As we see another Christmas closing out, I wanted to give you a listing of some of my favorite Christmas themed scary movies. On the old site, someone once asked if I could find something scary even in the peaceful Christmas season. Well, I think this list will show that horror doesn't take a holiday off.
Santa's Slay: Starring
Bill Goldberg as an evil, killer Santa Claus, Santa's Slay takes the premise that Santa, son of the devil and the only other immaculate birth besides Jesus, was tricked into being the happy, jolly, friendly version we all know and love for a thousand years due to losing a bet with an angel... and that thousand years has just ended. A horror comedy, Santa's arsenal includes an impressive array of traditionally themed items, including a tree topper throwing star, a tinsel garrotte, and flaming coal, among other items. I enjoyed this film immensely, and got a good laugh at some of the sight gags and jokes thrown into the film.
Bonus Trivia: The buffalo the filmmakers used for Santa's "Helldeer" was so afraid of Bill Goldberg that it would try to flee whenever he spoke or laughed.
Silent Night, Deadly Night: It has been a LONG time since I watched this film, or its first sequel, but a few things have stuck in my memory regarding it. I remember the killer being traumatized as a child when he saw a guy in a Santa suit murder his parents. I remember legendary "Scream Queen" actress
Linnea Quigley being impaled on reindeer antlers by the killer. It was a good movie, and inspired several sequels over the years.
Bonus Trivia: One majorly vocal critic of the first Silent Night, Deadly Night film,
Mickey Rooney, went on to star as the title character in the series' fifth installment,
Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker.
Gremlins: Yes, it's hard to believe sometimes, but this is, technically, a horror movie. Starring
Zach Galligan (not to be confused with
Zach Galifianakis) as Billy Peltzer whose father's unassuming search for the perfect gift for his son unleashes terror, death and destruction on the small, normally quiet town of Kingston Falls. This is one of my all-time favorites, as is its sequel,
Gremlins 2: The New Batch.
Bonus Trivia: Gizmo, the Mogwai's parting words to Billy take on an even more special meaning in the novelization, where the Mogwai's thought processes are normally so fast, they prevent him from being able to speak English. He has to mentally slow himself down enough to be able to say his farewell to his special friend: "Bye, Billy."
The Gingerdead Man: A Full Moon creation, this film starred
Gary Busey as the original human form, and voice, of the title character. He starts out as a crazed killer who gets caught after holding up a diner and killing all but two of the family he's holding hostage. Receiving the death penalty, his mother retrieves his ashes and mixes them into a special gingerbread mix; when mixed properly (with the addition of a little blood into the mix), the gingerbread man comes to life as a walking, talking, murderous cookie, out to avenge himself against the last survivors. While not strictly a Christmas movie, I'm sometimes hard-pressed to find any time that gingerbread is available other than for the holidays!
Bonus Trivia: Full Moon has made two more of these films:
Gingerdead Man 2: Passion of the Crust (where the killer cookie terrorizes a movie studio) and
Gingerdead Man 3: Saturday Night Cleaver (where the homicidal confection travels back in time to kill the participants of a roller disco contest). The third movie featured a contest beforehand where winners would get to be included in the film in "the largest mass electrocution in movie history" (I haven't seen the third one yet, but am wondering how that scene stacks up to
King Ralph's opening scene).
There are way more Christmas horror movies than I can list here, but this should be a good start for anyone interested in the genre. I look forward to hearing any comments on this list, good or bad. Until next time, take care of yourselves, and this is
Red Hawk signing out!
