In this third and final article of a three-part series of the Best Christmas films, we’re going to look at the Best Recent Christmas Horror films from 2020 – 2023. Holiday horror has become increasingly popular over the last few decades with slashing Santas, evil variations of Christmas mythology and even yuletide zombies. And over the last few years, there’s been a few surprisingly great films for horror fans’ holiday viewing.
This final article will cover the Best Recent Christmas Horror Films from the last four years, and you can check out the other articles from this Christmas film special edition below:
- Best Raunchy Christmas Films
- Best Alternate Life Christmas Films
- Best Recent Christmas Horror Films
What are the best Christmas Horror films from the last few years? Read on as we look at the best recent holiday horror featuring a Terminator-like serial killing Santa, a comedic slasher take on It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) and an Advent calendar that grants wishes…with evil outcomes. This is our thirty-first “Best Of” subgenre list where we will rank the 10 Best Recent Horror Films set during the Christmas holiday season.
For our rankings we’re going to use some criteria to help define and refine our list. First, we’re only going to consider films set during Christmas. It doesn’t necessarily need to be about Christmas but should be set during the holiday season.
Second, due to Covid-19 and its effect on films released from 2019 – 2022, there aren’t many films to choose from compared to previous time periods. Though there aren’t many films from this period we would consider horror holiday classics, there are a few films that will make for an enjoyable Christmas weekend of horror and should make it into your annual holiday watch rotation in the future.
Third, we’re only going to consider films from 2020 – 2023. We want this list to be focused on recent horror films, so if you’re looking for all the best horror films set during Christmas, you can check out our Ultimate List of Christmas Horror Films which features all the best Christmas horror from the last 40+ years.
And fourth, we had to follow our rule for all of KBZ’s film listings where we only list films that have a 4.0/10 or higher rating and were released after 1970.
Our complete list of Christmas Movies features over 512+ films from 1946 – 2023. This collection features almost every film from every genre set during Christmas and other end of the year holidays. Also, as we’re always updating our collections and will be releasing additional articles of great Christmas films, subscribe to our newsletter for our latest updates as we post them.
We have embedded a compilation video of the Best Recent Christmas Horror and more details on these films can be found in the list below. Note: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Best Recent Christmas Horror
Honorable Mentions: 13 Slays Till X-Mas (2020), Red Snow (2021), Adult Swim Yule Log (2022), The Apology (2022) and Night of the Missing (2023).
Only for Christmas Horror completists: Weredeer (2022), The Killing Tree (2022), The Mean One (2022) and Scare Package II: Rad Chad’s Revenge (2022).
Not reviewed for this list: Nightmare on 34th Street (2023) and Santa Isn’t Real (2023).
#10
The Leech
Plot: A devout priest welcomes a struggling couple into his house at Christmas time. What begins as a simple act of kindness quickly becomes the ultimate test of faith once the sanctity of his home is jeopardized.
KBZ’s Take: The Leech is a home invasion horror comedy film with very dark undertones. Though the film starts off a bit lighthearted as Terry (Jeremy Gardner) and Lexi (Taylor Zaudtke) test the patience of Father David (Graham Skipper), it slowly builds to an explosive third act that makes the film worth watching.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: Faith keeps her daughter on a regimen of experimental drugs to fend off a mysterious, terrifying affliction. When two burglars try to rob their home on Christmas, they stumble upon their long-kept family secret – with monstrous consequences.
KBZ’s Take: We are huge fans of director Damien LeVeck’s first film, The Cleansing Hour (2019), as it was a surprisingly great debut centered around social media and demonic possession. We enjoyed the film so much that it made our list of The Top Films About Exorcisms & Possessions You Haven’t Seen.
Unfortunately, A Creature Was Stirring doesn’t quite reach the levels of LeVeck’s previous effort as the narrative is a bit confusing with much more subdued scares. However, it is a film worth checking out for the film’s practical effects with its monster and a twist ending even we didn’t see coming.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: An upstanding pastor uncovers a dark and twisted underworld as he searches for answers surrounding his daughter’s brutal murder.
KBZ’s Take: This film has just as many fans as detractors with people debating if the film should be considered a Zombie film or not. We won’t get into that specific debate as we enjoyed the film for what it was – a very dark and twisted revenge tale set during the Christmas holiday with some gory and shocking sequences. This is one of the bloodier films on our list so consider yourself warned…
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: In the 1970s, boarding school students Samantha and Clara stay behind during Christmas break. Things take a deadly turn when a murderous gang arrives at their doorstep, intent on summoning a demon.
KBZ’s Take: Oh, what could have been. While watching The Sacrifice Game, we were sure this film was going to make the top of this list – until the third act. Unfortunately, the film runs out of steam and its third act is quite the letdown from a horrific and suspenseful lead up throughout the first two acts.
What the film does best is capture that magic essence of 70’s horror with a blend of home invasion, the occult and demonic possession. It’s a film we fully recommend just to see how the film is able to emulate that period of horror from decades ago. And while it’s still a worthy entry in Christmas Horror canon, its third act holds it back from being a horror holiday classic.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: Winnie’s life is less than wonderful one year after saving her town from a psychotic killer on Christmas Eve. When she wishes she was never born, she finds herself magically transported to a nightmarish parallel universe. With the murderous maniac now back, she must team up with a misfit to identify the culprit and get back to her own reality.
KBZ’s Take: Another film on our list with mixed reviews and equal amounts of praise and hate. While we don’t think the film is a Christmas Horror classic by any means, it’s still a worthy recent release that horror fans should check out.
The film is a riff on It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) with slasher elements and an interesting whodunit aspect. It’s not a hardcore slasher film either with some tamer kills and gore.
We would liken the film to another recent slasher film with a time travel concept in Totally Killer (2023). If you enjoyed that film, there’s a good chance you’ll also enjoy It’s a Wonderful Knife.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#5
Silent Night
Plot: Nell, Simon, and their boy Art are ready to welcome friends and family for what promises to be a perfect Christmas gathering. Perfect except for one thing: everyone is going to die.
KBZ’s Take: Probably the most depressing film on our list, Silent Night doesn’t offer Slasher-type Santa kills but slowly builds into an existential crisis within the family. To talk more about the plot will ruin it but we can say that though the film starts off with a more satirical comedic tone, it soon turns to horror elements that will have you questioning not only the existence of family but of life itself.
Additional Lists: The Ultimate List of Christmas Horror Films #7
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: When a team of mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage, the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint.
KBZ’s Take: Violent Night isn’t technically a horror film. We would classify it as an Action Comedy, Dark Fantasy and Home Invasion film. But because of the home invasion aspect of the film and that this film is far and away better than other recent ‘true’ Christmas horror films that didn’t make our list, we felt it best to include it.
If you still haven’t seen this film, we think it’s one of the best recent Christmas films overall and highly recommended. Just don’t expect your typical holiday horror with this film as the horror often takes a backseat to the comedy and action.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: Bill moves his American wife Carol and children Nora and Lucas to Norway where he’s inherited a family estate. There, Lucas discovers a mischievous barn elf from ancient folklore living in the barn who elf plots to get rid of the American intruders.
KBZ’s Take: There’s Something in the Barn is a film very reminiscent of another Christmas horror classic – Gremlins (1984). While it’s nowhere near as good as that film, it does feature similar elements of home invasion by mythical creatures with some very fun horror comedy.
Like Gremlins, there is also some gore and violence in the film that isn’t suitable for younger children (even though most of it is on par with the PG-rated Gremlins while this film is rated R). And while Martin Starr (as Bill) shows he can lead a film, it’s Calle Hellevang-Larsen (as Tor Age) who steals every scene he’s in as the friendly, yet often inebriated, Norwegian.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: It’s Christmas Eve and Tori just wants to get drunk and party, but when a robotic Santa Claus at a nearby toy store goes haywire and begins a rampant killing spree through her small town, she’s forced into a battle for survival.
KBZ’s Take: There was quite a bit of anticipation and hype surrounding this film before its release in 2022. Many people were expecting a return to the early 80’s era of Christmas horror classics like Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) updated with modern themes of AI and Robotics. Unfortunately, as reviews indicate, the film didn’t live up to the lofty expectations of many horror fans, but we’re in the minority as we thought it was one of the best recent Christmas Horror films.
Yes, the film does crimp from The Terminator (1984) quite a bit. And yes, the film has a lengthy, dialogue-filled opening act before getting to the action. But, to us, those are two of the best aspects of the film. The dialogue between Tori (Riley Dandy) and Robbie (Sam Delich) is some of the best for a genre film like this. It’s funny, genuine and helps develop the characters more than in your typical Slasher film.
And as for the Terminator aspects of the film, what’s not to like about an indestructible robotic Santa on its Christmas night killing spree? There are some unique kills, enough gore to satisfy the gore-hounds and an action-packed and suspenseful ending. That to us makes it a perfect Christmas Horror film and one that in time, will be considered one of the best of the decade.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: Eva, an ex-dancer, is now living in a wheelchair, unable to walk. When her friend Sophie gives her an old wooden antique advent calendar before Christmas, she realizes each window contains a surprise that triggers repercussions in real life: some of them good, but most of them bad… Now Eva will have to choose between getting rid of the calendar or walking again… even if it causes death around her.
KBZ’s Take: The Advent Calendar was initially #13 on our Ultimate List of Christmas Horror films. We even had a film from this list, Silent Night (2021), ranked higher than it. But, after rewatching and re-evaluating the film, we appreciate the film much more and think it’s the best recent Christmas Horror film that you definitely should not miss.
The main draw of the film is the Advent Calendar itself. Upon your initial watch, you’ll likely stay focused on what evil or malicious acts will occur as each area of the calendar ‘box’ is opened. These are done quite well and are the main focus of the film.
And while the ‘how much pain would you cause others to better yourself’ theme of the film is very apparent from the first act, what’s less obvious is who the box is targeting and why. That’s an initial aspect of the film we missed the deeper meaning of on a first view and one that added quite a bit of depth to the film.
This isn’t your typical Christmas horror ‘hack and slash’ film as it’s more thought provoking and will have you questioning your own morals after watching the film. It’s a film that will stay with you long after viewing and one that we’re pretty confident will eventually be considered a Christmas Horror classic.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
