30 Deliciously Dark Christmas Film and TV Treats

1. SILENT NIGHT (2021)

Words Sab Astley

Nothing says the end of the world like being home for the holidays with the whole family, right? That’s how Keira Knightley’s Nell sees it, hosting a final festive Christmas gathering on the eve of an apocalyptic waste cloud ravaging the UK. Fortunately, a UK-wide painless pill has been issued to prevent what’s sure to be a horrific death if they can stop from tearing one another apart first.

Camille Griffin’s distinct approach to a festive film focuses less on the traditional ‘happy family at Christmas time’ and tells what many understand to be an unspoken truth: sometimes, Christmas with your family is an absolute nightmare. It’s an approach that’s welcomed as part of a small but solid sub-genre of ‘anti-Christmas’ films in the company of Better Watch Out and Gremlins. We all buy into the illusion of perfect peace at Christmastime, often choosing to ignore the hushed arguments echoing down corridors and secrets spilt after too much wine. Her cavalcade includes Nell’s increasingly frustrated husband Simon (Matthew Goode) and their hilariously argumentative son Art (played by the ever-charming Roman Griffin Davis), sisters Bella (Lucy Punch) and Sandra (Annabelle Wallis), with their own big personalities in tow. Outside of our immediate family, there’s Sandra’s husband Tony (Rufus Jones) – the pure embodiment of a milquetoast man; dashing university friend James (Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù), and Bella’s girlfriend Alex (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) and James’ girlfriend Sophie (Lily-Rose Depp).

Griffin’s world is built with a calculated focus on containing this apocalyptic event within a grounded context – there are government websites with startlingly clear depictions of how the toxic gas will gradually destroy you, and the deceptively over-the-counter packaging of ‘The Pill’ is disarmingly hilarious. There’s a slight socio-political subtext that Griffin sneaks into her script, cunningly so, with climate change as the origin of the gas cloud, alongside a fair mistrust of the government – “Of course, I don’t trust them, they killed Diana!” Despite the hilarity, Griffin is able to conjure palpable, creeping existential dread in this middle-class family.

The essence of the horror that Griffin plays with throughout Silent Night is its inevitability and the contrast between the adults and the children. That eternal disconnect of them being unable to understand loss and death, whilst the adults are forced to confront their own mortality, whilst pretending it’s not even happening. In a way, the cloud has already suffocated the household with anxiety – it’s just a much slower death than what’s to come. Griffin tactically balances this existential dread with hilarity, so it never becomes overwhelmingly tragic – if there’s melodrama, it’s played for laughs, knowingly executed to evoke true gallows humour.

2. BETTER WATCH OUT (2016)

Words Sab Astley

We’ve all seen Home Alone and Kevin McCallister’s iconic defence against a duo of bumbling burglars, where paint cans of doom, hot molten glue traps and tickly spiders on faces help Kevin overcome the baddies. But before his war with the burglars, Kevin was also pretty damn unbearable, having a classic Christmas strop in front of his family. We all know at least one kid who is intolerable at the Christmas family reunion. However, unlike Kevin, they are often granted unlimited free passes because “they’re just a kid.” Chris Peckover’s deliciously dark Better Watch Out couples the classic spoilt Christmas kid with a far darker exploration of control and manipulation in a movie that could be labelled ‘Home Alone 4: Murder, Torment and Tantrums.’

In Better Watch Out, tweenager Luke Lerner (Levi Miller) gradually unveils a manipulative plan to seduce his babysitter, Olivia DeJonge’s Ashley, into an uncomfortable sexual liaison. Watching Miller’s psychotic tween is akin to watching a slightly older and damaged Kevin McCallister lay out a series of deadly hormonal traps, but here, there is a far more squirm-inducing realism.

Levi Miller’s performance is utterly compelling and unhinged as he weaves his deadly plan, so much so that you want to jump into the screen and strangle him yourself with some fairy lights. Meanwhile, his long-suffering friend Garrett (Ed Oxenbould) stands in the wings, obeying Luke’s every command. He gazes at him with a puppy-like sense of awe and commitment, despite the horror.

Better Watch Out is the perfect ‘anti-Christmas’ horror, as it combines the spoiled Christmas kid with evil child tropes and classic babysitter-in-peril slashers. It’s a delightfully twisted coming-of-age tale from which there is no escape as two munchkins indulge their little fantasies with deadly consequences.

Peckover’s film may be bathed in a plethora of festive imagery — fairy lights, candy canes, and snow-covered suburban streets — but its soul is firmly rooted in horror and dark comedy, as The Good Son meets Home Alone and the cult classic The Pit. This makes Better Watch Out one of the more underappreciated anti-Christmas gems of the holiday season and a modern cult classic that deserves another outing, but sadly, never got one.

3. The League of Gentlemen: Yule Never Leave (2000)

The League of Gentlemen took gothic-inspired horror comedy to new heights with its 1999 premiere, giving birth to a set of characters that still shine with originality. However, nobody sitting in front of their TV on the 27th of December 2000 could have anticipated just how deep and dark the show’s only festive outing would be.

We are offered four festive tales woven into one outstanding slice of TV that plays with a range of Dickensian themes. Yule Never Leave is Pemberton, Gatiss, Shearsmith and Dyson off the leash as we visit a vindictive vicar, a downtrodden wife, and a potential gay vampire who feeds on choir boys.

So, if you fancy delving into one of the darkest Christmas specials ever made, look no further than Yule Never Leave.

4. RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS TALE (2010)

Do you believe in the Coca-Cola-inspired Father Christmas, covered in red and white, or the far scarier Santa Claus of European folklore? In Rare Exports, the latter takes centre stage in a festive fantasy horror unlike anything else.

Written and directed by Jalmari Helander, Rare Exports dovetails the legend of Santa Claus with elements of John Carpenter’s The Thing.

The result is a stunning mix of folklore horror, dark comedy, fantasy, and science fiction that couldn’t be more different from the bright lights and smiles of Santa Claus: The Movie. Helander’s narrative ensures that you will never look at the man who comes down your chimney in the same way again through a genuinely audacious, creative and stunning festive fantasy gem.

5. THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972)

Ronald Neame’s New Year’s Day from hell didn’t just fire the starting gun on a whole host of disaster movies; it set the template for them. With a gigantic rogue wave, Neame’s titanic success turned Christmas and New Year upside down.

Based on the novel by Paul Gallico, The Poseidon Adventure follows a motley group of survivors as they journey deep into a luxury cruise ship that has become a sealed coffin. From climbing giant Christmas trees to swimming through tunnels and navigating upside-down kitchens, The Poseidon Adventure is the ultimate disaster movie, featuring groundbreaking special effects, a heart-pounding adventure, and a heart-wrenching finale.

6. THE TUNNEL (2019)

It should be the happiest time of the year as a small Norwegian town prepares for Christmas. However, when disaster strikes in a mountain tunnel, festivities are put on hold in Pål Øie’s polished disaster film, The Tunnel.

The setting is one of the 1,100 mountain tunnels crossing Norway. Christmas celebrations are well underway as we meet Stein (Thornjørn Harr), a tough firefighter and tunnel maintenance man who is recently widowed. Stein’s teenage daughter, Elise (Ylva Fuglerud), is struggling to come to terms with her dad’s new girlfriend, Ingrid (Lisa Carlehad), but as a tanker crashes at the centre of a tunnel, father and daughter will be brought together in the face of disaster.

The Tunnel carefully adheres to the standard disaster movie narrative, introducing us to various characters in its opening scenes as they head toward a festive disaster. Within the slow march toward the catastrophe, The Tunnel finds its feet, with each character allowed space to define their role in the oncoming terror. When we reach the point of no return, cinematography, pace, and performance step up to the mark, reflecting the horror of the events unfolding. Here, The Tunnel plays with a sense of claustrophobia as smoke and fire billow down its carved walls, engulfing cars, trucks and vans.

7. KRAMPUS (2015)

What happens if you let the director of the outstanding Trick R’ Treat loose on Christmas? The answer is the delightfully dark Krampus, a movie that laces European folklore with the horror-comedy of Gremlins and shocks of Poltergeist. Here, the family home is invaded by a series of fantastical festive creatures, ranging from spooky, sinister elves to killer gingerbread men, as Christmas becomes a matter of life and death. But, aside from its devilishly brilliant horror, Krampus is also a delightful celebration of Christmas. The film’s central themes of faith, family conflict, and commercialism are astutely woven into the comic-book horror, making Krampus one of the best Christmas comedy-horror films of the past 20 years.

8. Family Guy: Road to the North Pole (2010)

Christmas wouldn’t be without an Elf or two, whether sitting on your shelf causing trouble or struggling to survive hordes of killer reindeer in the smog-shrouded North Pole. In 2010, Family Guy offered one of its finest Christmas TV specials, a sublimely silly, incredibly dark, and delightfully bonkers adventure.

At just 44 minutes, the Road to the North Pole is the perfect antidote to all the glossy festive merriment; its intelligent adult humour joyfully subverts the classic Christmas tale in a story that will see your Grandma spit out her sherry in sheer disgust.

9. GREMLINS (1984)

Gremlins had its worldwide premiere during the height of summer 1984, a strange time of year, given the Christmas lights and snow at the heart of Steven Spielberg and Joe Dante’s sublime monster movie, written by Chris Columbus. Here, the creative collaboration of Spielberg, Columbus, and Dante explores the dangers of buying cuddly creatures for your kids at Christmas, as Billy’s new, loving pet, ‘Gizmo,’ unleashes anarchy and destruction in the town of Kingston Falls. 

Spielberg and Dante’s picture is many things, from a sharp dissection of the growth of 1980s consumerism to a cutting exploration of US colonialism and racism. Dante’s direction recognises that the best family-monster horror films are bathed in deliciously dark humour, and Gremlins offers it in spades. It’s a ridiculous yet ingenious plot that thrives on comic-book anarchy and campfire-inspired horror as a group of deadly yet lovable hooligans sing along to Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. 

Gremlins is Spielberg, Columbus, and Dante’s love letter to 1950s monster horror, with a dose of 1980s action-adventure thrown in for good measure.

10. HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK (1992)

Leaving your child ‘home alone’ once may be forgiven, but leaving them alone a second time at a major international airport and allowing them to travel independently to New York is clearly unforgivable. Following Home Alone with a quick turnaround sequel was never going to be easy, and the second outing was about maximising profit rather than telling a new story. However, as sequels go, many argue that Home Alone 2: Lost in New York successfully built on its predecessor.

Home Alone 2 ultimately succeeds by embracing the darker aspects of the original story, placing a prepubescent child in an adult cityscape where he learns that money can buy safety at the 1990s-owned Trump Plaza Hotel.

The slapstick humour of the first film is turned up to the maximum in the ensuing story, with the traps becoming sadistic in the hands of a new city-dwelling Kevin; in fact, young Kevin often seems intent on killing the hapless burglars. But I guess that’s what a few days in the big smoke does to a child. It may be full of Christmas cheer, but Home Alone 2 – Lost in New York has a far more sinister edge as a city of extremes eats away at a young boy’s mind.

11. COVER UP (1949)

Words Agi Sajti

Cover Up is certainly not a light-hearted Christmas outing; here, we have a murder-mystery noir set in a small Midwestern town during the Christmas holidays —a B-film take on Wilder’s classic Double Indemnity.

Insurance agent Sam Donovan (Dennis O’Keefe) is investigating the apparent suicide of a client. But while the evidence clearly points toward murder, the townsfolk wholeheartedly believe it to be suicide. The Capra-esque portrayal of a small post-war town is a nice touch, elevating the movie’s festive mood despite its murderous content. Meanwhile, the romantic subplot works well to counteract the darkness. However, while exciting, the finale is also questionable. Cover Up is a strange tinsel-wrapped package of classic film noir.

12. GO! (1999)

Doug Liman’s 1999 Go! appears to have vanished into the mists of time since its initial release. Encapsulating the imagination, excitement, and energy of late 90s filmmaking for Generation X, Liman’s high-energy rollercoaster throws together a group of young people on a countdown to Christmas through a series of interconnected events and meetings, creating a tangled, festive journey of drugs, booze, sex, and crime.

Go! is a high-octane exploration of 90s youth culture as the millennium dawns, with the soul of Tarantino’s early work and the banging score of movies like Human Traffic. It is a Christmas movie like no other and one that deserves far more attention and praise.

13. BATMAN RETURNS (1992)

Batman Returns may well be one of the most underrated comic book films of the past 25 years. It would see Tim Burton delve even deeper into the Gothic fairytale horror of his 1989  Gotham City, while embracing a darker universe as he brought together the Bat, the Cat, and the Penguin for a nightmare Christmas. Keaton builds on his debut alongside Pfeiffer‘s psychotic yet sensual Catwoman and DeVito’s damaged and dangerous Penguin in a genuinely spectacular comic book adventure that defies simple genre labels.

Batman Returns seamlessly blends Burton’s love of fairy tales with heart-pounding action and the darkest humour, creating a Christmas comic book outing that has never been matched. Unfortunately, Batman Returns proved too dark for Warner Bros., and as a result, Keaton, Pfeiffer and Burton’s involvement in the franchise ended on the snowy streets of Gotham.

14. EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990)

Imagine trying to eat your Christmas turkey with two giant scissors for hands—the frustration alone would surely ruin your Christmas dinner and cause significant discomfort to those around you. Alas, this is just one of young Edward’s problems in Tim Burton’s gloriously dark and emotional fairytale.

Tim Burton’s movie is a beautiful slice of Gothic fantasy that pays homage to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio, taking us on a journey into loneliness, discrimination, and forbidden love. Edward Scissorhands was released during the summer of 1991, but it inhabits a world of Christmas-like wonder, discovery and magic.

15. THE LODGE (2019)

In 2014, writer/director Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz brought us one of the best horror films of all time with Goodnight Mommy, and in 2019, they teamed up with screenwriter Sergio Casci to bring us a Christmas from hell in The Lodge.

From the outset, The Lodge envelops us in a feeling of icy discomfort as Fiala and Franz once more explore themes of family, trust, and subverted innocence, taking the audience on a journey into the icy depths of psychological terror.

Richard (Richard Armitage) has recently left his wife, Laura (Alicia Silverstone), for a new partner, Grace (Riley Keough). However, the couple’s separation was far from harmonious and their young daughter, Mia (Lia McHugh) and their teenage son, Aiden (Jaeden Martell), were caught in the turmoil. Seeking to build a bridge between Mia, Aiden and Grace, Richard plans a traditional Christmas break at the mountain lodge they visited every holiday in happier times. However, soon after they arrive, the weather leaves Grace stranded and alone with the kids while Richard is at work back in the city. While waiting for Richard’s return, Mia, Aiden, and Grace find the Christmas cheer replaced by a deep, dark, and mysterious nightmare of no escape.

Through its icy blast of psychological horror, The Lodge slowly builds an exquisite sense of isolation and claustrophobia.

16. THE CHILDREN (2008)

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and snotty-nosed kids are full of turkey and chocolate, their hyperactivity mixed with tiredness and tantrums. Sound familiar? This 2008 festive horror is far more than just another Christmas in the trenches as director Tom Shankland takes Invasion of the Body Snatchers and adds a flurry of The Village of the Damned.

Elaine (Eva Birthistle), Jonah (Stephen Campbell Moore), and their kids arrive at a snow-covered country house. The reason for their trip is a joyous New Year celebration with their close family: Elaine’s sister Chloe (Rachel Shelley), brother-in-law Robbie (Jeremy Sheffield), and their kids.

Awaiting them is a freshly prepared meal, accompanied by plenty of wine and whiskey, as the festivities begin. However, it’s not long before Elaine and Jonah’s youngest child suffers a vomiting episode, his behaviour changing from a little cherub to an erratic and reclusive munchkin. But as this mysterious fever spreads to the other children, the festivities become ominous and deadly.

The Children plays to every parent’s worst nightmare, as an unseen force invades the security of their home, turning family members against one another as their kids become killers. It may not chart new ground, but it does offer genuinely creepy, assured horror as the festive celebrations become a nightmare with no escape.

17. BLAST OF SILENCE (1961)

Words Agi Sajti

Allen Baron’s superb slice of neo-noir is possibly one of the darkest and bleakest films ever made, making it perfect for this Christmas list. Baron’s film follows several days in the life of a New York hitman, Frankie Bono (Allen Baron), whose latest job is the assassination of a mobster called Troiano over the Christmas holidays. From this description, you may expect an action-packed crime thriller filled with violence and shootouts, but Blast of Silence is an existential drama.

Rather than focusing on the assassination, Baron’s movie portrays the internal world of an antisocial hitman as he aimlessly wanders through the festive glow of New York City, unable to connect with anyone. Here, his wanderings are clear in purpose while secretive in nature, from purchasing a new gun from a dealer to a Christmas party, where he meets an old flame, whom he later attempts to sexually assault.

Ironically, the Christmas backdrop of Blast of Silence — its celebrations, gifts, trees, and Santa — only makes Frankie’s journey even more stark and lonely. The festive cheer alienates him as he passes those celebrating, his aimless hatred and emptiness exposed by Lionel Stander’s brilliant narration —one of the best in noir —as we can almost taste the cigarette ash and alcohol on his breath. Baron’s film is a stunning example of modernist filmmaking, with its refreshingly bold visual style embedded in the authentic location shots of New York City. Meanwhile, its narrative approach focuses on the main character’s psyche rather than the events surrounding him, as we enter his closed, isolated world, placing Blast of Silence among the forerunners of French New Wave cinema while inspiring many of the gritty New York thrillers of the 1970s.

Although the story is about as far from the classic festive mood as possible, Baron’s rediscovered classic explores traditional themes of festive isolation. Here, the holidays almost feel like a knife in Frankie’s heart as he silently considers what could have been and what is.

In many ways, the result is reminiscent of Albert Camus’s The Stranger in its worldview. Only recently rediscovered by many after disappearing into the mists of time, Blast of Silence holds a unique place in cinema history through its unforgettable visuals and complex character study. And while it may not be a cheery Christmas movie, it is a landmark in modern cinema that deserves your undivided attention.

18. EYES WIDE SHUT (1999)

Words Sab Astley

Eyes Wide Shut is far from a reflection of the festive spirit, but if Die Hard is now classed as a Christmas film, then so is Kubrick’s swan song. In many ways, it’s the perfect anti-Christmas film, exploring a family breakdown at the “happiest” time of the year. Disturbed by the sudden sexual revelation of his wife (Nicole Kidman), Dr Bill Harford (Tom Cruise) struggles to move past the recurring mental image of her with another man. Here, his obsessions eat away at his soul as he embarks on a trip into a secret psycho-sexual Manhattan fantasy.

Eyes Wide Shut remains fascinating because everyone seems to be in on the joke of Harford’s meaningless exploration, except for Cruise. Kubrick almost appears to be playing the grandest trick possible by tormenting the character and the actor in unison. However, while Cruise’s serious performance shouldn’t work, it does. 

Eyes Wide Shut would push Cruise and Kidman’s relationship to the brink with a mammoth 15-month production; in fact, many have since argued that this was the point at which their marriage became impossible. Was this Kubrick manipulating the boundaries between reality and fiction, using Kidman and Cruise as his pawns? We will never know what Kubrick had in his mind during filming, and that may be why Eyes Wide Shut remains a fascinating but uncomfortable watch.

Why Kubrick set Eyes Wide Shut during the holidays remains a mystery, with no festive link to the original 1926 novella, Rhapsody: A Dream Novel. Some writers, like Brianna Zigler, have theorised that this is Kubrick’s anti-consumerist critique of what Christmas has become —a solid take. However, you could also read this as a Kubrickian take on a Christmas romp that celebrates Kubrick’s dark sense of humour and disposition for psychological drama. Either way, Eyes Wide Shut remains an enigma wrapped in fairy lights and sex, a darkly delicious finale from a cinematic and artistic genius.

19. TERRIFIER 3 (2024)

If you thought Terrifier and Terrifier II pushed the boundaries of gore and horror, Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3 takes things even further by setting the wince-inducing tale of bloody cadavers and cut arteries at Christmas! Following the shocking events of Terrifier 2, Sienna is plagued by disturbing visions and begins to realise there’s no escaping her past or Art the Clown, who is now dressed as Santa Claus. With nods to Silent Night, Deadly Night littered throughout and a body count stacked as high as presents under the tree, Leone’s third instalment pushes horror to its limits.

So be warned: Terrifier 3 isn’t for the faint of heart or those who just consumed an entire Yule log by themselves! It is a bloody and bold smorgasbord of severed limbs, heads and entrails that will have you reaching for the vomit bag.

20. SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (1984)

Silent Night, Deadly Night caused quite a stir on its limited cinema release in 1984 as it tore up the slasher rulebook with a young axe-wielding Father Christmas. For years, the controversy surrounding Charles Edward Sellier Jr.’s movie only further cemented its festive cult status, as it proudly earned the badge of a ‘video nasty.’ However, beneath the blood and gore, Silent Night, Deadly Night was hiding a taut, compelling, downright chilling psychological thriller that was as unsettling as it was gory.

Far from just your average slasher, Silent Night, Deadly Night is a devilishly clever festive chiller that still manages to get under the skin of those watching as they munch their mince pies and drink their wine.

21. BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974)

Every year, without a doubt, Santa Claus breaks into our houses, stealing food while spying on our kids. However, somehow this behaviour is okay because he leaves us presents.

It is, therefore, somewhat astonishing that it took until 1974 for someone to link the inherent serial-killer vibes at play during Christmas to the horror genre. However, Bob Clark’s groundbreaking Black Christmas did precisely that, finally embracing the dark side of the festivities with a genre-defining film that gave birth to a subgenre of horror—the teen slasher.

Black Christmas would go on to inspire John Carpenter’s Halloween, and while Carpenter often receives the credit for creating the modern teen slasher horror, trust me, Bob Clark’s film is where it all began.

22. SCROOGED (1988)

Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol gave birth to the Christmas story and movies we have all come to love. But in Richard Donner’s Scrooged, Dickens’ classic found a new and distinctly 80s voice as Donner unpicked the capitalist utopia of 1980s New York.

Donner’s film would take aim at the growing commercialisation of TV and film while dissecting the influence of big business on our festive celebrations in a manner Dickens himself would have been proud to endorse. Donner’s razor-sharp comedy takes a scalpel to the greed and selfishness of late-1980s society, with its message sadly even more relevant today as it asks us all, “What is Christmas really all about?”

23. AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS (2018)

Christmas family get-togethers aren’t always filled with hugs, peace, and light. Instead, many family reunions are uncomfortable, confrontational, and filled with resentment and long-simmering disputes. 

As Nick (Sam Gittins) travels home for the holidays for the first time in many years alongside his British-Indian girlfriend Annji (Neerja Naik), he knows it’s going to be challenging, and as he enters his childhood home alongside Annji, he is immediately reminded of why he fled. But as the uncomfortable festivities begin, the atmosphere between his timid mum, controlling father, small-minded and heavily pregnant sister and overtly racist granddad (David Bradley) is slowly made worse by incoming TV reports of a possible terrorist incident.

Director Johnny Kevorkian’s terrifying science fiction nightmare may start as a classic ‘meet the parents’ drama, but it soon becomes a cutting exploration of intolerance, media and control. Here, Kevorkian’s Twilight Zone-inspired slice of science fiction layers its narrative with human horror – weaving in themes of racism, BREXIT and religious intolerance as poor Annji meets the family from hell as the world ends outside. 

24. Anna and the Apocalypse (2018)

Mixing Shaun of the Dead with High School Musical and a classic coming-of-age template, the outstanding, emotional, and lively zombie musical Anna and the Apocalypse was largely overlooked at its 2018 release. However, John McPhail’s spectacular slice of musical horror comedy has rightly become a cult Christmas classic since then. Anna and the Apocalypse is not only one of the best alternative Christmas movies of the past ten years; it’s a damn fine musical that should have already found a way onto the West End stage.

Anna was the brainchild of the late Scottish filmmaker Ryan McHenry, who wrote and directed a short film titled Zombie Musical in 2011. However, its journey to feature-length would take years, with its premiere sadly arriving after McHenry’s death from osteosarcoma in 2015. Thankfully, despite this tragic loss, writer Alan McDonald, director John McPhail, producers Naysun Alae-Carew and Nicholas Crum, and singer-songwriters Tommy Reilly and Roddy Hart were determined not to let McHenry’s vision fade. By 2016, the creative ensemble was complete.

Set during the run-up to Christmas in a small Scottish town called Little Haven, Anna (Ella Hunt) isn’t feeling much festive cheer as she clashes with her dad (Mark Benton) concerning her post-school plans. Anna wants to travel across Australia to escape the small town, while her dad wants her to attend university. But plans are about to be pulled into perspective as news of a strange new virus hits every TV and newspaper, and the world as Anna knows it begins to crumble.

At its core, Anna and the Apocalypse is a classic coming-of-age story; Anna’s best friend, John (Malcolm Cumming), holds a secret crush on her, while her friend Steph (Sarah Swire) has been dumped in Little Haven by her globe-trotting parents as Chris (Christopher Leveaux) makes amateur horror movies. Here, the story follows a tried-and-tested template as our young troupe realise they must fend for themselves in a world where the support of their parents and grandparents is no longer available. However, for all its classic coming-of-age tropes, Anna and the Apocalypse defies any labels.

From the outset, Anna and the Apocalypse tells us there is no such thing as a Hollywood ending, and it delivers on that promise. While its humour, music and comic book gore are upbeat, a profoundly emotional core sits at the heart of the story, one that will lead to more than a few tears amongst the tinsel. As a result, Anna and the Apocalypse appeals to fans of classic zombie horror and those who prefer musical theatre; it’s a mash-up of Night of the Living Dead and Glee, and it’s bloody glorious!

25. EILEEN (2023)

A sense of unease permeates William Oldroyd’s adaptation of Ottessa Moshfegh’s novel, Eileen. The snow-bound Massachusetts town where young Eileen works and lives is a place of secrets as deep as the snow on the ground; everyone knows it, but no one digs, fearing what they might find. Eileen, played brilliantly by Thomasin McKenzie, is a young secretary at a local youth detention centre; there, she silently and secretly gazes upon the young inmates and the guards, creating sexual scenarios in her mind. Eileen is desperate for the touch of a stranger, yet she is also unsure and uncertain of her bubbling sexual desires. 

At home, her relationship with her alcoholic, ex-police chief father (Shea Whigham) is volatile and cruel, as he tears Eileen down at every opportunity while remaining reliant on her care. When the beautiful and refined prison psychologist, Rebecca St. John (Anne Hathaway), arrives at the detention centre, disrupting and challenging the male-dominated world of the establishment, Eileen is enthralled. And when Rebecca takes Eileen out for a night of martinis and dancing in the town’s only bar, Eileen’s potential sexual interest turns to obsession. Rebecca knows she has Eileen under her spell, but what comes next will change Eileen’s life forever as Rebecca St John, unlike the locals, begins to dig into the secrets buried in the snow of a town built on silence. 

Oldroyd delights in building unease and tension before delivering a deliciously dark twist in this tale of repression, sexuality, and secrets. Here, the performances of McKenzie and Hathaway are enticing, complex, and obscure, as one finds a voice and a burning sexuality long since buried, while the other uncovers the darkness of a town drowning in secrets and lies.

Many will draw comparisons with Todd Haynes’ Carol (2015), but Eileen has far more in common with Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940), Rope (1948) and Notorious (1946); there’s even a nod to Psycho (1960) as it twists and turns towards an ending that will leave you screaming for more. At a brisk 1 hour and 30 minutes, there are times when Eileen lacks the space and time to fully embrace its darkness, but this delightfully twisted Christmas tale still manages to leave an indelible mark as the credits roll.

26. THE ADVENT CALENDAR (2021)

A beautiful antique Advent calendar awaits a new owner in a small Christmas Market in Germany. It has small wooden boxes, hidden compartments, delicious sweet treats, and a festive riddle for each new owner. But, etched on the back of the box is something strange and eerie: “Schmeiß es Weg und ich Werde Dich Umbringen,” or “Dump it, and I’ll kill you.” 

Writer/director Patrick Ridremont’s outstanding Christmas horror is both riveting and terrifying, as he skillfully weaves elements of Faust with Hellraiser in a twisted exploration of the Christmas wish. Here, a good woman must descend into darkness to claim the spoils that lie before her – the “Ich” that haunts her, a physical manifestation of Freud’s Id, Ego and Superego. The Advent Calendar’s mix of tried-and-tested horror tropes, psychological terror, and folklore feels unique, as does its dark Christmas setting, where the clouds of loneliness shroud the glimmering lights.

The result is a devilishly brilliant festive horror that writhes with tension as it asks a straightforward question: How far would you go for the ultimate Christmas miracle? But be warned, the answer is far more complicated than it would initially appear, as The Advent Calendar leaves us on the knife-edge of a much bigger story. 

27. DIE HARD (1988)

Die Hard was released during the summer of 1988, a world away from the Christmas season it represented. However, since then, Die Hard has rightly earned its place as an essential Christmas movie; its testosterone-fueled story and twinkling lights making it a perfect, never-equalled slice of 80s festive action. Die Hard celebrates sweat-drenched muscles, blood-soaked string vests, and Shakespearean terrorists in all their 80s-overblown glory.

But look closely, and there is also a cutting dissection of American arrogance, racial divide and power imbalance, making Die Hard far more than your average action flick. Bruce Willis is nothing more than an overgrown Boy Scout thrown into a world of counter-terror as Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” rings out through a haze of gunfire and explosions. However, the late, great Alan Rickman steals the show as the festive lights and coke-sniffing capitalism of the Nakatomi Plaza building are engulfed in a wave of terror. 

28. A GHOST STORY FOR CHRISTMAS (1971 – PRESENT)

Originally broadcast in the final hours of Christmas Eve, the BBC’s “A Ghost Story for Christmas” sent a shiver down the spines of adults nationwide between 1971 and 1978, before being revived in 2005. Drawing on classic ghost stories by M. R. James and Charles Dickens’ “A Ghost Story for Christmas,” would take a journey from The Stalls of Barchester to The Ice House and a lonely stretch of railway track, where The Signalman hears voices in the dark.

Each spine-chilling tale, shot on 16mm colour film, honoured the age-old tradition of ghost stories at Christmas, with 30- to 50-minute episodes featuring stars such as Denholm Elliott, Robert Hardy, and Peter Bowles.

The modern run has brought us stories from Edith Nesbit, Arthur Conan Doyle, and, of course, M. R. James, with guest performances from Simon Callow, Kit Harington, Freddie Fox, and Celia Imrie, and continues to beckon us toward a darker world beyond the lights of our Christmas tree.   

29. LESS THAN ZERO (1987)

Clay (Andrew McCarthy) is a straight-A student who has recently left his affluent West Coast home for college. However, when Clay is asked by his ex-girlfriend, Blair (Jamie Gertz), to return to Los Angeles during the Christmas break, apprehension seizes him; he already knows who awaits him.

As he reluctantly arrives home, Clay is immediately thrust back into the fake, drug-fuelled culture of the wealthy L.A. suburbs he chose to escape. Travelling from one pretentious party to the next, it becomes clear that his best friend Julian (Robert Downey Jr) has a coke habit that has, unsurprisingly, grown out of control. Julian’s father has cut off all financial support, with his dealer, Rip (James Spader), extending his credit in return for favours. But as Clay becomes wrapped in Julian’s drug-fuelled decline, he must decide whether to support and help his childhood friend or permanently escape the madness of the LA life he chose to leave.

Less Than Zero’s place in cinema history deserves far more attention. It challenged perceptions of drug use and gave birth to a host of addiction-related dramas in the years after its release. It’s a film that bridges the romantic ’80s teen drama and the far darker movies of the ’90s while demonstrating how the wealth and privilege of ’80s upper-class city life often harboured far darker secrets. Kanievska’s film may not be perfect, but it is essential viewing, as it unpicks the American capitalist dream.

30. Pillion (2025)

The world of gay sex and relationships is, and always has been, a playing field of desires, tastes, likes and dislikes that can prove somewhat overwhelming at first glance. Of course, many movies have flirted with this diverse playing field over the years. Still, none have “blown the bloody doors off” with such humour, heart, and horniness as Harry Lighton’s spunky feature directorial debut, Pillion, adapted from Adam Mars-Jones’ novel ‘Box Hill’.

For Colin, played by the fabulous Harry Melling, love and sex have long proved to be a distant dream. It’s not that the traffic warden hasn’t had dates; his terminally ill mum, Peggy (Lesley Sharp), has been studious in setting him up with prospective men, and his dad, Pete (Douglas Hodge), who Colin performs with in a barbershop quartet, also wants to see him settle down, find a man and move out of the family home. However, for quiet Colin, no man ever quite meets his needs and desires. He wants a man—someone rugged, masculine in every sense of the word, and someone dominant.

Luckily for Colin, a man fitting the bill is about to walk into the pub where he has just performed in the run-up to Christmas – a biker, clad in leather, with the body of Adonis and a domineering presence that instantly attracts the floppy-haired barbershop quartet boy.

Ray, played by the brilliant Alexander Skarsgård, is a man of few words, a man who knows what he wants and knows how to get it. As he stands at the bar, he is more than aware of Colin’s attention and immediately sets about testing Colin’s interest in him, checking just how submissive he is willing to be with few words and even less eye contact with Colin, whose Christmases have all come at once. As he leaves the pub, Ray knows Colin ‘has potential’ and writes down a meeting place and time on a small scrap of paper—Christmas Day, early evening, in town.

Colin spends Christmas Day counting down the hours, his mum and dad enthusiastic about his date, while slightly unclear about why the mysterious Ray picked Christmas Day. As evening falls, with his small dog in tow, Colin ventures into town, unsure what to expect, but eager to please the alpha male Ray, who also arrives with his dog, one double the size of Colin’s. It’s this meeting that sets their sub/dom relationship in motion, one where Ray calls the shots, and Colin pleases. But this is no abusive partnership; it’s founded on an unspoken agreement that sees Colin fall head over heels for Ray and his close group of biker sub/dom friends. It’s a sexual awakening for Colin, and a transformational moment where he suddenly realises what he wants.