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Christmas and horror aren’t two words that often go together — unless you’re talking about awkward family gatherings and crowded malls where you go holiday shopping. Despite this, scary slasher movies with characters doing things that would surely land them on Santa’s naughty list have increasingly become a popular Christmas movie genre for viewers looking for more screaming and hollering than good news and cheer. And if you’re one of those who likes a bit of Halloween gore mixed in with the winter holidays, then this preview is for you.
These dark takes on the winter holidays include everything from zombie elves to murderous mythical creatures and even a few killer clauses. Not to mention the sheer human evil that shows up on the doorsteps of families and neighbors, making for a gift no one wants to receive at Christmas. But if you’re looking for a few unconventional movies to add to your otherwise warm and fuzzy Christmas movie list, we promise these 37 titles will do the trick.
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‘Swimming Christmas Eve for adults’
Four renters encounter more problems than just a double-booked reservation when they stay in a cabin with a terribly dark past that flares up when a cursed Christmas tree catches fire.
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“Advent Calendar”
Image credit: Shudder/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
When a paraplegic girl receives an unusual advent calendar as a birthday present, she is met with terrifying surprises every day, leading to a bloody Christmas.
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‘All creatures stirred’
The couple’s awkward first date takes an even stranger turn when they find themselves subjected to watching a series of terrifying holiday stories when they arrive at a strange movie theater on Christmas Eve in this horror comedy.
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“All through the house”
A killer dressed as Santa Claus terrorizes a neighborhood of Christmas fanatics during the holiday season in Todd Nunes’ slasher film.
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“Anna and the Apocalypse”
In this British Christmas musical, a young girl and her friends use violence – and their voices – to survive when a zombie apocalypse threatens their small town.
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‘apology’
A brutal game of revenge begins when a woman whose daughter disappeared 20 years ago is trapped in a house with her ex-son-in-law during a snowstorm when he unexpectedly shows up while she is preparing for the family’s Christmas dinner.
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‘ATM’
Brian Geraghty, Alice Eve and Josh Peck lead the cast of this thriller about three co-workers who are trapped in an ATM booth by a hooded figure after they leave a Christmas party.
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‘Wait for further instructions’
A mysterious black substance traps a dysfunctional family in their home, communicating through cryptic messages that appear on the TV screen in this British sci-fi horror film.
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“You better watch out”
A nanny fights to defend herself and a 12-year-old boy when intruders stage an invasion of their suburban home during the holidays.
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“Black Christmas”
Image credit: Warner Bros./Everett Collection
This Canadian slasher film, inspired by the urban legend “Babysitter and the Man Upstairs,” follows a group of sorority sisters who are stalked by a killer during Christmas.
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“Christmas of the Dead”
An unlikely group of individuals band together to save humanity when a dark force takes over a corpse lab and an army of the living dead threatens their town on Christmas Day.
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‘Children’
The children of two families are turned into bloodthirsty killers when they contract a virus while on vacation.
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‘Bloody Christmas Christmas’
A robotic Santa goes on a violent killing spree on Christmas Eve when his programming malfunctions.
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“A Christmas Horror Story”
Image credit: RLJ Entertainment/Courtesy Everett Collection
William Shatner narrates this horror anthology, playing a radio DJ who tells intertwined tales of terror involving a ghost, zombie elves and other mythical spirits and creatures while working a long shift on Christmas night.
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‘Dead end’
The family finds themselves stranded on a never-ending road in the middle of the woods when Dad decides to take a shortcut on what should be a routine Christmas Eve drive.
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“Gremlins”
Image credit: Warner Bros/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
More comedy than horror, in this offbeat ’80s holiday classic starring Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates, creepy little creatures—except the Howie Mandel-voiced Gizmo—wreak havoc on the town on Christmas Eve.
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“The hosts”
Image credit: Dark Sky Pictures/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
The family is terrorized by their seemingly sweet neighbors when they invite them over for Christmas Eve.
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‘I caught the devil in a trap’
Image credit: IFC Midnight/Courtesy Everett Collection
A man and a woman suddenly visit his brother to celebrate Christmas, only to find him discovering and holding a prisoner he claims is the devil in his basement.
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‘It’s a beautiful knife’
Image credit: RLJE Films/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
In this dark take on the 1946 classic It’s a wonderful life, a woman finds herself wishing she’d never been born a year after saving her town from a psychotic killer on Christmas Eve. After being transported to a parallel universe, she discovers how many deaths she has prevented. But in order to return to reality, she must first identify the killer.
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“Killing Tree”
When a spell cast by a widow to resurrect her executed husband goes awry, he returns as a Christmas tree seeking revenge.
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‘Krampus’
Image credit: Universal Pictures/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
In this film based on the character of the same name from Austro-Bavarian folklore, the wrath of Krampus descends on a family whose quarrel has caused a young man to lose his holiday spirit.
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‘Hut’
In this psychological thriller, supernatural events surround a woman and her fiance’s two children when they get stuck in a country home during Christmas.
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‘The Mean One’
Image credit: Sleight of Hand Productions / Courtesy of the Everett Collection
In this horror retelling How the Grinch Stole Christmas!a woman tries to save her childhood town from a green figure who goes on a Christmas killing spree.
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“Merciful Christmas”
Image credit: Gravitas Ventures /Courtesy of Everett Collection
A man who thinks he’s met the perfect woman is forced to think again when he’s invited to her family’s cannibalistic Christmas feast.
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“The Nightmare Before Christmas”
Image credit: Everett
In Tim Burton’s musical fantasy, the pumpkin king of Halloween town, Jack Skellington, plans to take over the new holiday when he stumbles upon Christmas Town.
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‘P2’
Image credit: Tartan Films/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
In this psychological horror, a woman finds herself locked in an underground garage on Christmas Eve while trying to escape a security guard who is obsessed with her.
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“Red Christmas”
Image credit: Courtesy of Artsploitation Films
A widow struggles to protect her feuding family from a deranged killer bent on revenge as they gather at her remote estate on Christmas Eve.
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‘Red Snow’
Image credit: 4Digital Media/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
A struggling supernatural romance author comes into contact with a real-life vampire during the Christmas holidays and struggles to defend him and herself from a vampire hunter.
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‘The Sacrifice Game’
Image credit: Shudder/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
Two schoolgirls and their teacher come face-to-face with a murderous cult carrying out ritual murders in nearby towns when they stay at their girls’ boarding school for Christmas.
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‘Santa Stein’
When a man tries to raise jolly old Saint Nicholas from the dead after learning he accidentally killed him as a child, Santa returns as a bloodthirsty killer.
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“Secret Santa Claus”
Violent chaos ensues at a dysfunctional family’s holiday gathering when their Christmas punch is unwittingly laced with military-grade drugs.
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‘Toy sick’
A nice guy accepts a woman’s invitation to Christmas dinner, which he soon regrets as he ends the night fighting for his life.
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‘Silent Night’ (2012)
Image credit: Anchor Bay Films/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
Malcolm McDowell and Jaime King star in this remake of the 1984 film Silent night, deadly night, about a police force trying to catch a killer Claus who is conning citizens in their small Midwestern town on Christmas Eve.
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‘Silent Night’ (2021)
Image credit: RLJE Films/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
In this British black comedy starring Keira Knightley, a group of friends reunite for one last perfect Christmas gathering before the apocalypse wipes out humanity.
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‘Terrifier 3’
Image credit: Cineverse
In the third part Intimidator horror series, a teenage girl trying to rebuild her life after surviving the murderous villain Art the Clown is once again haunted by him and a new accomplice in the days leading up to Christmas.
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‘While she was out’
Kim Basinger stars in this thriller about a woman fighting to save her life while being pursued by a gang she witnessed committing a Christmas Eve murder.
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‘Wind Chill’
Image credit: TriStar Pictures/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
Emily Blunt and Ashton Holmes lead this supernatural horror about two college students who get stuck in the snow when a careless driver runs them off the road on their way home for vacation.
