28 Christmas Horror Movies Ranked Worst to Best

Rudolph’s nose isn’t the only thing getting splashed with red this year!

Christmas is known for its tranquility and cheer, a seasonal reprieve from the ills of the world…making it of course a prime target of some nasty, very naughty movies. The killers in our guide to the 25 best- and worst-reviewed Christmas horror movies range from jilted psychos (Black Christmas) to fantastic beasts (Krampus) to even so-not-jolly St. Nick himself (Rare Exports). And naturally no ho-ho-horror holiday would be complete without the classics (Gremlins), alongside the new contenders banging on the window to get in (Better Watch Out, Anna and the Apocalypse).

Go ahead and make your list, check it twice, chances are you’re not surviving this holiday night!

#28

The Dorm That Dripped Blood (1982)
0%

#28

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: When a group of college students volunteer to stay in their dorm over break to help out with some work,... [More]

Starring: Laurie Lapinski, Laurie Lapinski, Stephen Sachs, Stephen Sachs

Directed By: Stephen Carpenter, Jeffrey Obrow

#27

Jack Frost (1996)
7%

#27

Adjusted Score: 7.01%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: In this low-budget horror outing, a psychopathic killer loses the last of his warm feelings for humanity after he is... [More]

Starring: Christopher Allport, Chris Allport, F. William Parker, Scott Macdonald

Directed By: Michael Cooney

#26

ATM (2012)
12%

#26

Adjusted Score: 12.087%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: After leaving their company Christmas Party together, David Hargrove and Emily Brandt's impromptu first date takes an unexpected turn when... [More]

Starring: Brian Geraghty, Josh Peck, Alice Eve, Mike O'Brian

Directed By: David Allen Brooks, David Brooks

#25

Black Christmas (2006)
16%

#25

Adjusted Score: 17.497%

Critics Consensus: A gratuitous remake of the 1974 slasher, Black Christmas pumps out the gore and blood with zero creativity, humor, or visual flair.

Synopsis: Billy, a young boy, was abused by his mother as a child. His mother cheated on Billy's father, and eventually... [More]

Starring: Katie Cassidy, Michelle Trachtenberg, Kristen Cloke, Crystal Lowe

Directed By: Glen Morgan

#24

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987)
25%

#24

Adjusted Score: 18.756%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: In this horror sequel, the younger brother of the murderer in the previous film takes up his sibling's unfinished business.... [More]

Starring: Eric Freeman, James L. Newman, James Newman, Elizabeth Cayton

Directed By: Lee Harry

#23

While She Was Out (2008)
35%

#23

Adjusted Score: 25.347%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A suburban housewife heads out for a quick trip to the local mall, only to find herself trapped in the... [More]

Starring: Kim Basinger, Lukas Haas, Craig Sheffer, Jamie Starr

Directed By: Susan Montford

#22

P2 (2007)
33%

#22

Adjusted Score: 34.752%

Critics Consensus: P2 is full of gore, but low on suspense, featuring a cat-and-mouse plot has been done many times before.

Synopsis: Angela, a corporate climber, gets stuck working late on Christmas Eve and finds herself the target of an unhinged security... [More]

Starring: Rachel Nichols, Wes Bentley, Philip Akin, Miranda Edwards

Directed By: Franck Khalfoun

#21

Black Christmas (2019)
38%

#21

Adjusted Score: 42.1%

Critics Consensus: Better than the 2006 remake yet not as sharp as the original, this Black Christmas stabs at timely feminist themes but mostly hits on familiar pulp.

Synopsis: Hawthorne College is quieting down for the holidays. But as Riley Stone (Imogen Poots, Green Room) and her Mu Kappa... [More]

Starring: Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Lily Donoghue, Brittany O'Grady

Directed By: Sophia Takal

#20

Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
42%

#20

Adjusted Score: 43.219%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Fangoria Presents unwraps Charles E Sallier Jr.'s 1984 holiday cult horror classic SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT, in theaters this December!... [More]

Starring: Robert Brian Wilson, Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero

Directed By: Charles E. Sellier Jr

#19

Wind Chill (2007)
46%

#19

Adjusted Score: 42.2%

Critics Consensus: Wind Chill is a ghost story with a clunky and unpolished script that fails to keep viewers in suspense.

Synopsis: During Christmas break, a young woman catches a ride home from a stranger she meets through a college ride board.... [More]

Starring: Emily Blunt, Ashton Holmes, Martin Donovan, Ned Bellamy

Directed By: Gregory Jacobs, Greg Jacobs

#18

Red Christmas (2017)
48%

#18

Adjusted Score: 46.214%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Matriarch Diane (Dee Wallace) has invited her children to celebrate one last Christmas in their family home. Amid celebrations and... [More]

Starring: Dee Wallace, Geoff Morrell, Sarah Bishop (II) , David Collins

Directed By:

#17

Saint (2011)
55%

#17

Adjusted Score: 21.652%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Saint Nicholas is not the good-hearted children's friend as people think he is. In reality he is a cruel bloodthirsty... [More]

Starring: Huub Stapel, Egbert Jan Weeber, Caro Lenssen, Bert Luppes

Directed By: Dick Maas

#16

Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (1971)
56%

#16

Adjusted Score: 56.106%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: In this English film, a group of orphans visiting the home of a wealthy, retired singer (Shelley Winters) discover that... [More]

Starring: Shelley Winters, Mark Lester, Chloe Franks, Ralph Richardson

Directed By: Curtis Harrington

#15

The Gingerdead Man (2005)
60%

#15

Adjusted Score: 11.555%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A deranged psychopath returns from the grave in the form of a delicious but deadly treat in B-movie specialist Charles... [More]

Starring: Gary Busey, Robin Sydney, Ryan Locke, Larry Cedar

Directed By: Charles Band

#14

Silent Night (2012)
64%

#14

Adjusted Score: 29.422%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A loose remake of the horror classic Silent Night, Deadly Night, Malcolm McDowell and Jaime King star as a small-town... [More]

Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Jaime King, Donal Logue, Brendan Fehr

Directed By: Steven C. Miller

#13

Krampus (2015)
67%

#13

Adjusted Score: 71.461%

Critics Consensus: Krampus is gory good fun for fans of non-traditional holiday horror with a fondness for Joe Dante's B- movie classics, even if it doesn't have quite the savage bite its concept calls for.

Synopsis: When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does... [More]

Starring: Emjay Anthony, Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner

Directed By: Michael Dougherty

#12

Black Christmas (1974)
71%

#12

Adjusted Score: 74.319%

Critics Consensus: The rare slasher with enough intelligence to wind up the tension between bloody outbursts, Black Christmas offers fiendishly enjoyable holiday viewing for genre fans.

Synopsis: Black Christmas is an effective, frightening above average slasher movie with a good cast and a frightening, surprise ending. Barb... [More]

Starring: Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, John Saxon

Directed By: Bob Clark

#11

The Lodge (2020)
73%

#11

Adjusted Score: 80.659%

Critics Consensus: Led by an impressive Riley Keough performance, The Lodge should prove a suitably unsettling destination for fans of darkly atmospheric horror.

Synopsis: A bone-chilling nightmare from the directors of GOODNIGHT MOMMY, THE LODGE follows a family who retreat to their remote winter... [More]

Starring: Riley Keough, Jaeden Martell, Lia McHugh, Alicia Silverstone

Directed By: Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz

#10

Dead End (2003)
75%

#10

Adjusted Score: 20.112%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A family making their annual Christmas pilgrimage to Grandmother's house finds their journey taking an ominous turn when they attempt... [More]

Starring: Ray Wise, Lin Shaye, Mick Cain, Alexandra Holden

Directed By: Jean-Baptiste Andrea, Fabrice Canepa, Jean-Bapiste Andrea

#9

Christmas Evil (1980)
75%

#9

Adjusted Score: 62.312%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A deranged department-store Santa becomes a cold-blooded killer in this taut psycho-thriller that spends time looking back at the poor... [More]

Starring: Brandon Maggart, Dianne Hull, Scott McKay, Joe Jamrog

Directed By: Lewis Jackson

#8

El Día de la bestia (The Day of the Beast) (1999)
75%

#8

Adjusted Score: 46.05%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Spanish filmmaker Alex de la Iglesia followed his outlandish sci-fi/horror debut, Accion Mutante, with this colorful apocalypse fantasy about Father... [More]

Starring: Álex Angulo, Armando De Razza, Santiago Segura, Terele Pavez

Directed By: Álex de la Iglesia

#7

The Children (2008)
76%

#7

Adjusted Score: 55.04%

Critics Consensus: Unsettling and spine-chilling low-budget British horror, with effective and disturbing scares.

Synopsis: A relaxing Christmas vacation turns into a terrifying fight for survival as the children begin to turn on their parents.... [More]

Starring: Eva Birthistle, Stephen Campbell Moore, Jeremy Sheffield, Rachel Shelley

Directed By: Tom Shankland

#6

Anna and the Apocalypse (2018)
77%

#6

Adjusted Score: 81.61%

Critics Consensus: Anna and the Apocalypse finds fresh brains and a lot of heart in the crowded zombie genre - not to mention a fun genre mashup populated by rootable characters.

Synopsis: A zombie apocalypse threatens the sleepy town of Little Haven -- at Christmas -- forcing Anna and her friends to... [More]

Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Sarah Swire, Christopher Leveaux

Directed By: John McPhail

#5

A Christmas Horror Story (2015)
83%

#5

Adjusted Score: 80.808%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: It's the season of joy, peace, and goodwill... unless you live in Bailey Downs. Last Christmas Eve, two teens came... [More]

Starring: George Buza, William Shatner, Jessica Jane Clement, Percy Hynes-White

Directed By: Steven Hoban, Brett Sullivan, Grant Harvey

#4

Inside (À l'intérieur) (2007)
85%

#4

Adjusted Score: 42.238%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A pregnant widow awaiting her ride to the hospital must fight for her life against a mysterious woman who comes... [More]

Starring: Alysson Paradis, Beatrice Dalle, Nathalie Roussel, Nicolas Duvauchelle

Directed By: Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury

#3

Gremlins (1984)
85%

#3

Adjusted Score: 90.658%

Critics Consensus: Whether you choose to see it as a statement on consumer culture or simply a special effects-heavy popcorn flick, Gremlins is a minor classic.

Synopsis: "Don't expose him to bright light. Don't ever get him wet. And don't ever, ever feed him after midnight." This... [More]

Starring: Zach Galligan, Hoyt Axton, Frances Lee McCain, Phoebe Cates

Directed By: Joe Dante

#2

Better Watch Out (2017)
89%

#2

Adjusted Score: 90.934%

Critics Consensus: Carried by its charismatic young cast, Better Watch Out is an adorably sinister holiday horror film.

Synopsis: This holiday season, you may be home, but you're not alone... In this fresh and gleefully twisted spin on home-invasion... [More]

Starring: Levi Miller, Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Dacre Montgomery

Directed By: Chris Peckover

#1

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)
90%

#1

Adjusted Score: 92.624%

Critics Consensus: Rare Exports is an unexpectedly delightful crossbreed of deadpan comedy and Christmas horror.

Synopsis: It's the eve of Christmas in northern Finland, and an 'archeological' dig has just unearthed the real Santa Claus. But... [More]

Starring: Onni Tommila, Jorma Tommila, Ilmari Järvenpää, Peeter Jakobi

Directed By: Jalmari Helander