Happy Holidays! With the Christmas season upon us, I decided to write about a myriad of holiday horror flicks that I usually watch (or avoid) every year. In order, from my favorite to least favorite, here is a list of yuletide horror movies ranging from classics to holiday turkeys. (I did not include any of the Silent Night, Deadly Night movies as they are all thoroughly reviewed in a separate post. You can find the link below!)
Krampus (2015) A dysfunctional family celebrating the holiday together is menaced by a Christmas demon and its curse, which is accidentally summoned by the family’s youngest boy after he loses faith in the season. After an uneven first 20 minutes that essentially play like a mini-remake of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, the film kicks into high gear and delivers a crackerjack tale of monsters and survival as the family is bombarded by all manner of creatures, including a 15-foot-long jack-in-the-box with a mouth full of sharp teeth. Director and co-writer Michael Dougherty understands the mechanics of such a movie and keeps the pace moving briskly, while the cast is spirited and likable, including Toni Collette as the harried mom. B+
Black Christmas (2006) An energetic and gory remake of the classic original, with the pretty coeds of a large sorority house menaced by an escaped mental patient (Robert Mann) and his equally demented sister, both of whom enjoy plucking out the eyeballs of their victims. Fans of the 1974 film might not like director Glen (Final Destination) Morgan’s comic book handling of the material, and while the story structure is a mess, it’s still an immensely enjoyable splatter-fest. B+
Blood Beat (1983) An obscure supernatural slasher about a small family spending Christmas in rural Wisconsin, who find themselves in danger when the bloodthirsty spirit of a samurai warrior is accidentally summoned by a psychic friend. This takes too long to get moving and is plagued with unnecessary subplots (two characters are psychic!), but once the paranormal stuff kicks in, this is an enjoyable, nonsensical myriad of oddball aesthetics and dream-like structure. Writer/director Fabrice-Ange Zaphiratos admitted to being on drugs at the time he wrote the screenplay, which explains a lot. B
Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972) A surprisingly enjoyable low budget psycho-thriller about a maniac killing people in and around a country estate (which holds a dark past), and later calling would-be victims in hushed tones, pontificating about the crimes – a plot point later used in Dressed to Kill. Stiffly acted and at times a bit slow, this is nonetheless a good little flick with well-written characters and a dense atmosphere. The use of the killer’s POV predates Black Christmas, and a plot twist 30 minutes in is genuinely shocking. Look for Andy Warhol superstars Ondine and Candy Darling in a flashback. Definitely worthy of rediscovery! B
To All a Goodnight (1980) Taking its cues from both Halloween and Black Christmas, this low-grade slasher has a sorority house terrorized on Christmas break by a killer wearing a Santa outfit. Jennifer Runyon is the virginal, Laurie Strode-like character while everyone else is essentially just killer fodder. Suspense and surprises are replaced in favor of gore, with a couple of juicy splatter pieces supplied by ’80s FX wizard Mark Shostrom (A Nightmare on Elm Street 3). Not the greatest slasher around, but it’s charming and the spirited cast keeps things moving. This also gets points for predating Silent Night, Deadly Night by four years. B–
Silent Night (2012) A small town is terrorized by someone in a Santa costume killing those who’ve been naughty in this cheerfully bloody remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night. Although the script is filled with uninspired characters and mundane situations, the violence and action are packed in, with the particularly brutal death of a woman in a wood chipper (perhaps in a nod to Fargo?) a highlight. The dime-store atmospherics are obvious, but that shouldn’t prevent you from enjoying this harmless bit of entertainment, no matter how lapsed in logic it may be. Keep an eye out for Donal Logue as a perverted department store Santa. B–
Home for the Holidays (1972) Joseph (Psycho) Stefano-penned television chiller about four sisters who are summoned to their sick father’s estate at Christmastime, where claims that his new wife (Julie Harris) is slowly poisoning him. Not long after arriving, the women are stalked by someone in a rain slicker, carrying a pitchfork. Could it be the “evil” stepmother, or does someone else have an insidious agenda? A good cast, including Sally Field and Jessica Walter, help elevate this above its mediocre melodramatics, as does slick direction from John Llewellyn Moxey (The Night Stalker). C+
Deadly Games: Dial Code Santa Claus (1989) A young boy (Alain Musy) obsessed with Rambo-like action movies must protect his home and elderly grandfather (Louis Ducreux) when a maniac (Patrick Floersheim) dressed as Santa breaks into their house on Christmas Eve. This spirited French film predates Home Alone with its booby trap scenarios, and although it has several fun moments the overall effect is unfortunately bogged down in the film’s flashy visuals and kooky concept, muting a lot of its impact. C+
Don’t Open till Christmas (1984) Someone in a mask is slaughtering Santas on the streets of London in this dopey yuletide slasher. Not nearly as entertaining as the same producer’s Pieces, this is riddled with stupid characters – with perhaps the first protagonist couple who are both panhandlers! – and unbelievable situations, but its overtly sleazy atmosphere mixed with a cheery Christmas vibe creates an undeniably unique slasher flick experience, even if it’s a dumb one. As with most Euro-slashers, this lacks the charm and zest of its American counterparts. C
Christmas Evil (1980) Those expecting a fun splatter flick in the vein of Silent Night, Deadly Night will be disappointed in this existential melodrama about a mentally scarred factory worker (Brandon Maggart) who snaps at Christmastime and goes on a killing spree. Not nearly as entertaining as it sounds, this is too dull and dry to be of any interest, with flat, unexciting direction from Lewis Jackson and a hammy performance by Maggart. C–
Better Watch Out (2017) A babysitter (Olivia DeJonge) is tied up and terrorized by her infatuated charge (Levi Miller) and his friend on Christmas Eve in this juvenile, run-of-the-mill potboiler. Riddled with cliches and extremely predictable twists, it’s all photographed in over-saturated colors and high-gloss lighting, making it feel more like a very long commercial for Abercrombie and Fitch than an actual movie. The cast is annoying (especially Miller, who’s awful) and the screenplay a joke. Zero scares, zero suspense, zero interest. Better watch at your own risk. D
Black Christmas (2019) A new remake that feels tired, this ultra-modern take is so far removed from the classic Bob Clark film it’s a wonder why the filmmakers even bothered with the Black Christmas name. The plot (a sorority is targeted by a cloaked killer during the Christmas break) is rendered pointless by the halfway point because of the overbearingly pretentious excesses the screenplay piles on; it’s more concerned with aggressively annoying characters than story. It’s the kind of hollow script (by Sophia Takal and April Wolfe) that thinks feminism is female characters using the word “bitch,” when it’s nothing more than fake sentiment created merely to seem hip. A bloodless, lifeless Christmas turkey, this gives new meaning to the term lowest common denominator. It’s also an example of the classic saying: if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. F
ALSO – If you haven’t yet please check out my in-depth review of the Silent Night, Deadly Night and also Versus: Black Christmas!