Yuletide Frights – A compendium of Crazy Christmas Horror
Bloodbeat (Fabrice A. Zaphiratos, 1983)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Iu8ylWc8DQ
Dial Code Santa Claus (René Manzor, 1989)
It’s Christmas eve and rich kid Thomas has been left home with his frail granddad while his mum pops to the office. However a quiet Christmas eve soon turns nasty when a deranged Santa Claus slides down the chimney for a night of terror. Made a year before Home Alone, Dial Code Santa Claus takes the concept of one child battling home invaders and dials it up 11. With oodles of 80s toys and tech - and a mullet that must have been the envy of every schoolyard - this one will keep you pumped til the turkey is served.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSCrg_qMI1s
Calvaire (Fabrice du Welz, 2004)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JXKZ6pnkEU
Stalled (Christian James, 2013)
It’s Christmas Eve (yes, again!) and a down on his luck janitor (Dan Palmer) is tasked with mundane maintenance and cleaning the ladies toilets in the middle of a wild Christmas party. Things soon take a very different turn when a horde of zombies burst into the toilet, leaving the janitor fighting for his life in the loos. Set in one location, Stalled is a fun holiday romp with bloody bite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXmAMV75kPs
Satan Claus is Coming to Town (Mrs. Claus, 2018)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwCn_mTgCPM
The Leech (Eric Pennycoff, 2022)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siWdIZQfQZI
Stocking fillers: A bonus list of Festive shorts
Rare Exports Inc. (Jalmari Helander, 2003)
Before the first snow of winter arrives, a group of hunters with skills passed down from generation after generation, hit the road in search of nature's most dangerous holiday prey. Part David Attenborough doc, part twisted fairy tale, Rare Exports Inc. brings a Finnish spin on a festive staple. Watch this short and then give the sequel, The Official Rare Exports Inc. Safety Instructions from 2005 a spin.
Black Santa’s Revenge (David F. Walker, 2007)
Treevenge (Jason Eisener, 2008)
A PSA for poor, downtrodden Christmas trees everywhere, having to endure the yearly tradition of being ripped from the forest to be sold off to decorate homes. But this year the trees have finally had enough and decide to get their revenge! Kicking off with the theme from Cannibal Holocaust and from Hobo with a Shotgun director Jason Eisener, Treevenge is a bloody holiday classic that will make you think twice about picking out that pine tree…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAinT-kieFI
Holiday Fear (Nicholas Payne Santos, 2017)
Set in the final act of a holiday Slasher movie (and on Christmas morning, go figure!) Bruce tries to work up the courage to impress the final girl, Emily with one last cool kill. Clocking in at just shy of 4 minutes, Holiday Fear is a fun twist on some classic slasher tropes. Make sure to stick around for an end credit treat. Streaming now on ARROW.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9BBeJo4wWQ
Chowboys: An American Folktale (Adam Brooks, Jeremy Gillespie, Matthew Kennedy, Steven Kostanski, and Conor Sweeney, 2018)
The Last Christmas in the Universe (Adrián Cardona, David Muñoz, 2019)
It’s December 25th in a desolate, post-apocalyptic landscape. Humanity has crumbled into chaos (and cannibalism) and everything is terrible. So when Santa comes by to give out gifts to the good children - and finds nothing but naughty fiends - he decides to take matters into his own hands and serve up bloody, murderous justice, Santa style. With completely over the top gore and an endless sack of inventive kills, this short throws Mad Max and Brain Dead into a blender with glorious results!
