Welcome to the home of holiday horror. Originally born from our “Awful Advent” challenge, this section has grown into a stocking stuffed full of festive nightmares. Here you will find everything from rankings of the bleakest winter chillers and deep dives into controversial Christmas slashers, to reviews of the latest holiday horror releases. Whether you are looking for a cozy creature feature or a movie that will ruin your Christmas spirit, you’ll find it wrapped up here.
Tired of forced festive cheer? Lock the doors and embrace the gloom. We rank 14 of the bleakest, most disturbing Dark Christmas Horror Movies ever made. From Inside to Terrifier 3, this is the ultimate watch list for the holiday scrooge.
Sick of the same old festive frights? I scraped the bottom of the streaming barrel to find 12 obscure, so-bad-they’re-good Christmas horror movies you’ve probably never heard of. Featuring budget-less slashers, luchador ghosts, and questionable acting, this is the ultimate countdown of festive trash.
Mike P. Nelson brings us a modern reimagining of the controversial 80s classic Silent Night, Deadly Night. With a drastically different plot and a polished look, can it capture the grimy magic of the original? We review this slick but ultimately generic festive slasher.
Christmas Evil is often mistaken for a cheap festive slasher, but this 1980 classic offers a visually stunning psychological study of a man’s mental collapse. We revisit this unique holiday horror to see if it stands the test of time.
Forget the mulled wine and mince pies; we are serving up buckets of blood today. If you are sick of the saccharine sweetness of the season and want something a little sharper, you’ve come to the right place. We have expanded our list to bring you the 14 absolute goriest Christmas horror movies ever made. From French Extremity nightmares to cannibalistic family feasts, these films are guaranteed to ruin your festive spirit. Let’s take a look.
“The narrative surrounding the failure of Blumhouse’s Black Christmas (2019) has always been focused on review bombing and trolls. But hiding behind that excuse ignores a much uglier truth: it was a bad movie that spat on the legacy of the original. Let’s dig into why this remake failed to capture the magic of 1974.”
Yule Be Screaming! We have updated our ultimate festive guide to include 25 Christmas Horror Movies Ranked. From absolute lumps of coal like the 2019 Black Christmas remake to festive masterpieces like Gremlins and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Find out which holiday horrors deserve a spot on your Nice list this year.
Ho-Ho-Homicide! We’ve updated our ultimate festive guide to include 20 Christmas Slasher Movies Ranked. From the coal-worthy disasters like Jack Frost to genre-defining classics like Black Christmas and modern gore-fests like Terrifier 3. Find out which killer Santa movies belong on your Nice list this year.
Bryan Bertino returns with Vicious (2025), a horror film that pairs Dakota Fanning with a mysterious gift box. While the atmosphere is suffocating and the visuals are stunning, is there actually a story here? We review this visually gorgeous but narratively hollow thriller that feels like a short film stretched to its breaking point.
Tired of all the sickly sweet Christmas movies? We’ve got the perfect antidote. Get ready for Knockout Horror’s 31 Days of Christmas Horror, the ultimate festive fright movie marathon! We’re serving up a daily dose of terror, from killer Santas to haunted advent calendars, right up to New Year’s Eve.
We review Gregory Jacobs’ Wind Chill (2007). Starring Emily Blunt, this road-trip ghost story trapped in a snowstorm offers plenty of claustrophobic tension and wintry dread. Is it a hidden Christmas horror gem or just a messy trudge with unlikable characters? Find out in our full review.
We review Tommy Wirkola’s Violent Night (2022). David Harbour stars as a hammer-wielding Santa Claus taking on mercenaries, but is it the ultimate R-rated Christmas action-thriller or does a weirdly sentimental script ruin the festive fun? Find out in our full review.