Horror is a year round thing. And why shouldn’t it be? Lingering doubts that provide ample pause and existential questions that can lead to dread or clarity are just as much a part of the holiday season as the ice and cold.
Horror is year round for the biggest fans, including everyone here at GameSpot, which is why we’ve been busy all year making sure every kind of scare you could imagine is all organized and ready for your personal lists.
Everything from all-ages appropriate horror (after all, everyone is entitled to at least one good scare, right?) to the most sinister selections we could find, including a roundup of the best queer and trans stories you can stream.
GameSpot isn’t just your one-stop scream through most of the year though: we’ve got screams to stream all year round, including on Christmas day and beyond, which are perfect for anyone cool coming to visit you this holiday season.
Chilling wind on December nights has always brought something else with it, buried underneath, and hidden away from view. Some think nothing of it, forgetting about it without even needing to decide or not. But there are of us that know that light off in the distance might just disappear before it’s nearer.
And it’s for those curious individuals with an interest in exploring the deepest moments, insecurities, and dreams of the human spirit that GameSpot has prepared a list with the best horror films to haunt your holidays this season.
1. Krampus (2015)
Krampus is coming and Krampus is near, which means you should have plenty of fear. 2015's Krampus is such a smooth ride, containing both comedy and horror, in almost equal portions. Adam Scott and David Kochener provide some much needed laughs but Toni Collette’s iconic gasps and scream will remind you that this is certainly no winter wonderland dream.
Krampus delivers on the untold horrors and wonders of the holiday season with a tumultuous extended family gathering being interrupted by the titular terror himself. Nightmarish special effects help tighten an already frightful time, culminating in one of the best holiday films any horror fan can watch, and worthy of carrying the Krampus name.
2. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Henry Selick and a creative team helped bring Tim Burton’s original poem to life in a most spectacular way, giving life to a stop motion storybook for the ages. Pumpkin King Jack Skellington has led Halloween Town through endless celebration, each more successful and festive than the lost, but he’s grown tired and disillusioned with his purpose, identity, and duties.
Sally, a woman created in a lab to serve her creator, dreams of more, so much more, just like Jack, though her visions stretch a little further than the leader and ruler over Halloween.
Jack decides to take Christmas into his own hands, literally, setting of a chain of tricks and treats, ultimately resulting in the town learning not just the true meaning of Halloween and Christmas, but also themselves.
Though it is impossible to responsibly discuss The Nightmare Before Christmas without also addressing its issues with both racism and upholding the damage it does, the film can still be enjoyedwhile also used as a teaching tool.
3. Black Christmas (1974)
https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/12-horror-movies-on-shudder-that-are-dying-to-be-watched-this-halloween/2900-4398/Black Christmas follows a bloodthirsty killer that stalks a group of sorority sisters over the Christmas season, hunting silently and moving quickly, made possible by hiding on campus, among the students.
Chilling phone calls give more pause than the temperature as the women all fight for their lives in this harrowing, holiday tale.
We went into more detail in our writeup of the10 Horror Movies And TV Shows That Will Make You Wish They Were Video Game Adaptationswhere I compared the film to 2014’s Until Dawn. Both are best enjoyed with locked doors and hot chocolate.
4. A Very Ghoul Log Christmas (2021)
Yule love this simple yet spooky selection that can be streamed on Shudder this holiday season. Or any time you want to pretend you’re warmer than you are while enjoying a spooky, little fire.
With countless digital yule logs to choose from, across nearly every streaming service, you won’t find a more chilling fire than on Shudder.
5. American Psycho (2000)
American Psycho has all the characteristics of a horror film but Christan Bale’s iconic performance in director May Harron’s overtly feminist film takes place near and around Christmas, so it counts. Though there’s speculation over whether the deadly blows from Bale’s monstrous character actually did. A hazy, unreliable narrator and sharp commentary across several themes, including toxic masculinity, help sharpen American Psycho into one of the best cut horror films you can call a Christmas movie.
6. Better Watch Out (2017)
Better Watch Out is about 17-year-old babysitter Ashley and the bratty kid, Luke, that she’s watching on a cold winter night. Things start out pretty normal, with the two just watching a horror movie together, like all cool people do on dark, December nights.
Luke’s repeated failed attempts to make moves on Ashley eventually escalate into Home Alone levels of violence, but Joe Pesci doesn’t get back up in this one.
Better Watch Out carries the same playfulness as films such as Happy Death Day and Ready or Not as Ashely fights for her life, sticking to whatever she can to stay alive and make it through these bumps in the night.
7. Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)
Anna and the Apocalypse has a scene where a woman decapitates a zombie with a seesaw and that’s when I realized we need more Christmas zombie mashups.
Anna and the Apocalypse is a violent and magical, zombie, Christmas movie – and if that’s not enough to sway you: it’s also a musical. Anna and the Apocalypse follows Anna and John, two friends that maybe could be more, as they bond and shuffle their feet through a zombie plague that’s taken over their town.
The film contains a lot of heart (not just the kind zombies munch on) and goes a lot further than you might expect from a film with brain-eating zombies.
8. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Perhaps the best adaptation of Charles Dickens’s classic tale, The Muppet Christmas Carol stars Charles Dickens and Rizzo the Rat--even though Dickens bears a striking resemblance to Gonzo--in a Muppets retelling of three ghosts and a true, changed heart. At first glance, you may wonder why this is on a list of horror movies, but one look at either the Ghost of Christmas Future or Past should be enough to solve that problem. It's some of the most horrifying Muppet imagery of all time, showcased brilliantly across surreal, practical effects.
Michael Cain’s performance as Ebenezer Scrooge helps ground the story, which is important since the economic disparity and horrifying labor conditions from business owners is the most realistic part of the film. A problem we seem to still be working on solving it seems.
Brian Henson’s directorial debut sees all the right stars in all the right places as everyone does their part to apply magical realism and classic Muppets humor.
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