he and his gang of ghosts, vampires and generally anything that goes bump in the night are going to take over Christmas this year for a change. Hope your kids asked for possessed toys and wreaths that will eat them alive this year!

2. ‘Black Christmas’

This film is the star on top of the proverbial Christmas tree for any holiday season and considered by some to be one of the first slasher films EVER. The original ‘Black Christmas’ was released in 1974 and loosely based on actual murders taking place around the same time/’the calls are coming from inside the house’ urban legends. It follows a group of girls living in a sorority house getting ready for the holidays. They begin receiving ‘prank’ phone calls but when one of the girls threatens the caller, he fires back with ‘I’m going to kill you’ (that escalated quickly….). This is defiantly a movie you’re going to want to shout ‘GET OUT OF THE HOUSE IDIOTS!’ once it gets going, it has a very similar creepy vibe and feel to other horror classic ‘When a Stranger Calls’. Fun fact: a remake of ‘Black Christmas’ came out in 2006 but focused more on the back story of the killer, check it out if you want a twist on this classic!

 

1. ‘Gremlins’

Low and behold the glory that is the 1984 film ‘Gremlins’! Pact with fun, slime and mischievous creatures, ‘Gremlins’ is an excellent choice for anyone in want of some seasonal happiness. Mogwai aka Gizmo-  a tiny adorable creature that will be your best pal until the end of time, unless you feed it after midnight or get it wet. If you do, Gizmo will sprout demons from hell (otherwise known as Gremlins) that will terrorize your entire town and maybe even kill a few of them. Set during Christmas time, this movie is the gift that keeps on giving.

Honorable Mentions:

Supernatural “A Very Supernatural Christmas” (2007): A very dirty and scary Santa Claus is coming down the chimney but instead of leaving presents, he’s taking your parents (or your dad at least…) – great holiday episode! 

Tales From the Crypt “And All Through the House” (1989): Greed will get you no where as we find in this awesome holiday edition of Tales from the Crypt – no one is a better host than the Crypt Keeper! 

American Horror Story: Asylum “Unholy Night” (2012): Dark and terrifying, this Santa goes on a killing spree (while wearing a bloody Santa suit) and is then committed to an insane asylum. His fellow inmates find out the hard way that this Santa still has some holiday cheer left to spread. 

Die Hard (1988): Not technically a ‘horror’ film but this movie has it all – action, suspense and classic one-liners like these: Hans Gruber: “Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho.” John McClane also has some inventive uses of  Christmas wrapping paper when he creats a behind the back ‘gun holster’, way to go John, Santa’s elves would be proud. 

We hope you liked our holiday fright fest suggestions! If  you have some dark Christmas flick recommendations feel free to let us know in the comments section below. Here’s hoping you’ve all made the nice list this year!