Plot: Thomas, a very intelligent and resourceful child, is left alone with his beloved and fragile granddad on Christmas Eve, when a psychopath dressed as Santa Claus breaks into their mansion and starts chasing them. Thomas will do whatever he can to save himself and his granddad, leaving much of his childhood innocence behind.

Scene: Santa finds Thomas

KBZ’s Take: Game On (or Deadly Games) has often been described as a horror version of Home Alone (1990) set during Christmas. That is an apt description of the film but doesn’t capture some of the creepier elements such as when Thomas sees ‘Santa’ for the first time and the violence that follows.

Where to Stream / Buy: Philo

Plot: On a quiet suburban street tucked within a safe neighborhood, a babysitter must defend a twelve-year-old boy from strangers breaking into the house, only to discover that this is far from a normal home invasion.

Scene: The Home Invasion

KBZ’s Take: This was #1 on our Ultimate List of Christmas Horror Films, and is also one of the best Home Invasion horror films. It takes many Christmas film AND home invasion film tropes and completely up ends them throughout the film. The film also starts as a Black Comedy before quickly switching gears into a much darker film.

It’s a film where the less said about the plot the better, and it’s best viewed without knowing anything about it. If your significant other or family members are in the mood for some Christmas scares this upcoming holiday, you can’t go wrong with this film.

Additional Lists: The Ultimate List of Christmas Horror Films #1, Top Christmas & Holiday Movies You’ve Never Seen #3, Top Home Invasion Films You Haven’t Seen #4

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: It’s the eve of Christmas in northern Finland and an archaeological dig has just unearthed the real Santa Claus. But this particular Santa isn’t the one you want coming to town. When all the local children begin mysteriously disappearing, young Pietari and his father Rauno, a reindeer hunter by trade, capture the mythological being and attempt to sell Santa to the misguided leader of the multinational corporation sponsoring the dig. Santa’s elves, however, will stop at nothing to free their fearless leader from captivity.

Scene: Pietari Encounters “Santa”

KBZ’s Take: Saint (2010) and Rare Exports are often mentioned as foreign holiday horror films that fans of the subgenre must see. We like both films equally but have given the edge to Rare Exports for this list with a very creepy scene involving Pietari’s first encounter with “Santa”.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Christmas Eve. On his way to his in-laws with his family, Frank Harrington decides to try a shortcut, for the first time in 20 years. It turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life.

Scene: The Dead Baby

KBZ’s Take: Though this film is more of a mystery film that feels like a Twilight Zone episode, when the Horror elements appear, they’re that much more impactful. What makes it one of the better Christmas Horror films is it’s setting and atmosphere. We’ve all been on the family Christmas drive before, so the slow developing mistrust and fear between the family members resonates more than it normally would.

Additional Lists: The Ultimate List of Christmas Horror Films #10

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus: a demonic force of ancient evil intent on punishing non-believers.

Scene: The Wind-up Box

KBZ’s Take: This is one of the mainstream films on our list that has likely been seen by horror fans. For those who have not seen it yet, it’s one of the better Christmas Horror films that gets more chaotic as its plot develops. It also has a humorous side once a gingerbread cookie and other children’s toys come to life.

Though it’s not for younger children, older family members will likely enjoy watching it together as it’s one of the tamer horror films on our list.

Additional Lists: The Ultimate List of Christmas Horror Films #6

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: After surviving Art the Clown’s Halloween massacre, Sienna and her brother struggle to rebuild their shattered lives. As the holiday season approaches, they try to embrace the Christmas spirit and leave the horrors of the past behind. However, just when they think they’re safe, Art returns, determined to turn their holiday cheer into a new nightmare.

Scene: Sienna Sees Art in the Mall

KBZ’s Take: Terrifier 3 arrived on the scene and became one of the highest grossing films of the 2024 (especially against its production budget). Even if you’re not a fan of the splatter and gore that are trademarks of Art the Clown and the Terrifier franchise, there is one scene set in a mall that’s one of the creepiest scenes of the entire subgenre and worth seeing for.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Two college students share a ride home for the holidays. When they break down on a deserted stretch of road, they’re preyed upon by the ghosts of people who have died there.

Scene: The Ghosts

KBZ’s Take: Wind Chill is a very underrated and underseen horror film that’s perfect for the Christmas holiday. This is, in effect, a supernatural horror film with some very disturbing and unsettling scenes that will have your skin crawling.

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.

Scene: Eva Eats the Candy

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 one of 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 (and creepiness) 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.

Additional Lists: Best Recent Christmas Horror Films #1, The Ultimate List of Christmas Horror Films #6

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: When Billy Peltzer is given a strange but adorable pet named Gizmo for Christmas, he inadvertently breaks the three important rules of caring for a Mogwai and unleashes a horde of mischievous gremlins on a small town.

Scene: Mrs. Peltzer Discovers the Gremlins

KBZ’s Take: Gremlins is a classic Christmas film, and it’s usually near the top of any Christmas film list. The only thing preventing us from listing it as #1 on this list is that it’s not a true Horror film but rather a classic Dark Fantasy film. The film has some very dark elements and genuine scares and it’s a good time capsule film to see why the PG-13 rating was developed in 1984.

Gremlins was rated PG at the time, but even parents nowadays likely don’t let their youngsters watch the film until they are old enough. For those of us who grew up in the 80’s and saw this while we were younger, the answer is yes, we were scarred for life by the mother’s encounters with the gremlins.

Additional Lists: The Ultimate List of Christmas Horror Films #2

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: During their Christmas break, a group of sorority girls are stalked by a stranger.

Scene: Jess Discovers the Killer

KBZ’s Take: It’s hard to believe that this Christmas Horror classic was made by Bob Clark who also directed another Christmas Family Classic – A Christmas Story (1983). The film has been remade twice in 2006 and 2019 but the original film is still the best film to see. It’s a film that helped establish quite a few Slasher Film tropes that were used in later classic Slasher films like Halloween (1978), Friday the 13^th (1980) and others.

While the film is a bit dated, it’s a true Holiday Horror classic with some of the creepiest scenes of the entire subgenre that will undoubtedly have you reaching for the covers on Christmas night.

Additional Lists: The Ultimate List of Christmas Horror Films #3

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon