Although Halloween has already passed, November still carries the spooky spirit. With Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the holiday season just around the corner, it makes sense, then, why there are many scary movies with a festive vibe nestled between these holidays. What better way to spend your free holiday time than to watch movies that will bring chills down your spine or help you prepare for the wintery season?
As you can expect, many movies on this list touch on the Christmas spirit, but from a horror perspective, like Krampus and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Other films, like Hereditary and Midsommar, align more with the turn of the colder season that pervades this time of year. Whether psychologically terrifying or full-on scary, let’s take a look at the best scary movies that you can watch during the holiday season.
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10 Hereditary (2018)
A24
Written and directed by Ari Aster in his feature directorial debut, Hereditary is a psychological horror film starring Toni Collette and Alex Wolff in the leading roles. It’s a story about a family stricken by grief after their mother/grandmother’s passing, but it soon turns into a nightmare when their house gets hunted by the same person. They’re consequently forced to learn a great deal about their ancestry. With its widespread critical acclaim, Hereditary has become A24’s highest-grossing movie of all time (via Deadline). The acting performances embody the perfect mix of moving yet disturbing. Watch out for obvious violence, loss of a loved one, PTSD, and many more.
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9 Krampus (2015)
Legendary Pictures
Who doesn’t like a Christmas-themed horror film based on European folklore? Directed by Michael Dougherty, Krampus stars Adam Scott, Toni Collette, and David Koechner, among others, as the main characters. It’s a tale about a dysfunctional family whose constant fighting forces the little son of the family to lose the festive spirit and accidentally awaken the wrath of Krampus, a creature that punishes bad children on Christmas. As a result, the dysfunctional family is forced to save one another from the monster while simultaneously realizing the importance of a family unit. Scott’s performance in particular brings a great amount of emotion into the story and makes it that more enjoyable.
8 The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Touchstone Pictures
Produced and conceived by Tim Burton and directed by Henry Selick, The Nightmare Before Christmas originated from a short poem that Burton wrote while working for Walt Disney. However, it was Selick who brought it to life and made the movie a holiday classic. It’s a stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy, telling the story of Jack Skellington, the King of Halloween Town, who stumbles upon Christmas Town, and immediately falls in love with it. His love quickly turns into an unhealthy obsession when he decides to hijack Christmas by kidnapping Santa Claus. It’s perfect movie to watch, accompanied by crunchy leaves, cool rain, and light rain hitting the windows.
7 The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Strong Heart Productions
The Silence of the Lambs is a psychological horror film, directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins as the lead characters. The plot centers on FBI agent Clarice Starling (Foster), who, in order to catch the serial killer known as “Buffalo Bill,” seeks help from an already-captured cannibalistic serial killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Not only is the movie often categorized as one of the best horror movies ever, but also as one of the most influential films in history. There’s a somewhat twisted love story/relationship presented in the movie between the agent and the serial killer. The poeticism of the characters and the story is what makes it a culturally significant U.S. movie, providing extra chills this cold, holiday season.
6 Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
William Castle Enterprises
Written and directed by Roman Polanski, Rosemary’s Baby is a psychological horror film starring Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, and Ruth Gordon, among others. It centers on soon-to-be pregnant Rosemary, who, after moving to a new home, starts to suspect that her elderly neighbors are grooming her in order to use her baby for satanistic rituals. The film deals with the themes of paranoia, women liberation, Christianity, and the occult. Many wish Rosemary would be given some kind of agency by the end of the movie instead of staying passive, but other than that, the movie’s regarded as one of the best horror movies in history.
5 Better Watch Out (2016)
Storm Vision Entertainment
Better Watch Out is a psychological horror Christmas movie directed by Chris Peckover and starring Olivia DeJonge, Levi Miller, and Ed Oxenbould in the leading roles. DeJonge plays babysitter Ashley, who goes to a suburban home to watch a 12-year-old boy during the holiday period, only to have to protect him from unexpected intruders in the house. It’s a dark and twisted take on the classic holiday home invasion comedy, Home Alone.
4 It (2017)
New Line Cinema
As the first of a two-part adaptation of the 1986 novel of the same name by Stephen King, It is a supernatural horror film directed by Andy Muschietti. It stars Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, and Finn Wolfhard. Centering on the Losers’ Club, consisting of seven young boys, they are forced to deal with the eponymous It, who lures kids in and feeds on them. In addition to the clown aspects, the young boys have to face their inner traumatized demons as well. What makes this movie so enjoyable for the holiday season is definitely the mix of humor delivered by the young actors and the chilling terror of the creature.
3 Eyes Without A Face (1959)
Compagnie Cinématographique de France
Eyes Without a Face is a French-language horror film co-written and directed by Georges Franju and starring Pierre Brasseur and Alida Valli. The story revolves around a mad doctor who basically removes the faces of beautiful girls and attempts to graft them onto his daughter’s disfigured face. Due to European movie standards at the time, the film received criticism for the gore and was said to cause disgust. However, over the years, it gained a positive reputation as a moody poetic horror.
2 Get Out (2017)
Universal Pictures
Written, co-produced, and directed by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut, Get Out is a psychological horror film starring Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, and Catherine Keener, among others. If you’re one of those who’ve had the pleasure of watching this film, you know why it deserves such high critical acclaim. It centers around a Black man, who decides to visit his white girlfriend’s family for the first time, not knowing the horrors he’s about to encounter. What separates it from other horrors is its allegory of racism and cultural appropriation.
1 Midsommar (2019)
Last but not least, we have a slightly different type of scary. Midsommar is a folk horror directed by Ari Aster and starring Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor as the lead characters. The story follows a dysfunctional couple who travel to Sweden while on holiday, only to find themselves in the clutches of a sinister cult practicing Paganism. The film deals with how easily people are indoctrinated into a cult without realizing it. The movie was praised especially for Aster’s direction and Pugh’s incredible acting performance.
