Christmas Horror movie | Photo from Edinburgh News
“The Lodge” (2019)
In “The Lodge,” Grace, who is not officially a stepmother yet, wants to deal with the stereotype as soon as possible. Played by Riley Keough, Grace wants to spend more time with her boyfriend, Richard, and his children, who are still mourning the suicide of Richard’s wife months earlier. The family does so by taking a holiday to a remote cabin in the woods.
The children reject Grace, and when left alone with her, the brother and sister decide to show Grace how they really feel about her connection to their mother’s death and about her history as a cult member. The kids obsess over their mother’s legacy and blame Grace for ruining their parents’ marriage and for their mother’s suicide.
As time continues in the lodge, progressively uncanny events begin to occur for Grace. The mother of the kids’ presence haunts the lodge both in spirit and through religious emblems, which brings back horrific memories of Grace’s cult involvement.
“The Lodge” can be compared to “Hereditary” due to its more disturbing than scary aura. The eerie ambiance of the lodge mixed with the cruelty of the children makes the film a true terror to watch.
“Anna and the Apocalypse” (2017)
“Anna and the Apocalypse” is a British horror musical film. Although some see this film as corny, it has a fanbase of enthusiasts.
The film is set in Little Haven, United Kingdom, where Anna is about to finish school and travel for a year before attending university. John, Anna’s best friend, is secretly in love with her and works at the local bowling alley with her. One night, while Anna and John bond over post-graduation work – you guessed it – a zombie infection breaks out.
The next day, Anna and John head to school, completely oblivious to the zombie apocalypse around them. They continue for a while before coming across a zombie dressed as a snowman and, realizing the severity of the situation, Anna and John decide to head to their school to try and meet up with fellow classmates to survive this apocalypse.
The film follows this group around Little Haven as they attack progressively larger amounts of zombies.
If you are looking for a light-hearted Christmas film that still has hints of scares, “Anna and the Apocalypse” may be a good fit.
“Better Watch Out” (2016)
“Better Watch Out” is a psychological Christmas horror film that follows the disturbing events that occur to 17-year-old Ashley and 12-year-old Luke.
While the pair watch a horror film, Luke’s best friend, Garrett, visits the house. After hearing a window break upstairs, the trio finds a brick inscribed with “U Leave U Die.” This causes Garrett to run out of the house in a panic.
The film then follows a ‘cat and mouse’ game between Luke, Garrett and Ashley across the house.
“Krampus” (2015)
A Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic creature said to punish misbehaving children at Christmas time. According to Central and Eastern Alpine folklore, this half-goat, half-demon monster drags children to the underworld.
The film opens with a large family gathering in a rural location, where a freak blizzard comes out of nowhere, leaving the family without heat, electricity or a phone line.
As Beth, the teen daughter of the family, ventures out to visit her boyfriend and does not return, Tom and Howard go out looking for her. While searching in the midst of a snowstorm, the pair suffers an attack from a creature hiding under the snow.
After rushing back into the house, Tom’s elderly mother explains the legend of the Krampus and her own encounter with the creature when she was a child. From this point on, the now split family endures attacks from demonic dolls, unholy elves and finally the Krampus itself.
“Krampus” manages to fit into PG-13 horror due to its bloodless violence, but the movie is the opposite of family-friendly.
“The Mean One” (2022: TBA)
“The Mean One” is a new parody of “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” with some classical elements of the Dr. Seuss tale twisted into a blood-thirsty horror film. Although not officially announced, the film has a projected release date of Dec. 15 in the United States, according to IMDb.
“In a sleepy mountain town, Cindy has her parents murdered and her Christmas stolen by a bloodthirsty green figure in a red Santa suit – The Mean One,” the film’s IMDB page reads.
David Howard Thornton, famous actor of Art the Clown in “Terrifier,” plays the Grinch, who terrorizes the town and forces Cindy Lou Who to try and save it.
If you were a fan of “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” starring Jim Carrey, this horror film is definitely one to look out for this Christmas.
These films can be viewed on various streaming platforms.
