When it comes to holiday horror movies, it’s safe to say that Christmas has by far emerged as the most prolific. That’s only increased exponentially since the turn of the 21st century, ensuring a glut of holiday horror offerings this time of year.
While Christmas horror has become as rampant as shark flicks, quantity doesn’t always equate to quality. As with any crowded subgenre, there are more cinematic lumps of coal than not in the holiday horror sphere, but that doesn’t mean that the 21st century hasn’t delivered a few noteworthy entries worthy of quintessential holiday viewing status. But what makes a worthy Christmas horror movie?
The ideal Christmas horror movie captures the essence of the holiday through theming, both in imagery and spirit. In other words, the film should be saturated in holiday iconography (with few exceptions, of course), with the holiday having a direct impact on the film’s events. It should also be horror, which means that crowd-pleasing genre adjacent thrillers like Violent Night don’t count, even if bloody enough for a horror fan.
With that in mind, we’ve selected the six best Christmas horror movies of the 21st century so far…
Inside (2007)
Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury’s debut begins with a tragedy, plunging its pregnant lead character into a depression and kickstarting an intense, visceral bid for survival over Christmas. It’s a ruthless entry in home invasion horror that doles out punishment and pain, a peak of New French Extremity. Béatrice Dalle’s La Femme makes for a bone-chilling villainess that ensures there’s no shortage of Christmas reds splattered all over the home. The excess of bloodshed is about the only prominent reference to the holidays in this grim holiday shocker, but you’ll be too busy holding your breath from the relentless tension to notice. There’s also a strong argument to be made that few films capture the melancholy the holidays can evoke like this movie, as it centers on a woman too grief-stricken to celebrate, leaving her vulnerable to attack while the neighborhood is quiet.
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)
A holiday horror story from Sisu director Jalmari Helander that hearkens back to Santa’s darker roots, this Finnish fantasy horror follows Pietari, a boy whose belief in Santa is the very thing that will save everyone when an archaeological dig unearths the real thing. Too bad the real thing is the stuff of nightmares. Filthy elves galore, reindeer, gingerbread, and one monstrous version of Santa bring the yuletide fun and chaos. Rare Exports puts precedence on the elves when it comes to Santa’s reign of terror; the mythical patron of Christmas is relegated to looming threat while his naked helpers do the dirty work of rounding up naughty children.
Krampus (2015)
When Max’s (Emjay Anthony) dysfunctional family won’t stop fighting, and nothing goes as planned, he turns his back on Christmas and accidentally summons Krampus. All hell breaks loose as Krampus and his horde of minions punish Max and his family in Michael Dougherty‘s fan favorite holiday horror movie. Arguably the definitive holiday horror movie of the century so far by pure Christmas theming alone; every single plot point, creature, and detail is in service of the holiday here. It’s both naughty and nice, in terms of festive horror spirit and warm cozy feels.
Better Watch Out (2016)
Chris Peckover’s home invasion horror movie breaks all the rules, so it feels only fair to watch this Christmas-set tale during the summer. Better Watch Out follows 12-year-old Luke Lerner (Levi Miller) as he’s left alone for the night with babysitter Ashley (Olivia DeJonge) while his parents attend a holiday party. Harboring a longtime crush, Luke is hoping to seduce Ashley. Their quiet night of pizza and horror movie watching is interrupted first by Luke’s best friend Garrett (Ed Oxenbould) and then by a masked intruder who means harm. Full of biting, pitch-black humor, expect this one to get mean.
Anna and the Apocalypse (2018)
There’s no such thing as a holiday ending in this coming-of-age zombie musical, which means that there are some devastating losses for the high school teens who find themselves dealing with an apocalypse over Christmas. But it’s hard not to feel too down with such upbeat, earworm songs and choreography that embrace the holiday spirit in a massive way. Director John McPhail packs this winsome horror musical full of Christmas iconography before splattering the snow red with zombie carnage.
Terrifier 3 (2024)
Photo Credit: Jesse Korman; Courtesy of Dark Age Cinema
In Damien Leone‘s sequel, Sienna and her brother attempt to embrace the Christmas season and put their trauma behind them. That’s precisely when Art the Clown pops back up to spread holiday fear. Terrifier 3 decks the halls when it comes to holiday theming, with Art gleefully trying his hand at playing Santa in the way only this horror icon could manage. Also true to Christmas, it’s a sequel that really leans into the bible when it comes to its lore and iconography, too. That it became such a box office smash hit and is Certified Fresh on both the Tomatometer and Popcornmeter solidifies this carnage-fueled movie as one of this century’s most significant holiday horror releases.
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