Christmas Horror Movies That Slash Up Holiday Scares

Nothing seems more opposite than Christmas and horror, and yet, creativity has the power to bring together these two genres to make one of the most fun genre-blenders: Christmas horror movies.

From violent slasher flicks to fun twists on this multi-genre mix, these Christmas horror movie screenplays are great reads when you want a new perspective on a niche market.

Scripts from this Article

Black Christmas

Black Christmas (2006)

Krampus

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Gremlins

The Lodge

Black Christmas (1974)

There are certain aspects to a horror movie that tend to remain true over time: a killer likes to stalk their prey, the police either don’t care to deal with the problem or are too inept to stop it, and the slashing begins early.

In the first iteration of Black Christmas (two more remakes followed in 2006 and 2019), a group of sorority girls are stalked by a killer over the Christmas break who seems bent on slashing their sisters. As the police finally catch on, it seems that it might be too late as someone keeps finding ways to make the sorority sisters disappear.

Black Christmas (2006)

A slashing in the first few minutes, an insane asylum, and Santa Claus. Black Christmas (2006) starts off strong in the Christmas-horror multi-genre. Following the same basic plot as the 1974 version, Black Christmas centers around a group of sorority sisters being hunted and killed.

Living in the former house of a man who has escaped from an insane asylum, they receive a message that he wants them out. This leads to a classic horror who-dun-it with gratuitous gore and a constant focus on any number of weapons used for murder.

Krampus

Krampus is intriguing in its execution. The movie doesn’t have any horror elements in the beginning but rather a family struggling to connect and preparing for the arrival of extended family members they can’t stand.

Things begin to change after the son loses all his Christmas spirit and summons an evil monster named Krampus (whose origins come from European folklore) and his army of troublemakers. These demons start taking out the people in the neighborhood and threaten all of humanity unless the feuding family can save Christmas.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

When Skeleton Jack of Halloween Town discovers Santa Claus and what Christmas is all about, he decides to change up the routine and bring the yuletide joy to his community.

There are many reasons to check out this screenplay for more than just its combination of horror and Christmas. If you’re writing a musical, or music plays a significant role in the story, this script shows how you can write scenes around the lyrics. You can also see how the creativity of writing an animated (or Claymation) script differs from a live-action screenplay.

Gremlins

Gremlins is one of those movies that could have only been made in the 1980s. If it’s not for its Muppet-like gremlins wreaking havoc then it’s the strange, scary Christmas story that somehow garners a PG rating that makes this one a horror-holiday film created somewhat for kids. 

Gremlins is considered a classic so if you’re looking to create a story filled with creepy monsters and the small-town folk who must stop them from potentially taking over the world, Gremlins is a great script to see how it’s done.

The Lodge

The Lodge is a slow-burn thriller with some definite horror and Christmas combined. The thing about this film being classified as a horror/Christmas film is that the holiday elements are minimal and the horror elements feel more high-level than a standard slasher or monster movie. It does open with one heckuva twist though and the direction gives it its creepy, anything-demonic-can-happen feel.

A soon-to-be stepmom is tasked with watching her fiancé’s children at a lodge in the middle of nowhere. They begin to experience strange things that make them question if something is haunting their Christmas vacation spot.

Read More: Let It Snow! Great Movies that Take Place in Winter

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Christmas horror movies are unique as they are rare, however, this increasingly popular multi-genre has plenty of room to grow.

So, whether you’re working on a holiday-themed slasher, monster, or musical/zombie apocalypse idea, take a look at some of these movies and how they incorporated Christmas and horror into one.

Read More: Are These Christmas Movies?