10 Dark Christmas Horror Movies Ranked - The Least Jolly Movies of the Season

Welcome to Knockout Horror. It’s Christmas Day, well, it is when this list goes live, at least. And, while I doubt you are sat there perusing this site on the day, itself, I am sure, by this point, you are very sick of sickly sweet Christmas films. With that in mind, let’s switch things up with this list of 10 Dark Christmas Horror Movies Ranked.

With the exception of one, the movies on this list are, in some way or another, dark, disturbing, depressing or, simply, not very cheerful. Full disclosure, some of these titles aren’t great but they all act as a perfect foil to all of the season’s relentless cheerfulness.

If you just want something to throw on and forget that you are supposed to be hanging out with family and pretending like you are enjoying it. These movies are just the ticket. We have reviewed most of these films so click the links to check out our thoughts. Let’s go.

Hosts is a British horror movie by YouTubers Richard Oakes and Adam Leader. The pair documented the movie making progress for their channel which adds an added element of intrigue to this entry.

The story follows a family spending one last Christmas together after their mother was diagnosed with cancer. Inviting the neighbours to join them, the family get more than they bargained for when they find themselves in a fight for survival.

This one is disturbing, almost entirely, for one particularly mean spirited scene. With the family all gathered together for Christmas, the level of violence in this moment feels distinctly grinchy. Still, the movie is pretty awful so it is hard to recommend for this scene alone. We awarded Hosts 1.5/5 in our review.

Also known as Doll in the Dark, The Melancholy Fantastic is a movie that bears more than a passing resemblance to the brilliant May. Following the story of a young girl trying to cope with the loss of her mother by making a life sized doll for company. This movie sees our main character pushed to murder when the doll begins talking to her.

This is one of those movies that feels just a little bit confused. Marketed as fantasy horror; it feels like more of a character study and an exploration into the human condition that just so happens to take place during the holidays. One thing it definitely is, however, is dark. Melanie’s predicament is tragic and the portrayal of her loneliness, and grief, inspired mental decline is quite affecting. Not fantastic but certainly disturbing.

This isn’t the most overly disturbing and dark Christmas horror movie on this list. Especially during the first half but the reality of the story is, certainly, depressing. A group of friends gather together with their families to spend Christmas together. They share drinks, presents, and laughs; all while knowing that the stroke of midnight brings the end of their lives.

Apocalyptic horror movies are nothing new. Hell, apocalyptic horror movies set at Christmas are nothing new; Anna and the Apocalypse says hello. But the way director Camille Griffin approaches the subject lends an extra handful of darkness to the story.

Fronted by an all star cast including Keira Knightley and Matthew Goode. Silent Night ventures into discussions about group think and trust in governments. All while placing a young child as the voice of reason, and of fear, in this uneven but fairly interesting horror drama. We awarded Silent Night 2.5/5 in our review.

The Apology follows the story of recovering alcoholic Darlene (Anna Gunn). Darlene’s daughter disappeared twenty years ago and she has never forgiven herself due to her being drunk at the time. Continuing the search, Darlene is surprised, on Christmas eve, by the arrival of an, estranged, old flame bearing more than simply gifts.

The Apology explores the subjects of grief and guilt in a way that feels both raw and impactful. It also touches on sensitive topics that come along with the disappearance of a young girl including victim blaming and the betrayal of trust. It’s a truly dark Christmas horror movie with a very troubling story.

It also features some great performances and, while it isn’t the best movie on this list, it is still very much worth checking out. We awarded The Apology 3/5 in our review.

The next two movies are dark and disturbing for their visual content more than anything else. The Retaliators doesn’t exactly feature a cheerful, upbeat, story, though. As it follow a priest who ventures into the murky criminal underworld to avenge his murdered daughter.

The Retaliators is, sort of, a Christmas horror exploitation movie so you know what that means? Tons of gore, violent kills, and some genuinely disturbing visuals. Naturally, it isn’t anything you haven’t seen before, if you are a horror fan, but, if you are looking for disturbing and dark Christmas horror goodness, you will definitely find it here.

Terrifier 3 is the continuation of the increasingly popular exploits of Art The Clown (David Howard Thornton). It follows Art as he teams up with the “little pale girl”, now residing inside the body of the first movie’s protagonist Victoria, to hunt down Sienna. Ruthlessly murdering everyone in their path.

Terrifier 3 is another dark Christmas horror movie that is disturbing for its visual content more than anything else. For the most part, it is a straight up slasher but, director, Damien Leone was, clearly, on a mission to turn people’s stomachs with some of the scenes depicted here.

Not many movies, on this list, are willing to blow up a Santa’s village mall attraction full of children. Even fewer are willing to depict the aftermath in graphic detail. Terrifier 3 is stupidly violent and, in all honesty, quite disturbing. It doesn’t really live up to the hype but it is still watchable for those who enjoy a lot of gore. We awarded Terrifier 3 3/5 in our review.

A woman, Grace (Riley Keough), raised in a religious cult and suffering terrible PTSD and mental illness as a result. Is tasked with spending Christmas with her new boyfriend’s children. The only problem is that they recently lost their mother and they aren’t exactly fond of Grace. A fact that becomes all the more problematic when they are all snowed in together in a remote lodge while their father is away on business.

The Lodge is one of those movies that almost feels weighty thanks to its depressing story and themes. The dull cinematography and claustrophobic location are suffocating while the story ventures deep into themes of grief and mental illness. Taking the story to some very unexpected places and feeling particularly disturbing for its shocking climax. We awarded The Lodge 3/5 in our review.

The Advent Calendar is a disturbing and dark Christmas horror movie coming by way of France. It follows paraplegic woman Eve (Eugénie Derouand) as she is given an elaborate Advent Calendar, by a friend, in the run up to Christmas. The advent calendar promises to make her wildest dreams come true. The only catch is that, once she has opened the first door, she must open each and every door on the calendar, or else.

Eve’s life has fallen apart and she struggles in her day to day life. The allure of the advent calendar, and the promises it makes to her, prompt her to sink deeper and deeper into a dark spiral. This is, almost, an anti-Christmas film as its sombre, and melancholy, tone feels anything but jolly. It’s brilliant stuff, though. Well acted, impactful and actually quite scary in parts. We awarded The Advent Calendar 3.8/5 in our review.

Apparently, the French are extremely good at making dark Christmas horror movies as we have another entry at number two, Inside from 2007. Inside follows the heavily pregnant Sarah (Alysson Paradis) who is trying to put her life back together after a violent crash killed her husband four months prior. It’s Christmas eve and Sarah is all alone. That is until a crazed woman (Béatrice Dalle) breaks into her house, hell bent on causing her harm.

They don’t come much more disturbing than classic New French Extremity movie Inside. Again, this one tips a little more on the visual front when it comes to disturbing content but the themes contained within are incredibly dark, as well.

Inside explores the subject of grief and taps into the terrifying reality of fetal abduction. Turning into an absolute blood bath the further it goes on. This movie doesn’t cut any corners in its depiction of violence and is, without question, not for the faint of heart. We awarded Inside 3.8/5 in our review. Just stay away from the terrible US remake.

Rare Exports, coming by way of Finland, follows young boy Pietari (Onni Tommila) and his attempts to convince his friends and family that Santa isn’t actually jolly. He is, in fact, a ruthless killer who is hell bent on murdering children. The only problem is that nobody believes him. That is until something is dug up from the cold, frozen, ground and chaos is unleashed.

Rare Exports is a comedy horror but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t count as a dark Christmas horror movie. This is the pinnacle of anti-Christmas sentiment and is, at times, utterly bleak. Santa looks completely demented, his elves are terrifying, and Rare Exports has virtually nothing in the way of Christmas cheer. This is a movie that is perfect for anyone who is sick of the Christmas season. We awarded Rare Exports 4/5 in our review.

Thanks for Reading

That’s 10 Dark Christmas Horror Movies Ranked. If you are new here, you have missed a ton of Xmas content. We have been reviewing Christmas Horror movies in our Awful Advent category and putting together Christmas horror lists so be sure to take a look. Thanks for reading and happy holidays.