3. Gremlins
An all-star of the horror comedy genre, Joe Dante, helmed this classic Christmas film about a boy who gets the gift of a cuddly pet that sprouts demon-spawns hellbent on eating peoples' faces. Amidst the carnage that entails a Christmas Holiday turned desperate fight for survival, Dante flavours the mayhem with comedic grace notes like the gremlins hunkering down for a screening of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs only to fall victim to an explosion. For those of us with a very dark sense of humor Kate's revelation about why she hates Christmas so much is a spot-on example of how the horrific can be played for laughs (but I won't spoil it here).