With Christmas just over a week away, it’s time to kick the holiday horror viewing into overdrive. But what if you’re not feeling the merriment or holiday spirit? You wouldn’t be alone. That’s why this week’s streaming picks are dedicated to feel-bad, bleak holiday horror movies that don’t care at all about warm fuzzy feels […]
With Christmas just over a week away, it’s time to kick the holiday horror viewing into overdrive. But what if you’re not feeling the merriment or holiday spirit? You wouldn’t be alone.
That’s why this week’s streaming picks are dedicated to feel-bad, bleak holiday horror movies that don’t care at all about warm fuzzy feels or happily ever afters!
These five horror movies capture Scrooge’s “Bah Humbug” sentiments for the holidays, delivering bleak downers and grim explorations of humanity’s dark side instead.
As always, here’s where you can stream them this week.
, he directed an Amblin-like kids story that turns grim with the made-for-TV movie
A Christmas Tale
Six Films to Keep You Awake
. The 1985-set story follows five twelve-year-old friends playing together in the woods when they come across a pit with an unconscious woman dressed as Santa Claus trapped at the bottom. The bored friends
are split
on whether to help or use her for gain, leading to grisly horror
for all
. It’s a mean little tale that separates the naughty from the nice. And there are a lot of naughty characters in this morality tale. The film is also available to stream on Pluto TV, but only in Spanish (without English subtitles).
I Trapped the Devil – AMC+, Shudder
Writer/director Josh Lobo’s Christmas film is a haunting, slow burn portrait of grief and familial guilt. When Steve’s brother and sister-in-law unexpectedly show up at his door to celebrate the holidays, they’re alarmed to discover he has a man locked in his basement. Steve insists he’s captured the devil. Paranoia and psychological terror are carried deftly on the shoulders of its three leads; this is brooding yuletide horror at its best.
Inside – Tubi
Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury’s debut begins with a tragedy, plunging its pregnant lead character into a depression and kickstarting an intense, visceral bid for survival over Christmas. It’s a ruthless entry in home invasion horror that doles out punishment and pain, a peak of New French Extremity. Béatrice Dalle’s La Femme makes for a bone-chilling villainess that ensures there’s no shortage of Christmas reds splattered all over the home. The excess of bloodshed is about the only prominent reference to the holidays in this grim holiday shocker, but you’ll be too busy holding your breath from the relentless tension to notice.
The Lodge – Kanopy
A family weekend getaway to their remote family lodge for Christmas becomes a harrowing voyage into madness when soon-to-be stepmom Grace (Riley Keough), still deep in recovery from a traumatic upbringing, is left alone to take care of hostile step-children Aidan (Jaeden Martell) and Mia (Lia McHugh). Just as the resentful kids seem to be making peace with Grace, a blizzard blows through, and the power cuts off, trapping them all in freezing isolation with Grace’s dark past. Veronika FranzandSeverin Fiala infuse holiday horror with their brand of moody, atmospheric bleakness that snuffs out any possibility of a Merry Christmas here.
Silent Night (2021) – AMC+, Netflix
Writer/Director Camille Griffin’s feature debut, Silent Night, begins as a typical family comedy centered around the stresses of the holidays. A large family attempts to celebrate Christmas while navigating personal conflicts, secrets, and usual holiday stressors. But it quickly becomes clear that there’s something sinister bubbling just beneath the surface of the yuletide festivities, something far more grim than any familial skeletons lurking in the closet. Griffin’s debut boasts a tremendous ensemble cast that leans into holiday cheer before delivering a bleak sucker punch reveal that shoves Silent Night firmly into genre territory. It builds to a somber finale, though not entirely without hope.
