10 Most Terrifying Christmas Horror Movies
9. The Children (2008)
Even at Christmas, children still make for incredibly unsettling presences in horror films. Perhaps none so as off-putting as the youngsters in aptly named British horror The Children.
When Elaine (Eva Birthistle) and her family travel to her sister’s (Rachel Shelley) rural home to spend time together for the festive season, their youngsters begin to fall ill one after the other. At first the adults believe it to be a harmless bug, but they couldn’t be further from the truth.
Starting off at a slow pace, this horror outing gradually builds its tension by showing us just how strange the children are as their behaviour becomes increasingly sinister. Initially their antics can be construed as bratty misbehaviour, but by the halfway point their games evolve into full-blown sadistic violence.
In the space of a few seconds, the taut suspense is transformed into gruesome slasher thrills that make the most out of the production's modest budget. Even when the most excessive stuff is kept offscreen, what we do see is enough to put us off our Christmas dinners.
It goes without saying that these youngsters’ names have indefinitely been placed on the naughty list.