Christmas Horror- the good and the bad part two!

In my last post, I listed my favourite Christmas horror movies. Now, I am going to list some that wouldn't be my favourites, but that I enjoyed. I also will list some that I didn't love. Let me start with some of the ones that I found entertaining....

Elves

This 1989 Christmas horror film is bad, quite bad, but at the same time, it is entertaining. There is something endearing about it and that makes it better than it is. It is a simple tale of a Christmas elf who is awakened during a blood letting ritual by a teen and her friends. Yes, it is a weird mix of elves, Nazi plots and a girl who is a cranky teen. It is a funny film because the elf looks bad and the plot is crazy, but it will make you smile, so I recommend it.

Krampus

This 2015 Christmas horror movie is a lot of fun. We all know the character and that makes for some festive frights. It's partly comedy and partly horror. There is a lot to like about it. It is one of the better Christmas films. I enjoyed it and I recommend it.

Rare Exports:A Christmas Tale

This film is from 2010 and it is from Finland. In this film, Santa is evil and people have to try and stop him from being defrosted in a block of ice. A man and his son try to stop him from coming back to life and killing the local children. This is a weird movie and it is partly a comedy. I don't usually like horror comedy very much, but it works here. This is an unusual take on the evil Santa so have a look if you want something different.

Terrifier 3

I don't think I need to say much about this. Everyone has heard of the third installment in the franchise and you should watch this if you liked the other two. Art the clown is demented, as usual and he is basking in the Christmas spirit in this film. He is murdering his way through the festive season and this will delight you if you enjoy some yuletide gore. Highly recommended.

Now, there are a few others that I enjoyed and I am not going to get around to each one. Here a few more that I liked. Jack Frost(1997) is a fun take on an evil snowman. Home for the Holidays is a 1972 TV slasher film set around Christmas. Silent Night, Bloody Night(1972) is another slasher film which has a Christmas theme. He Sees You When You're Sleeping is a decent Christmas slasher from 2024. All Through the House is a fun Christmas slasher film from 2015 which is worth watching.

Now, anthologies are always fun and these Christmas horror anthologies are worth watching. The first one is  A Christmas Horror Story(2015). Holiday Hell is another one from 2019. I liked some of the stories. All the Creatures were Stirring(2018) is another anthology which has some pretty good stories.

This is where I tell you about the bad films that I saw. Now, I just didn't enjoy these very much. I wanted to but some had poor acting and others were just bad.  Better Watch Out is from 2016 and I thought that it would be better, but I didn't like it much. Red Christmas(2016) is bad, in my opinion. I didn't like it. It's a Wonderful Knife(2023) is a mix of horror and comedy and it fell flat for me. I didn't get it and I didn't like it. Secret Santa(2015) is another horror/comedy and it is drivel. Pure drivel. I disliked it immensely. The last film that I will put on the list is one from 2022. It is called Nutcracker Massacre. The premise was interesting and I liked the poster, but the film didn't really deliver .

I am going to include two more films that are not Christmas films, but should be included because they are related to the festive season. New Year's Evil from 1980 is ok and worth a look as is Bloody New Year from 1987. Weird film, but worth a look as it is one of the few New Year horror films out there.

So, that is my list of Christmas horror films. Of course, there are some that I haven't included but you will have more than enough to keep you going. I hope that you have a Happy Christmas and as always, thank you for reading and following Jigsaw's Lair!

Christmas horror -the good and the bad!

So, Christmas is coming once again and it is a time for some good seasonal horror films. I know that it is time for some heartwarming movies too, but I am going to concentrate on some festive scares. Now, I have my favourites and then there are others that I like but don't love. So, let me begin with these frightful holiday movies which might delight or make you cringe...

Black Christmas

I am referring to the 1974 version, of course. The remakes are not for me. This classic slasher film is a fantastic watch. It is atmospheric, creepy and fun. There is a great cast, including John Saxon and Margot Kidder. The kills are all good. The premise is great. A killer in the attic is downright creepy and the noises coming from him make you uneasy. His calls to the sorority girls are horrible and the fact that he is calling from inside the house is definitely unsettling. This film is THE best Christmas horror film, in my opinion. It is my favourite Christmas horror movie of all time. So, if you haven't seen it, do so immediately. It won't disappoint!

Silent Night, Deadly Night

This 1984 film was controversial when it was released because of the content. It seems funny to us now, but people didn't like the idea of a killer Santa Claus. This film is quite mean, really. The beginning has a weird grandpa who tells his grandson , Billy, that Christmas Eve is the scariest night of the year. That is enough to warp any child but there is even more to come. Billy's parents are murdered by a psycho dressed as Santa Claus. Then he is thrown into an orphanage run by a horrible nun. She warps poor Billy even more. He ends up working at a toy store and he seems to be getting along well, but when he has to dress up as Santa for work, he snaps. This prompts him to go on a rampage. He just kills everyone. He loses it and goes to the orphanage to get the evil nun. His brother Ricky is still living there and he sees his brother. Billy dies and his brother seems to take up his cause. This film is dark in tone and definitely not feelgood. You can understand why Billy is a bit unbalanced but when he snaps, then he is full on psycho. There are some good kills and some great scenes. I really recommend this one. There were sequels, but most of them aren't good. Part two is worth a look, though.

Christmas Evil

Christmas Evil is a 1980 horror movie and you can tell from the title that it is another seasonal frightfest. This one has a man who decides to become Santa Claus and punish those who are bad.

This man is not respected by his work colleagues. He is resentful. It all comes to a head and he decides that is going to go around town killing those who he considers bad. He becomes more and more unhinged as he goes along and he ends up in a bad way at the end. It is a good offering for this time of year and I recommend it.  You could read into everything and come up with all sorts of meanings in the film, but I just like it because it's fun. 

Don't Open till Christmas

This 1984 British film is an interesting one. It is about a Santa serial killer who is making his way 

through London killing those he meets. A woman called Kate sees her father murdered by the killer and she tries to figure out who did it. A cop is on the case and he talks to Kate and they investigate. The movie is about Harris trying to catch the guy, who murders lots of people dressed as Santa. There are some good kills here and it is an interesting murder mystery story with a Christmas twist. The ending is fun and this will satisfy any horror fan.

To All A Goodnight

This slasher film from 1980 is about a killer Santa Claus at a finishing school. A group of girls and their boyfriends are staying there over the Christmas holidays and someone wants to kill all of them. It is directed by David Hess who you might remember from Last House on the Left and House at the Edge of the Park. He is a bad guy in movies but he does a good job here. It is a decent film despite bad reviews. I enjoyed it and I include it in my Christmas watchlist. If you enjoy a Santa slasher, then give it a try.

Christmas Bloody Christmas

Christmas Bloody Christmas is a recent Christmas horror movie. It is from 2022. I wasn't sure about it at first, but it is a good film. I really liked the idea of a robotic Santa Claus killing people. It is a fun movie about a woman and her friend who are terrorised by a defective robot Santa Claus. There is a lot of gore in this and the kills are pretty good. It is a rarity - a newer movie that I like. I  had to include it here. I definitely recommend adding this to your Christmas list. 

Now, I don't want to make this post too long, so I am going to break it into two parts. There are some other titles that I want to include and I will do so in the next post. In the meantime, have a look at these movies. There is something for every horror fan.