The Naughty List: The 11 Best Christmas Horror Movies

There are going to be several “scary Santa” movies on this list. As well there should be; anyone who “knows when you’re sleeping” should be a registered offender on some sort of list! But Tales from the Crypt (1972) got there first, pitting Joan Collins against a homicidal maniac in a Santa suit just after she murders her husband for the insurance money. It’s a classic EC Comics scenario, reinforcing the moral code with a sadistic game of hide-and-seek that’s the highlight of this five-part anthology film. HBO’s Tales from the Crypt late-’80s/early-’90s series did their own take on the story with an episode directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Larry Drake (Benny from L.A. Law) as psycho Santa.

Black Christmas has never gotten the recognition it deserved as a pioneering slasher film. But it gets plenty of press for being directed by Bob Clark, who made the family-friendly A Christmas Story and the family-unfriendly Porky’s around a decade later. Getting their tongues stuck to a flagpole is the least of their worries at the Pi Kappa Sigma sorority house, whose members are plagued by a series of obscene phone calls. While some girls vanish for Christmas break, others vanish without a trace, causing panic in the small Canadian town unprepared for the night Billy came home! The 2006 version delivers a supersaturated remake that is worth a look, but you can’t beat the potty-mouthed authenticity of the original.

Christmas Evil (1980) relates the disturbing psychological profile of Harry, a Santa obsessed toy factory worker whose deep-seated issues surrounding St. Nick push him over the edge. Harry drives around town in his increasingly grimy Santa get-up delivering toys to needy kids and vicious retribution to anyone who wronged him. Shot with a tobacco-stained haze that leaves a ring around your screen, Christmas Evil is anti-Hollywood, anti-consumerism, anti-everything. And it will hang around in your brain until December 25th rolls around again.

While its Spielbergian tendencies win out in the end, Gremlins (1984) is still an occasionally nasty piece of work, unleashing an exponentially disastrous horde of monsters on the picturesque town of Kingston Falls. Director Joe Dante (The Howling) masterfully balances the scares and the slapstick while squeezing in one of the most grotesque anti-Christmas soliloquies ever put to film by one of the most beautiful actresses of the ‘80s, Phoebe Cates. Gremlins is packed to the rafters with holiday cheer, which it gleefully shreds into bloody confetti.

Utah-lensed slasher would likely have drifted into obscurity if not for the huge media outcry which turned it into a rite of passage for horror-curious pre-teens. When his parents are carjacked and killed by a stick-up man in a Santa suit, little Billy and his brother are sent to an orphanage where Mother Superior’s tough-love approach drastically backfires. Intent on punishing the naughty (which includes a predictably horny Linnea Quigley), Billy hacks his way through town in a rented Santa suit accompanied by a soundtrack of sketchy Christmas carol knock-offs. It’s full of all the expected blood and boobs. But its tendency to put children in compromising situations comes off as a bit too Scrooge-like for its own good. The 2025 remake coming from Cineverse—home of the Terrifier movies – might just give the franchise a brand new bag!

Lots of snow does not a Christmas horror movie make—otherwise, The Shining and The Thing would make this list. But hear me out: Cold Prey (2006) and its sequel, Cold Prey 2 (2008), make for such a cozy, fireside slasher experience that it’s hard not to hype them when the opportunity arises. Shot in Norway by Roar Uthaug (who went to produce the country’s Netflix hit, Troll), this endless-night double-feature begins with a group of friends breaking into an abandoned ski resort, only to be picked off by a pick-wielding mountain man. The sequel pulls a Halloween 2 and follows the lone survivor back to a hospital ward where the plot revs up again. There’s no specific mention of Christmas, but if being snowed in with nothing but a warm blanket and ad-free streaming is on your wish list this year, stick these in your stocking.

A Finnish horror fable that explores the dark side of Santa, Rare Exports kicks off with an excavation team searching for St. Nick’s burial ground. Little Pietari does some digging of his own, uncovering a historical record that proves the big guy was a stickler for the rules, and his arrival is something to be feared rather than welcomed. Once Santa and his elves are unleashed, the film becomes an unpredictable mashup of action, fantasy and conspiracy thriller. Co-starring Sisu himself, Jorma Tommila, the best description for Rare Exports is everyone’s favorite multiple choice answer: all of the above.

Board up the windows, pass the ammo and hide a bear trap in the chimney, ‘cuz Krampus (2015) is coming to town! Santa’s evil doppelgänger is the villain in director Michael Dougherty’s ode to ‘80s nostalgia that riffs on Gremlins, Small Soldiers, Tremors and even Home Alone. After little Max Engel questions the real meaning of Christmas, his family is trapped in a supernatural snow globe of demonic toys, killer elves and pissed-off gingerbread men. Stretching the PG-13 rating to the limit, Krampus is an impressive mix of practical effects with a Willy Wonka-style body count. And, as he did with Trick ‘r Treat, Dougherty really knows how to milk a holiday for all it’s worth.

Sometimes Christmas is just the background player in a movie that emphasizes the season to perfect effect. That’s the case with I Am Not a Serial Killer (2016), a criminally underseen supernatural thriller set during one long Minnesota winter. John (Max Records) is an emotionally unbalanced teen whose elderly next-door neighbor (Christopher Lloyd) might just be a cannibalistic predator. With a ‘70s visual aesthetic, understated performances and authentic Midwestern fashion sense, director Billy O’Brien’s movie doesn’t feel like anything else out there. Part coming-of-age, part true crime, part X-Files, there’s a definite chill in the air by the time the credits roll.

Unraveling a bit like a Blumhouse paint-by-numbers, The Advent Calendar (2021) separates itself with a strong performance from its star Eugenie Derouand who plays a paraplegic on the receiving end of a cursed advent calendar that promises the use of her legs in exchange for a few, uh, sacrifices. The Hellraiser-inspired contraption isn’t all that unique. Neither is the S&M demon who makes sure everyone plays by the rules. But the idea itself is a banger and with 24 days to fill, the film finds endlessly inventive ways to send victims to their demise.