A little over a year ago, because I’d spotted a number of Christmas-related horror films, I decided to have a little fun by watching twenty four in the run up to Christmas Day. The idea was to take the concept of an advent calendar, but instead of opening the doors and getting a bit of chocolate each day, I’d (only metaphorically) open a door, and watch a suitable horror film. The year ended with twenty four films watched, and a list of over 183 potential films for future enjoyment.
One year on, and I repeated the exercise – December 2025 saw another twenty four films watched, and some more potentials added to the list. Here are the films I watched this time:
1: Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972)
Last year, I watched a version of this dubbed into Spanish, with English subtitles – and because of that I didn’t count it as one of the twenty four, so I made a point of watching the correct version this year.
Very 1972 in terms of acting, etc – and thankfully, the narration by one of the characters helped explain something at the end that definitely needed it. This was a much better film when watched properly. 5/10
2: Silent Night, Bloody Night 2 (2015)
Last year, I somehow concluded this wasn’t a sequel to the one above, but to something else that I hadn’t found. I was wrong. It is a sequel to the 1972 film – and not only references it but, like ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night 2’ (watched last year) it includes footage from the film it follows.
This time we have a killer dressed as Black Peter (Saint Nick’s brother), with some dodgy acting (though some was just about okay) and poor dialogue.
There was also some narration based on the journal of one of the main cast of the original film leading to an ending to the main story that joins the dots to connect this one properly to the first, which was a bit daft in execution… but that was followed by an even sillier end to the film itself.
Terrible. Loved it. 4/10
3: The Christmas Spirit. (2023)
I watched this expecting a horror – kind of the point, really – but in that regard it let me down. It’s about a man who feels so guilty about his sister’s death that the Christmas spirit – dressed like some kind of cheesy superhero – is drawn to him. The spirit isn’t there to make him feel better, but instead convinces him (as an adult) to kidnap and sacrifice a teenager in order to ‘save’ Christmas.
From that I can see why it might seem to be considered (and was listed) as a Christmas horror, but from watching it I can’t. However, despite the lack of any horror, it was a wacky enough comedy, and I did enjoy the silliness of it. 4/10
4: The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020)
This wasn’t on my list last year, but it popped up in my recommendations on Amazon this year, and I noticed it was leaving Amazon soon – so I watched the trailer, and because of that watched the film itself.
It was a darkly dry comedy horror in which a sheriff’s department in a small town hunts a killer who only strikes on or around a full moon – and I found it suitably entertaining. 6/10
It’s worth noting that there was no mention of Christmas in this film – but I spotted a Christmas tree when I watched the trailer, so on the basis it was set (at least partly) around Christmas I decided it can count. This will be relevant later.
5: Santa-N: The Red Awakening (2025)
Another new discovery this year, the opening scene to this had a priest admonishing his congregation because after many years of telling kids about Santa, and playing on the name being an anagram of Satan, Santa has become manifest… and is a killer demon who has people living in fear around Christmas.
“Yay!” I thought, “This sounds perfect.”
In fact, it was trying too hard to be a serious horror. That, coupled with some of the acting, was what let it down. Shame, though, because it could have been good. 3/10
6: A Creature Was Stirring (2023)
Two people seeking shelter from a blizzard end up staying with a mother and daughter… and some kind of porcupine-based creature. Except things aren’t what they seem.
This started well, then went a little strange… but totally made up for its weirdness with the ending. 6/10
7: Krampus Unleashed (2016)
This is set around a gathering where, inevitably, one family unit doesn’t entirely get on with another. And in my opinion that’s understandable when – for example – the dad of one unit introduces himself as Dave to someone, then when she calls him that he corrects her to David! However, they have to put their differences aside to deal with Krampus (who is being hunted by a pair of randoms as a possible yeti).
There were some suitably OTT kills, but I recommend keeping your eyes closed for those – because that way you avoid seeing how poor the Krampus costume is.
As I watched this film I was thinking 3/10 – but an utterly silly ending prompted me to add 1. 4/10
8: I Trapped the Devil (2019)
As Christmas approaches, a man and his wife pay a surprise visit to his brother and – with hints of mental health issues – discover he’s holding someone in his basement, claiming him to be the devil.
Rather than silly monsters and a series of random splatterific kills, this one went down a slower path with more suspense and tension – but was worth it. 5/10
9: Zombies: Christmas Apocalypse (2024)
There wan’t a great deal of Christmas in this, other than the title and the opening scene (which was clearly set around Christmas), and the final scene was set a year later.
I’m not going to mark it down for that, though, because it’s a zombie film, and I’ve previously explained my soft spot for them – so my rating here may be a bit biased!
It had some weaknesses, but putting them aside I found it to be actually not a bad entry in that sub genre. It also gets bonus points for the double ‘sting in the tale’ endings. 7/10
10: Don’t Open Till Christmas (1984)
Last year there were a few films in which somebody dressed as Santa went on a killing spree – a theme that hasn’t featured at all so far this year.
And with this film, it still hasn’t – it was actually the opposite; this time it was someone killing people because they were wearing Santa outfits – at least initially.
This felt less a horror and more a film about the police trying to catch a serial killer, though they did throw in some typically terrible attempts at gory deaths. It was actually okay up to a point.
That point being the reveal, which was followed with a badly done backstory. I’m giving this a mere 3/10 – which includes a bonus point for an appearance from Caroline Munro.
11: Amityville Christmas Vacation (2022)
Riffing on National Lampoon, and parodying the Amityville movies crossed with rom-coms, this fairly short film was end to end (deliberately) bad acting.
Horror was fairly minimal because the lead ghost quickly changed her ways when she met Wally Grizwald… but it was just the kind of stupid I needed after a long day. 5/10
12: The Christmas Tapes (2022)
I don’t generally enjoy ‘found footage’ style horror, which was the basis of this film, in which a family was held at gunpoint during their own Christmas celebrations and forced to watch several Christmas-themed found footage video recordings. i.e. it’s also an anthology.
There are exceptions to my dislike of that sub-genre, though, and while its nature counts against it I mostly – mostly! – found the individual stories quite entertaining. Perhaps the shorter form needed for an anthology made them more bearable, and possibly even enjoyable. It’s a theory. 5/10
13:Unholy Night (2019)
Another anthology, this time using an elderly patient telling stories to a nurse as a delivery mechanism – until the film reverts to her own story.
The scene before the opening credits gave me high hopes for this movie, but I felt let down by the first recounted story. After that, though, it became a more enjoyable little romp – especially when the story telling ended and it followed the nurse. 6/10
14: The Brain (1988)
This 80s movie focuses on an intelligent but disruptive kid who gets referred to a shrink because of his behaviour, and in the process discovers that said shrink is in cahoots with a giant alien brain, using television signals to brainwash people.
The relevance to Christmas is really only that it’s set then – which I’ve mentioned above and will come back to.
This was a fun bit of late 80s horror/sci fi, using practical effects for the alien brain – not great looking on modern screens (and may have looked a bit ropy at the time) – but it was simple, straightforward, and fun. 6/10
15: I’m Dreaming of a White Doomsday (2017)
After an (unexplained) apocalyptic event, a mother and her son are eking out some kind of existence in a bunker… and it’s a very bleak existence, with no hope for the future.
There was a slightly weird bit towards the end, but that aside this film was easily my most enjoyable choice so far for this year. 7/10
16: Granny Krampus (2024)
Two sisters who have recently lost their mum go to spend Christmas with their previously estranged/unknown grandmother… only to discover she harbours a dark secret, and they must fend off a vengeful Christmas spirit.
Not a great film by any means, and I couldn’t decide if the gran’s acting was poor or not – it seemed that way, but it also seemed to make her more creepy, so maybe it was intentional? I would have said 4/10, but i’m giving it a bonus point for having victims tied up in Christmas lights, just because. I can’t think of a better use for them, can you? 5/10
17: Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)
I chose this as my next watch because I enjoyed it when I watched it a few years ago, and I knew what to expect; it’s set in the run up to Christmas, and it has zombies – so it’s ideal.
And I needed something to make up for There’s Snow Escape, which I watched the evening before. (You’ll notice it isn’t listed above – you’ll see why when you get further down this post!)
It’s not a brilliant film by any means, but it’s entertaining enough – and one scene in it is always going to remind me of a sort of corresponding scene in Shaun of the Dead, so that’s a win. 5/10
18: Jack Frost (1997)
With this, we’re revisiting the idea of a killer snowman (which, again, is a reference to There’s Snow Escape, which I talk about later rather than above). In this film a homicidal maniac is exposed to an experimental chemical, and becomes a homicidal snowman.
It’s almost three decades old, it’s both silly and cheesy… and I loved it. 6/10
19: Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman (2000)
Despite being set on a tropical island. Jack Frost 2 takes place one year on from the events of the first – so, yeah, at Christmas – and Jack is back to wreak more murderous mayhem.
Only this time, he also manages to produces a small army of vicious snowballs, with a Gremlins-style montage for for extra silliness. Even though it wasn’t as good as the first, it was even more of a comedy, so I’m giving it the same score. 6/10
20: Jack Fost (aka The Curse of Jack Frost) (2022)
This British horror had nothing to do with the other two Jack Frost films, and brought a different, more mythology-based character to life, hunting descendants in the family line of Santa Claus.
It was an entirely serious horror film that I thought had a lot of potential, but it just didn’t quite get there. 4/10 – more for the unrealised potential than anything else.
21: Advent (aka The Krampus Calendar) (2024)
This was another found footage movie, this time presented as a sort of amateur documentary. A woman investigating urban legends and making videos about them seeks out a Krampus calendar – a dark equivalent to an advent calendar which, when completed, sees the soul of the victim claimed by the devil.
It was nothing special, but I quite enjoyed it. 5/10
22: I Slay on Christmas (2023)
Oh dear. This was a low budget indie movie – which can sometimes be good in spite of any flaws – but this one failed for me.
A large part of the problem was the sound quality. I found I had to crank my volume right up to a stupidly high level for some parts, and it was still too quiet… and then it’d suddenly be too loud and I’d have to turn it down.
It was such a problem that I gave up watching it in the living room, and continued later in bed; I have headphones plugged in to the TV in the bedroom, so I could turn it up loud and keep it up. But having to do this marred it – and even then I struggled in some parts and had to turn on subtitles.
It was an anthology style movie, where each story was revealed by way of pine cones – and the stories themselves were very lacking (other than having people chopped up, strangled, etc). Two of the tales were okay (ignoring the sound and acting), and they’re what gets it any rating at all. One point for each, so 2/10.
23: Secret Santa (2015)
A group of college students open their Secret Santa presents, only to discover they’ve been swapped out… for the weapons that will be used to murder them.
This was another low budget affair, but put together much better than the I Slay on Christmas. Most of the kills were entertaining, but it let itself down with a silly non-explanation of why they were being targeted – and because after that the attempts to kill the final girl became comical. 4/10
24: Christmas Evil (1980) 4/10
A boy sees his mum get friendly with Santa, self harms, and as an adult has an unhealthy obsession with local kids (spying on them and keeping a naughty/nice list of things they do)… and events at work (and the firm’s Christmas party) send him over the edge.
And as a result, Santa Claus has come to town slay!
The movie is very dated and of its time, and there’s a slow build up to the point the killing starts – at which point, I thought I was in for a treat. As it was, though, its pace changed down again, and didn’t really step back up. 4/10
A couple of ‘bonus’ watches:
Part way through the month, I watched a film called There’s Snow Escape (2022) – which I’ve mentioned further up. I added it to the list last year, and watched it this year, assuming that it was a Christmas movie because of the title and the fact that it came up with recommendations off of other Christmas horrors.
However, while the movie monster is an axe-wielding snowman (called Cold-hearted Cliff), the film actually seems to take place in summer and there is nothing about it that could classify it as a Christmas horror.
It featured bad acting, a terrible monster costume, and was just generally poor all round. These are things that could have amused me if the movie fit the bill – but it didn’t. And because I decided it doesn’t count, it effectively put me a film behind, and therefore deserves just 0/10. (So of course I gave it a thumbs up on Amazon!)
This – and a couple of the movies above that I have treated as part of the horror advent – has made me think a little further about what should be classed as a Christmas horror movie for the purposes of this, and what should not!
Christmas should obviously be a factor – it doesn’t have to mention Christmas, or a Christmas-related critter, but it should at the very least be set at or around then.
Snowy settings aren’t enough – snow (and ice) doesn’t necessarily mean winter; they can mean the film takes place somewhere with a colder climate. Consider The Thing, for example – I’d love to be able to include that, but it’s got absolutely nothing to do with Christmas.
On the flip-side, if I spot a film with a snowy or wintry-looking setting, I should at least check it out just in case. I don’t remember any Christmas-relevance to The Shining, for example, but it’s a very long time since I saw that, and given that it takes place at a hotel that’s closed because it’s out of season, it seems likely that it may very well take place at the right time of year.
For the full list of films, I should perhaps add things like that and mark them as ‘possible’ Christmas horrors – I could then squeeze them in when watching films from the list and, if they turn out to count that’s great, but if they don’t, I’ll just have to note them as N/A and watch another to ensure I watch a full set of 24. (And at least this way I’ll dive in fully aware that they might not count, so it won’t count against them if they aren’t, unlike with There’s Snow Escape)
(A couple of others that spring to mind as possibles under this criteria, as well as The Shining, are Misery, Werewolves Within, and 30 Days of Night – all films I’ve seen before, but can’t offhand remember if there’s any mention of Christmas, or if they’re set at the right time or are just set somewhere cold!)
I spotted a comment on Bluesky in early December in which someone pointed out that The Wicker Man was released ‘on this day’ in 1976, making it a Christmas movie. However, the events in the film take place in spring. I do like the idea of including a film based on it being released around/approaching Christmas, but it would be cheating, so I won’t be doing that.
Another possibility for inclusion are films relating to other significant dates that just happen to be close (or close-ish) to Christmas, such as New Years Eve/Day. I’ve spotted at least one horror film based then, and I think I will include them. On the other hand, I’ve also spotted films based around the Thanksgiving (the Overpuddlian celebration that takes place in late November) and Black Friday. I’ve decided I won’t be including those, though.
And there’s another type of film to consider, as well, which leads me to my second bonus watch: Cinderella’s revenge (2024) 5/10
I watched one of the this year’s films a bit earlier in the day than I normally would, leaving me a chunk of the evening to pass, so I picked another film, not considering it a Christmas horror.
Technically, it wasn’t; it’s not set at that time of year, there’s no mention of it, etc. It was more of a comedy than anything else; a daft but entertaining ‘slasher’ movie, which I’d give 5/10.
While not a film featuring or set at/around Christmas, Cinderella is typically run as a pantomime – and Christmas is pantomime season, which provides a loose justification, especially since there are a few others that I’ve spotted.
I’ve been thinking about this since I watched it, and it’s only now, while I’m writing up this year’s Christmas horrors, that I’ve made my decision. Panto-related films are not going to be included, but may be used as bonus watches if/when circumstances allow, such as having extra time to watch something, much as I did in this case. 🙂
The updated list?
The list of films and potential films is longer now… and I’m not going to publish it in this post.
One of the things I did during December was copy the contents into a Google Docs spreadsheet file, before adding the new ones I’ve spotted. The reason for this is that it’s easy to access from anywhere, including my phone, to add to the list as necessary – and also because I can export it as a CSV to process it (with WebChange) into a number of formats, including as a table in HTML.
I’ve not performed that export, though, because I’m thinking I could add further details for each film – for example, a flag field to say if each film is a Christmas horror, or one of those potential/possible/TBC ones mentioned above.
And also because rather than keep posting new versions of the list into blog posts, it might be better to have it on its own page – whether a blog ‘page’ or a page on my main personal website. Except that I don’t have a main personal website anymore, only this blog. So it might be worth doing something about that.
For the record, though, the updated list now has just over 200 titles.
And with that, I’ll sign off just as I did last year, and wish everyone a happy new fear!