Christmas Horror Movies are their own little niche. Which horror movies should you watch for Christmas? We’ve selected some of our favorites – and not just the usual classics. Maybe you can find inspiration for Scary Christmas movies on the list below.
Christmas Horror movies are brilliant. Or they can be. Our list of horror movies for Christmas offers slightly different titles than the usual classics such as Black Christmas and Silent Night, Deadly Night. Many also watch Gremlins (1984) at Christmas time – I know, I do – and it could easily have made this list as well.
However, like some wonderful little Christmas miracle, we’ve tried to come up with suggestions for some lesser-known Christmas horror movies.
Here’s our list of alternative horror movies for Christmas
Whether you like a little fun in your Christmas horror movie or just pure dread, there should be something for you on the list. Enjoy… and Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals!
BETTER WATCH OUT (2017)
On a quiet suburban street tucked within a ‘safe neighborhood’, a babysitter must defend a twelve-year-old boy from strangers breaking into the house, only to discover that this is far from a normal home invasion.
Better Watch Out is kind of like Home Alone – and very much inspired by that movie. Only with deadly consequences!
THE TOWER (2012)
Tower Sky, a luxurious building complex, has organised a lavish Christmas party for its VIP guests. However, things go awry when a fire breaks out and thousands of lives are endangered.
The Tower is a cross between Die Hard and The Towering Inferno – if you don’t like heights, this is truly scary stuff!
RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS TALE (2010)
Young Pietari lives with his reindeer-herding father in arctic Finland. On the eve of Christmas, a nearby excavation makes a frightening discovery and an evil Santa Claus is unleashed…
Rare Exports is a Christmas horror movie for the entire family. Made by the director of the 2023 genre treat Sisu, which has nothing to do with Christmas, but you should still check it out as well.
DEAD END (2003)
Christmas Eve. On his way to his in-laws with his family, Frank Harrington decides to try a shortcut, for the first time in 20 years. It turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life.
Dead End is a small gem of a horror movie with Lin Shaye and Ray Wise, and it has plenty of creepiness.
INSIDE (2007)
Four months after the death of her husband, a woman on the brink of motherhood is tormented in her home by a strange woman who wants her unborn baby.
Inside is French horror (org. title: À l’intérieur) at its most brutal. Also, it’s on this list because it plays out on Christmas Eve. Written and directed by the French horror duo consisting of Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury.
If you’re pregnant, you should probably skip this movie!
SILENT NIGHT (2021)
Nell, Simon, and their boy Art are ready to welcome friends and family for what promises to be a perfect Christmas gathering. Perfect except for one thing: everyone is going to die.
Silent Night (2021) is not the typical horror movie, but rather a psychological, apocalyptic Christmas drama. Basically, it’s all about having one final Christmas Eve before the entire population of the planet dies. Yeah, it is not cheerful!
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