13 horror films perfect for Christmas: streaming guide

It’s 2020. We get it. The happiest season isn’t looking so happy this year, and you need to blow off some steam. Or maybe you’re like us, and you indulge in seasonal scares every December. Either way, merry Christmas and welcome: you, my fiendish friend, are in the right place for holiday horror.

Whether you’re baking cookies or fantasizing about setting the tree on fire, holiday horror films are perfect for any Christmas mood. They’re that ideal blend of thematic cheer and commercial cynicism that screams, “I’m having a good time, but only because it could be worse!” that you probably feel most holiday seasons — but especially during this one.

From mutant gingerbread men and rosey-cheeked killers to stories of betrayal and twisted tragedies, the creepy Christmas catalogue is vast. So, we’ve combed through and picked out 13 of the best to get your horrifying holiday going. Enjoy, goblins! 

13. Jack Frost (1997)

No, this is not the 1998 holiday film starring Michael Keaton as a snowman — that Jack Frost is far better. This Jack Frost, directed by Michael Cooney and released in 1997, instead serves as a stand-in for all those holiday horror films that are great to have on in the background…but not all that fun to actually sit down and watch. Killer snowman could definitely make for a super fun horror movie, that’s just not what happens here — what with Jack Frost‘s ridiculously awkward pacing and barely coherent plot structure. Still, it is a great visual to enjoy while you wrap presents or bake cookies. If you need more recs along those lines, try The Gingerdead Man and Santa Jaws. 

How to watch: Shudder

12. Holidays (2016)

Vertical Entertainment’s shabby Holidays isn’t strictly a Christmas joint — but it does crescendo with a bizarre Black Mirror-meets-Dexter Christmas short good enough to earn a spot on this list. Comprised of eight short horror films based on eight holidays (Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve, in that order), Holidays reimagines the greeting card aisle through its grimy, off-beat lens. It’s uneven and often unsatisfying. Still, it gets at the very spirit of holiday horror with excess camp and great effects.

How to watch: Netflix

11. A Christmas Horror Story (2015) 

It’s another holiday horror anthology, but unlike Holidays, this one’s all Christmas. In A Christmas Horror Story, William Shatner plays a radio DJ telling four tales of Christmases involving ghosts, changelings, Krampus, and zombie elves. It’s an extremely bumpy viewing experience (with a final act revelation that borders on annoying), but its got a high enough production value and a committed enough cast to make you believe in the magic of its mayhem. At least, some of it.

How to watch: Shudder

10. Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) 

Silent Night, Deadly Night gained much of its fame by pissing off Green Bay Packers fans with a poorly timed TV advertisement. (OK, it’s more complicated than that; but honestly, not by much. People in the ’80s needed to chill.) Since then, the killer Santa slasher has gained a cult following for its bizarre portrait of a dude deeply warped by a childhood misunderstanding of naughty and nice. There’s Christmas light stranglings, tons of axe throwing, and a surprising amount of nudity.

How to watch: Shudder

9. Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)

Zombieland meets Broadway-level Christmas carols in this bonkers holiday apocalypse musical. Starring Ella Hunt as the titular Anna, Anna and the Apocalypse tells the story of a high school senior in Scotland struggling to face the end of her childhood when a zombie outbreak hits her smalltown. With great songs and some extremely fun undead choreography, Anna and the Apocalypse isn’t all that scary — but it is screamingly festive.

How to watch: Prime Video

8.  Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale  

Alright, this hidden gem — which I cannot believe I only found out about in 2020 — is so good it almost makes me want to learn Finnish. (Yes, it has subtitles and some of it is in English, but I want the whole essence!) Directed by Jalamari Helander, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale tells the story of a father and son, played by real father and son Jorma and Onni Tommulia, who discover the horrific origins of Santa Claus amid an archaeological dig. Better off not spoiled, just watch this one now.

How to watch: Hulu

7. Black Christmas (1974)

Ah, one of the longest lasting franchises in the holiday horror subgenre. Director Bob Clark’s 1974 slasher Black Christmas has been remade twice; once in 2006 and again in 2019 (that one is currently on HBO Max.) Both revisits were pretty good, but it’s tough to outdo a film as timelessly terrifying as the original. Following a group of sorority sisters hunted by a sadistic killer, Black Christmas delivers a staggeringly believable portrayal of murder at the holiday season you won’t soon forget.

How to watch: Shudder

6. The Lodge (2019)

OK, The Lodge is the bleakest title on this list, bar none. If you’re looking for a fun holiday horror flick, this is not it. I repeat: this is NOT it. Now, that said, this psychological nightmare is a great choice if you’re looking for an unnerving horror experience that combines The Shining with occultism. Intrigued? Starring Riley Keough as an unwelcome girlfriend on Christmas vacation with her boyfriend’s kids, played by Jaeden Martell and Lia McHugh, The Lodge foregoes traditional scares for slow-burn tension and shocking implications.

How to watch: Hulu

5. Into the Dark: Pooka! (2018)

The first Christmas installment in Hulu’s Into the Dark anthology, Pooka! tells the surprisingly sad story of Wilson, played by Nyasha Hatendi. A down-on-his-luck actor tasked with promoting a new toy for the Christmas season, Wilson begins the film the victim of a campy premise. Soon, however, the story morphs into a far more complex portrayal of selfishness and guilt. 

If you love Pooka!, then definitely check out its sequel, Pooka Lives! The second one doesn’t touch on any Christmas themes at all, but think of it like Pooka!’s Evil Dead 2. It takes everything that Pooka! did seriously, and turns it up to a hilarious extreme.

How to watch: Hulu

4. Into the Dark: A Nasty Piece of Work (2019)

Fans of Ready or Not can enjoy another brutal game night in the house of a conceited rich dude with Into the Dark‘s A Nasty Piece of Work. In this Belko Experiment-meets-National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation mash-up, Kyle Howard stars as Ted, a corporate underling vying for his holiday bonus at a terrifying work dinner party. Julian Sands and Molly Hagan undeniably steal the show as Ted’s evil boss and his equally evil wife, but the whole cast nails it in this ensemble horror-comedy. 

How to watch: Hulu

3. Better Watch Out (2016)

Better Watch Out should probably be ranked lower on this list, considering its awkward pacing and confusing character development. But thanks to its one truly spectacular Home Alone reference, it’s all the way at #3. Dying to see what I mean? In this surprising home invasion story, Levi Miller stars as a pre-teen with a crush on his teenage babysitter, played by Olivia DeJonge. The two enjoy a relatively normal (albeit awkward) Christmas night in together, until a strange voice calls the house.

How to watch: Prime Video

2. Krampus (2015)

Wow, where to begin with Krampus? From Adam Scott and Toni Collette as a sniping couple to the best demonic toys since Child’s Play, Krampus delivers a nativity of cinematic terror through an eerie, apocalyptic tone vaguely akin to The Mist. It takes a long time for the chaos of Krampus to kick off, and the deeply unlikable family at its center does not make that waiting easy. But once the demon of European folklore does appear, this hellish sleigh ride is frightfully fantastic.

How to watch: Rent or buy with Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, and iTunes

1. Gremlins (1984)

What horror fan doesn’t want a mogwai for Christmas? In Joe Dante’s horror comedy classic, Zach Galligan stars as Billy Peltzer — a young bank teller gifted a dangerous creature for the holidays. Iconic for its adorable main “monster” and spectacular vignettes (I will never get over the gremlins drinking at a bar), Gremlins is a sci-fi tour through classic Christmas nostalgia that never disappoints. Well, except for Phoebe Cates’ whole “Dad got stuck in a chimney” monologue. That bit is always kind of a bummer.

How to watch: Rent or buy with Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, and iTunes

Honorable mention: Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

OK, I know Nightmare Before Christmas doesn’t belong on here — but it also doesn’t not belong on here. Tim Burton’s animated Halloween-meets-Christmas classic is only a horror film if you choose to deeply meditate on some of Oogie Boogie’s grosser behaviors (and honestly, who is doing that?) Still, it’s got enough of that wintery spookiness to make it a worthy title for anyone looking to scratch that Christmas-time horror itch. Plus, ya just gotta love Zero. Who’s a good ghost dog?!

How to watch: Disney+