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.
We review Camille Griffin’s Silent Night (2021). Starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Goode, this British apocalypse horror-comedy sees a group of posh friends gather for one last Christmas before the world ends. Is it a sharp, timely satire or just a tonally confused trudge with unlikable characters? Find out in our full review.
We are taking a look at the weird and the wonderful today, but with a festive twist, as we rank 10 Fantastically Unique Christmas Horror Movies.
We review Tyler MacIntyre’s It’s a Wonderful Knife (2023). This Shudder Original reimagines the holiday classic as a slasher movie. Is it a clever, bloody subversion of George Bailey’s story or just a toothless, saccharine trudge through festive tropes? Find out in our full review.
Are you looking for Christmas horror movies to watch with your family? We think these five may just fit the bill but a few, perhaps, are only for older kids.
We review Magnus Martens’ There’s Something in the Barn (2023). This Norwegian Christmas horror sees an American family battle a murderous barn elf, but is it a new festive tradition like Rare Exports or just a tonally confused Gremlins-lite trudge? Find out in our full review.
We review René Manzor’s Deadly Games (1989). This French cult classic sees a child prodigy defending his home from a killer Santa using a series of traps. Is it really the horror blueprint for Home Alone, or just a stylish holiday trudge through 80s tropes? Find out in our full review.
Looking for festive frights? Look elsewhere. We’ve scraped the bottom of Santa’s sack to rank 10 truly awful Christmas horror movies that ruin the holidays. From the preachy Black Christmas remake to the boring Jack Frost, save yourself the trouble and read this instead.
We review Joe Begos’ Christmas Bloody Christmas (2022). This Shudder original slasher features a robotic Santa gone rogue, but is it a neon-soaked holiday classic or just a loud, obnoxious, and painfully improvised trudge with unlikable characters? Find out in our full review.
We review John McPhail’s Anna and the Apocalypse (2017). This unique festive mashup combines a zombie outbreak with high school musical numbers, but is it a catchy new Christmas tradition or just a tonally confused trudge through undead tropes? Find out in our full review.
We review Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3 (2024). Art the Clown is back for a blood-soaked Christmas, but is this festive slasher a new holiday masterpiece or just a bloated, tonally confused trudge that tries too hard to offend? Find out in our full review.
We review Steven LaMorte’s The Mean One (2022). Starring David Howard Thornton (Terrifier’s Art the Clown) as a murderous version of the Grinch, but is this festive parody a new cult classic or just a cheap, shaky, and boring trudge through holiday tropes? Find out in our full review.
We review Adam Marcus’ Secret Santa (2018). This Christmas-themed horror-comedy from the director of Jason Goes to Hell tries to be edgy and offensive, but is it a new holiday cult classic or just a mean-spirited, dated trudge through unlikable characters and bad CGI? Find out in our full review.