We all love Christmas, right? The food, the drink, the time spent with family, and the endless cheer. Well, sometimes, all that cheer can be too much, and what we want more than anything is something festive, but darker – a movie that reflects the delicious dark shadows away from the fairy lights of Christmas.
1. 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 horror subgenre—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.
2. 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. Starring a truly extraordinary ensemble cast, including the brilliant Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Shelley Winters, Roddy McDowall, Jack Albertson, Stella Stevens and more, Neame’s all-action, practical effects-driven festive disaster continues to leave every modern-day disaster movie in its wake.
3. 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.
4. 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. Michael Keaton builds on his debut alongside Michelle Pfeiffer‘s psychotic yet sensual Catwoman and Danny 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 would prove 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.
Ten Dark Christmas Movies
5. 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, starring the unpredictable Bill Murray, 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, and its message is sadly even more relevant today, as it asks us all, “What is Christmas really all about?”
6. 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 Dark 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 divides and power imbalances, 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.
7. RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS TALE (2010)
Do you believe in the Coca-Cola-redesigned Father Christmas of our modern era, or the far scarier Santa Claus of European folklore? In Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, 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 dark Christmas movie gem.
8. 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.
9. 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 it deserves far more attention and praise.
10. 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 several classics, including Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio, and takes 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.
11. TANGERINE (2015)
Christmas isn’t always full of tinsel, elves, and snow, and Tangerine is a stunning example of a Christmas movie set amid urban sprawl and life’s realities. Sean Baker’s movie pairs a laugh-out-loud comedy with a moving, tender, and urgent exploration of sex work, as the glimmering lights of L.A. contrast with the daily reality of street work.
Baker brings the same nonjudgmental approach that characterised his Independent Spirit Awards prize-winner Starlet, while an in-your-face soundtrack pumps up the volume to boisterous effect.
Shot entirely on the iPhone 5, Tangerine is bathed in the winter sun and the heat of Los Angeles, offering a heartfelt, emotional, and humorous Christmas on the margins of society. In the proud tradition of spit-and-sawdust American Indies, dialogue is often improvised, even when it was initially scripted, and it maintains a loose narrative structure that feels authentic throughout.
Tangerine wears its heart on its sleeve as two transgender sex workers, Alexandra and Sin-Dee, walk the backstreets of L.A. on Christmas Eve in this must-see, proudly queer indie gem.
12. 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.
13. 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 since become a cult Christmas classic. 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, and its premiere would come 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 lies 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!
14. 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.
15. 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.
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