As Phoebe Cates’ character Kate Beringer in Gremlins famously monologued, the holidays tend to drudge up painful memories and sorrow for many. In the spirit of unhappy holidays, the 4th day of Creepmas is dedicated to Christmas horror movies that aren’t afraid to showcase the grimmer side of the holiday season.
Forget about holiday cheer; these holiday horror movies – in order from somber to soul-crushing (and skin-crawling)- will make you give thanks that you’re not in the protagonists’ shoes.
The 12 Days of Creepmas continues on Bloody Disgusting, this time with 4 grim Christmas horror movies that will leave you feeling hopeless for the unhappiest of holidays.
Keep track of the 12 Days of Creepmas here.
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This anthology features four segments of horror, but only the first is holiday-related. Jovanka Vuckovic’s “The Box,” based on Jack Ketchum’s short story of the same name, sees a family stricken by an unexplained illness after taking a peek at a stranger’s present on the train. Christmas is bleak for this family. If you’re looking to feel bad about the holidays in the briefest period of time possible, then XX is for you.
I Trapped the Devil
Writer/director Josh Lobo’s Christmas film is a haunting portrayal 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. I Trapped the Devil is a slow-burn tale of paranoia and familial obligation that does crawl out of the gate but crescendos in one satisfying ending. It may be small scaled in terms of setting and characters, but Lobo’s debut is ambitious in effort with an ability to craft effective tension and pose challenging questions.
Calvaire
The holidays goes from rough to downright bleak for poor entertainer Marc Stevens. While traveling to a Christmas gig, his van breaks down in the middle of nowhere and leaves him vulnerable to strange backwoods residents- emphasis on vulnerable. Fabrice du Welz’s psychological horror movie spends the bulk of its runtime breaking Marc down physically and mentally. The unflinching holiday horror prolongs the discomforting torture, building up to a Christmas dinner submerged in pure insanity. Calvaire takes the extended dinner scene from Texas Chain Saw Massacre and makes a full-feature meal out of it, with a dash of Deliverance thrown in for good measure.
Sheitan
Translated as Satan, Sheitan follows a group of friends who spend Christmas Eve partying at a club. They run into a shepherd who’s prepared a night of pure insanity and Satan worshipping. Things get disturbing. If you’re not in a particularly festive mood, Sheitan is the perfect holiday horror pick for you. Expect it to put the “creep” in Creepmas. Truly. Vincent Cassel is no stranger to turning in violent performances in unsettling, taboo-breaking horror movies, like Irréversible, but his utterly unhinged portrayal of Joseph is the type of skin-crawling stuff that’ll inspire you to put on a Hallmark movie afterwards.
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