The 20 Best Horror Christmas Movies, Ranked

Watching horror movies at Christmastime may be unconventional, but that doesn't mean it's not a whole lot of fun. Some people are just not into the fantastically cheesy, romantic and heartwarming films that dominate screens everywhere during the holidays, and that's just fine. For those of us who prefer to watch horror films year-round, there are actually a bunch of truly terrifying, extra-creepy and totally gory Christmas horror movies to choose from. Who says everything has to be snowflakes and candy canes in December anyway?

Serial killers still murder at Christmas, psychos still terrorize in December, and ghosts still haunt their favorite homes when the yule log is burning, and so we thought we'd share a list of the top 20 scary Christmas movies, according to Rotten Tomatoes. This means all of these films have received their share of positive ratings on the movie review site, and although of course some of them fall into the B-movie genre, lots of horror movies do, and that doesn't make them any less bone-chilling.

Anyone in need of a break from all the "comfort and joy" should definitely considered queueing up a few of these Christmas horror movies, pouring a hot toddy and tucking in for a scary movie marathon, holiday style. Find out which Christmas horror movies are worth watching.

20. 'Silent Night, Deadly Night'

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TriStar Pictures

Years after seeing his parents slaughtered by Santa, Billy still believes that Santa punishes naughty boys and girls. When he's finally out of the orphanage where he suffered years of abuse, he gets a job as a toy store Santa … but witnessing some inappropriate behavior while on the job sets him off on a murderous rampage of his own.

19. 'While She Was Out'

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Anchor Bay Films

Starring Kim Bassinger, 2008's While She Was Out is the story of a stressed-out mom who is out late shopping on Christmas Eve when she becomes the target of a group of troublemakers after leaving a note on their car in a mall parking lot. In an attempt to escape her harassers, she crashes her car in the woods, leaving her even more vulnerable.

18. 'P2'

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Summit Entertainment/P2 Productions

In P2, a woman leaves her office building on Christmas Eve and wakes up chained to a chair. A demented security guard has captured her and is intent on spending Christmas Eve in an intense game of cat and mouse with the businesswoman, whom he releases to run from him in the parking deck clad in a skimpy dress and heels.

17. 'Red Christmas'

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Artsploitation Films

Red Christmas is a truly creepy film about a woman in Australia who manages to gather her family for the holidays even though they don't exactly get along. Things go from bad to worse when an uninvited guest shows up ready to exact revenge on the woman who tried to end his life.

16. 'Wind Chill'

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TriStar Pictures

Wind Chill is a 2007 film, starring Emily Blunt and Ashton Holmes, about two college students carpooling home for the holidays. When their car breaks down on a rural road, they soon realize that they may be destined to spend the night being haunted by the ghosts of others who have died on the very same stretch of road.

15. 'Saint'

Saint is a super-scary Christmas horror film out of the Netherlands, in which Santa Claus is depicted as a killer who hunts on the rare December 5 full moon. Legend has it that he's actually a former bishop who returns to kidnap and murder as many children in Amsterdam as he can throughout the holiday season.

14. 'Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?'

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American International Pictures

Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? is a 1972 film, starring Shelley Winters, that's essentially a retelling of the classic tale Hansel & Gretel. It's about an insane widow who throws a yearly Christmas party for the children of an orphanage. Her motives are much more sinister than they appear, though, and one year she finds just the little girl she's been looking for.

13. 'The Gingerdead Man'

Yup, that's right. The Gingerdead Man. It's kind of hard not to be curious about how gloriously awful a film with such a name must be, but for B-horror movie fans, this one is gold. It's about a baker who whips up a batch of gingerbread cookies, only for one little gingerbread man to come to life after being possessed by the soul of a convicted killer on a mission to get back at the girl who sent him to the electric chair.

12. 'Silent Night'

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Anchor Bay Films

Starring Jaime King and Malcolm McDowell, Silent Night is a Christmas-themed slasher flick about a ruthless killer dressed as Santa Claus. A small-town Midwestern police force must track down the murderous Kris Kringle in order to put a stop to his bloody Christmas Eve rampage.

11. 'Krampus'

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Steve Unwin/Universal Pictures

Krampus, starring Adam Scott and Toni Collette, is downright terrifying. It's a reimagination of the German legend about a demon who comes to punish naughty children on Christmas Eve. In this version, a young boy who decides he doesn't like Christmas after putting up with the chaos of his dysfunctional family accidentally summons Krampus, setting off a disturbing series of events.

10. 'Black Christmas'

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Warner Bros.

Black Christmas is a 1974 holiday horror movie about a group of sorority sisters who find themselves being harrassed by a prank caller as they make their holiday preparations. Things get a lot more serious when one of them disappears, and the girls must convince the police that they are in serious danger — and their psychotic neighbor may be the culprit.

9. 'The Children'

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Lions Gate Home Entertainment/Ghosthouse Underground

The Children is literally every parent's worst nightmare. It's about a couple and their children who go to visit family for the holidays out in the country. A happy Christmas isn't in the cards, though, and the children all get sick. It turns out that there's something much more sinister at play, and their parents are all in danger.

8. 'El Dia de la Bestia' ('The Day of the Beast')

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Anolis Entertainment

El Dia de la Bestia is a highly-rated Christmas horror movieout of Spain. It's about a Catholic priest who, after reading the Book of Revelations, determines that he must commit as many sins as possible to deter the arrival of a beast that he believes will be born on Christmas Day. As a result, he teams up with a black metal enthusiast and an occultist to achieve his mission before the looming holiday deadline.

7. 'Dead End'

In 2003's Dead End, while driving his family to his in-laws for their yearly Christmas visit, a man decides to take a shortcut he hasn't tried before — and the family soon realizes it was a terrible mistake. There are new horrors at every turn from a murderous woman in the woods to a mysterious car with no driver. It soon becomes clear they may never make it to their destination.

6. 'A Christmas Horror Story'

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RLJ Entertainment

A Christmas Horror Story may be one of the newest films on this list, but it's quickly ekeing its way into the top five. It's actually a series of scary stories being told by a radio show host on Christmas Eve. From creepy Krampus to zombie elves, these chilling stories are all certainly nightmare-inducing.

5. 'Anna and the Apocalypse'

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Duncan McCallum/Orion Pictures

Being both a musical and horror film cum Christmas movie, Anna and the Apocalypse is truly unique. It's about a group of friends from a tiny town who must band together to protect themselves from the zombie apocalypse. To get home to their families for the holidays, they'll have to battle the undead and overcome new obstacles around every bend.

4. 'Christmas Evil'

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Pan American Pictures

In 1980's Christmas Evil, originally titled You Better Watch Out, a man — who's still traumatized by learning that Santa isn't real as a child — grows tired of being ridiculed for his dedication to bringing children Christmas joy. One day he snaps and ends up going on a brutal Christmas killing spree after suffering a nervous breakdown while working at a toy factory.

3. 'Gremlins'

Zach Galligan in Gremlins (1984)
Warner Bros.

Though not the most horrifying on this list, Gremlins is a classic film that can't quite decide whether it's a horror movie or a Christmas movie, but nevertheless, it's a whole lot of fun to watch. It's about a teenager who gets an exotic new pet for the holidays, but he doesn't take care of it properly and ends up with a hoard of tiny monsters to contend with.

2. 'Better Watch Out'

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Well Go USA Entertainment

After watching this one, parents might want to think twice about leaving the kiddos with a babysitter during the holidays. In Better Watch Out, a young babysitter must protect herself and her charge from intruders at the kid's surburban home. As she sets about defending herself and the boy, she soon realizes this home invasion may be even more dangerous than she thought.

1. 'Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale'

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Oscilloscope

Having achieved 90% on the Rotten Tomatoes tomatometer, this Christmas horror-comedy has certainly earned its spot at the top of the list of best Christmas horror films. When Santa is unearthed during an archaeological dig in Finland, children suddenly begin to disappear. A boy and his dad hunt down the deadly Santa and attempt to sell him to the corporation that sponsored the dig, but Santa's elves aren't content to let that happen.