Christmastime is a cinephile's dream. Not only will they have a smorgasboard of memorabilia, Criterion Collection blu-rays and old props from the set of a Jim Jarmusch movie that went for surprisingly little money at auction under their tree come the morning of December 25th, that'll be the icing on the cake of a whole month of superlative festive films. From It's A Wonderful Life to Die Hard to A Muppets Christmas Carol (which features both the definitive Scrooge in Michael Caine and the definitive Charles Dickens in Gonzo), the schedules and cinemas are stuffed with classic Christmas films. Some people's movie tastes skew a little darker, though. A little bloodier. A little lighter on the festive cheer, a little heavier on the buckets of gore and B-movie production values. Horror film makers don't miss a trick, though, and having already mined Halloween, Valentine's Day and Prom Night for all they're worth Easter's still up for grabs guys they've long since moved onto crafting their bloodiest, nastiest fare for the Yuletide season as well. The best horror (and let's be honest, some of the worst as well) takes something familiar and safe, and turns it on its head so it's suddenly frightening and nightmarish. You can disassociate yourself from a serial killer in the Victorian era who's also a ghost, but a scary dude wearing a mask breaking into a suburban home on an oh-so-familiar holiday night? Now that's hitting close to home. And what hits closer to home than monsters, murderers ghosts and ghoulies stalking people around their tinsel festooned homes on Christmas Eve? With the help of professional wrestlers, evil children and Joan Collins, here are ten absolutely ridiculous holiday horror films. Because of course they are.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
