Christmas Horror Watchlist: Times of Terror

By Steve Hutchison

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but this list is so delightful. And since you've no place to go, here are 60 ranked reviews of Christmas-themed horror movies. Ho, ho, ho! This year, get ready for the horrorthon of a lifetime! Naughty or nice?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steve Hutchison
• Release date: Jul 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393908869

Steve Hutchison

Artist, developer and entrepreneur in film, video games and communications Steve Hutchison co-founded Shade.ca Art and Code in 1999, then Terror.ca and its French equivalent Terreur.ca in 2000. With his background as an artist and integrator, Steve worked on such games as Capcom's Street Fighter, PopCap's Bejeweled, Tetris, Bandai/Namco's Pac-Man and Mattel's Skip-Bo & Phase 10 as a localization manager, 2-D artist and usability expert. Having acquired skills in gamification, he invented a unique horror movie review system that is filterable, searchable and sortable by moods, genres, subgenres and antagonists. Horror movie fans love it, and so do horror authors and filmmakers, as it is a great source of inspiration. In March 2013, Steve launched Tales of Terror, with the same goals in mind but with a much finer technology and a complex engine, something that wasn’t possible initially. He has since published countless horror-themed books.

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Tales of Terror’s

Christmas Horror Watchlist

INTRODUCTION

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but this list is so delightful. And since you’ve no place to go, here are 60 ranked reviews of Christmas-themed horror movies. Ho, ho, ho! This year, get ready for the horrorthon of a lifetime! Naughty or nice?

#1

Gremlins

1984

A high-maintenance creature gives birth to an army of small devils after being exposed to water.

8/8

Gremlins is a highly superior cinematographic experience in image and sound. It is meant for children and adults alike, but is rather oriented at the former. It’s a horror movie that avoids violence and death using creative detours, and, simply put, instead plays on the fears of ugliness and propagation. This all happens around Christmas time and the odd resulting ambiance is a delight.

The film is virtually flawless and an obvious fruit of effort. With some of the best animatronics, puppetry and creature design to ever hit the screen, it’s a nicely packaged story supported by lovable characters and spiced up by a dream team of performers who are wisely directed and scripted. Everybody on board seems aware of the fact that they have one of the best gimmicks in film history.

Gremlins is about a cute creature whose allergies trigger self-duplicating terror and destruction. In the context of Christmas, under keen lighting, when wrapped in comedy then glitter, and supported by an immersing score, this otherwise sinister film becomes a fantasy of its own before your entertained eyes. It belongs to all genres, yet none, and is unarguably one of the best pictures ever made.

#2

Scrooged

1988

A selfish cable television executive is haunted by three ghosts on Christmas Eve.

7/8

Scrooged is a modern adaptation of Charles Dickens’ story Scrooge starring Bill Murray as Frank Cross, a comedic, caricatural, and over-the-top version of Ebenezer Scrooge. Murray is excellent when it comes to blending fantasy and comedy, and he proves it once more. This horror comedy is scored by Danny Elfman who always sounds the same and therefore always sounds great.

Other big names include Karen Allen, John Glover, Bobcat Goldthwait and Robert Mitchum. Scrooged is as touching as it is funny. It often gets hysterical just before it gets emotional. The original story is quite dark and, here, it’s the casting that lightens the mood of an otherwise sinister production. Murray is rude, arrogant and cynical, as always.

Cross will have to learn to respect people and cherish his life. That’s what the three ghosts he meets are for: the ghost of Christmas Present, Past and Future. These guys are as fun as they are scary. One is a taxi driver, one is a fairy, and the last is a reaper. This story has been told time and again. There are no big twists in this, per say, but there are still surprises at every turn.

#3

Prometheus

2012

A group of space archaeologists place their hopes on a star map said to lead to an ancient civilization.

7/8

It all confusingly starts with a translucent humanoid disintegrating, then the plot starts centering on a bored android who greets a group of people awakening from stasis aboard a spaceship. This addition in the Alien franchise tells the story of a scientific expedition motivated by existential hypotheses. The script is daring and shocks through unlikely devices; namely religions and beliefs.

An immersing exploration scene gradually pulls us from the sterility of the ship to the claustrophobic setting of an underground alien shrine. The environments are constantly evolving when not literally self-destructing for our enjoyment. This is a visually charged movie with