{"id":116912,"date":"2020-11-10T16:01:36","date_gmt":"2020-11-10T16:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/?p=116912"},"modified":"2020-11-10T16:03:41","modified_gmt":"2020-11-10T16:03:41","slug":"christmas-horror-movies-eight-deep-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/top-tens\/christmas-horror-movies-eight-deep-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas horror movies: Eight deep cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Office<\/strong> meets Stephen King, dressed up in holiday tinsel, in Secret Santa<\/strong> – a fun, festive, and frightening horror-comedy set during the horror publishing boom of the Eighties, by New York Times\u00a0best-selling satirist Andrew Shaffer. Ahead of publication this month, Andrew gives us his top Christmas horror movies…<\/em><\/p>\n

The original\u00a0<\/strong>Black Christmas<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0from 1974 tops every holiday horror list, and deservedly so. The next couple of spots are usually reserved for Eighties campfests Christmas Evil<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Silent Night, Deadly Night<\/strong><\/em>,\u00a0and lighter fare such as\u00a0Gremlins<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

But what happens when you’ve exhausted the usual suspects? It’s time to reach deeper into your stocking, where you’ll find these minor-key Christmas classics, which are either underrated, forgotten, or overlooked…<\/p>\n

A Christmas Horror Story (2015)<\/h2>\n

While it’s been a mainstay on Netflix for the past couple of years, this direct-to-video anthology (pictured above) is often overlooked by critics. Because it features a Krampus on the poster, it’s usually lumped in with the dozens of abysmal Krampus movies that have flooded the market in recent years. This one’s actually worth your time.\u00a0Krampus Unleashed<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Mother Krampus?<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Not so much.<\/p>\n

Why it’s worth your time:\u00a0<\/strong>William Shatner goes full Shatner.<\/p>\n

Elves (1989)<\/h2>\n

Fans of bad movies rejoice! This movie is awful. So awful that it’s not even legally streaming anywhere online (the true mark of a terrible film these days). And yet… how can you not love a movie where elves are selectively bred by Nazis to create a race of super-humans?<\/p>\n

Why it’s worth your time:\u00a0Room<\/em><\/strong>-worthy, too-on-the-nose dialogue such as \u201cI need to know the connection between the elves and the Nazis!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Children (2008)<\/h2>\n

A Christmas holiday goes to hell in this low-budget British thriller. Kids get sick with a deadly virus that makes them attack their parents. The protagonist is a teenaged girl played by Hannah Tointon, whose many TV credits include the Channel Four soap\u00a0Hollyoaks<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Why it’s worth your time:<\/strong> The tagline alone. I mean, c’mon: “You brought them into this world… now they will take you out.”<\/p>\n

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You can’t beat the tagline in The Children<\/strong><\/em>: “You brought them into this world… now they will take you out.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Santa’s Slay (2005)<\/h2>\n

It stars\u00a0professional wrestler Bill Goldberg as a crazed slasher Santa. A lot of people thumb their noses at movies starring pro wrestlers, but overlook\u00a0Santa’s Slay<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>at your own peril.<\/p>\n

Why it’s worth your time:\u00a0<\/strong>Tree-topper throwing stars.<\/p>\n

Wind Chill (2007)<\/h2>\n

Two girls heading home for the holidays from college get stranded in a stalled car in a blizzard. Executive produced by George Clooney, starring Emily Blunt, music by Clint Mansell, and… you’ve never heard of it, have you? It made just $285k on a $6 million budget, so it’s not surprising it’s been buried deep in the snow.<\/p>\n

Why it’s worth your time:\u00a0<\/strong>Emily Blunt.<\/p>\n

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987)<\/h2>\n

The first movie is a classic amongst the pantheon of slasher pics, featuring a deranged young man in a Santa Claus outfit on a rampage. The second movie features more of the same \u2014 literally. Half its runtime is recycled footage from the first movie. A bold move, to say the least. Some might say ‘rip-off’, especially since the new footage is, for the most part, laughably bad in comparison. Look at it this way: Part 2\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>gives you two movies for the price of one.<\/p>\n

Why it\u2019s worth your time:\u00a0<\/strong>One scene is so good-bad that it spawned an internet meme (\u201cGARBAGE DAY!\u201d).<\/p>\n

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Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2<\/strong><\/em> gives you two movies for the price of one…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)<\/h2>\n

An eccentric businessman’s expedition to unearth the tomb of Santa Claus goes awry. Yes, it’s yet another movie about a murderous Santa Claus. This one is Finnish, however. Rare Exports<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>takes some fantastical twists and turns you won’t see coming. Often overlooked because it’s non-English. Don’t let the subtitles scare you away… let the sadistic St. Nick do that.<\/p>\n

Why it’s worth your time:<\/strong>\u00a0It has all the magic of an early Spielberg film with five times the blood and guts.<\/p>\n

Pooka! (2018)<\/h2>\n

This wouldn’t be a horror film list without at least one Blumhouse production, would it? It’s 2018, and the year’s hottest toy is Pooka (sort of like a Furby, if anyone remembers those mechanical heathens). When a struggling actor lands a gig wearing a Pooka costume… things happen. Bad things.<\/p>\n

Why it’s worth your time:<\/strong>\u00a0Don’t blink or you’ll miss the Pooka wanking scene.<\/p>\n

Secret Santa is published by Quirk Books on 17 November<\/a>. You can WIN a copy here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n