A while ago I made a list of the best alternative Christmas movies for fans of sci-fi and horror. With New Year’s Eve rapidly encroaching, I thought it might be fun to revisit the list and give you some more top non-traditional Christmas films to watch. Or if you have seen them maybe you never realized some of them they were set at Christmas time. Anyway, here goes..

1.Christmas Evil (1980)

Yes, this is definitely a Christmas movie. But don’t be fooled by the video-nasty title. This is actually a very believable story about a Santa who’s had enough and goes on a berserk rampage. The twist is that the villain is treated with sympathy, so that by the end of the movie his inevitable demise is actually rather tragic!

3. Silent Night Deadly Night  (1984)

Made at the peak of the slasher craze, this is a very effective movie. Take for instance the scene where a creepy catatonic old man in a nursing home waits until nobody else is around, then starts talking to the kid, telling him a very nasty Christmas tale. All the slasher tropes are here in this 80s pic, along with one particularly bad-tempered Santa and his axe!

 

2. Gremlins (1984)

Something about hordes of tiny green monsters overrunning a small American town and eating the occupants just screams Christmas, doesn’t it? This horror comedy was deemed too scary for  British kids in 1984, apparently, leading to it being classified as a “15” certificate here in the UK!

4. Black Christmas (1974)

The granddaddy of many an inferior rip-off, this slasher about college girls stalked in their own sorority house has a killer twist… the killer is calling his victims from INSIDE the house! A superior genre film that boasts an excellent cast of B-movie stalwarts such as John Saxon and Margot Kidder.

5. Dead of Night (1945)

The creepiest British horror films ever made is actually a portmanteau film comprising four short stories told by several people who find themselves compelled to travel to a strange house. The film becomes progressively darker, but the first story involves a young girl who plays hide and seek in a big old house one Christmas and gets more than she bargained for. A fantastic and eerie movie that also features the world’s scariest ventriloquist’s dummy!

 

6. Trancers (1985)

Future cop Jack Death (yes, that’s his real name) travels back in time from Future L.A. to 1985 L.A.  and possesses he body of his ancestor in order to stop a cultists who turns his followers into zombies. Yeah. This cult favourite with Tim Thomerson spawned a plethora of dreadful sequels, but the original is fun and also features a young Helen Hunt. It’s also set at Christmas time in Los Angeles, which explains why Jack fights a a zombie Santa!

7. Krampus (2015)

Fun horror comedy that focuses on a dysfunctional family (aren’t they all these days?) who gets a visit from the wrong kind of Christmas spirit. Filled with great effects and the most evil gingerbread men you’re ever likely to meet!

8. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Was this the film that started Johnny Deep’s obsession with funny hats and weird hairstyles? Very possibly. But it’s also a great Tim Burton film fun of comedy and general Burton-esque weirdness and Gothy-ness. Oh, and it features Christmas.

9. The Children (2008)

Rather disturbing tale in which Christmas is ruined by a bunch of kids who are infected by a virus that turns them into homicidal maniacs. Just like every other Christmas then.

 

10. Rare Exports (2010)

Scandivanian forest workers comes across something that is not exactly Santa Claus frozen in the ice in this  great, bleak horror comedy. As it eats its way through the locals, their eventual solution to the problem is ingenious to say the least. Bizarre Finnish fable with a unique take on Christmas!

So there you have it. An alternative list of Christmas movies to tickle your fancy, your funny bone, and even the most ardent gorehounds. Enjoy, and Happy New Year!