It’s Christmas time! And for many, it means sitting down with a holiday classic. Whether it’s Jimmy Stewart and IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE or the Bing Crosby musical extravaganza WHITE CHRISMAS, folks will gather round their stockings with their favorites. For me however, I prefer a little fear and fun to go with my X-Mas cheer. Every year, I make sure to sit down with the Bob Clark 1974 cult classic BLACK CHRISTMAS – or if you must, the 2006 remake. The original is a creepy little feature and it is loaded with colored lights, Christmas carols and a grim sense of horror that has become a tradition in my household.
Thankfully, Christmas films aren’t all feel good, tickle your fancy tales of magic and joy. Hell, even A CHRISTMAS CAROL has spooky ghosts that haunt Ebenezer Scrooge. Throughout the years, we’ve witnessed a number of flicks that have pleased genre fans. From the classic so bad its good SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT franchise, to the utterly bizarre, killer snowman, B-grade JACK FROST, there is something for everybody. However not all Christmas horror is a low budget cheapie. Aside from BLACK CHRISTMAS in 1974, you can’t get any better than the wonderfully wild box office hit GREMLINS in 1984 and the 1990 sequel GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH.
And then there is the ultimate holiday flick. That classic animated tale that celebrates Halloween hair-raising as well as the beauty of Christmas. Of course I am talking about the Henry Selick directed, Tim Burton written and produced, A NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. This is one beautiful movie that can be watched and enjoyed from September all the way until New Year. It is a glorious example of creating something fresh that would please the young and the old. It is a rare thing indeed when an animated film can excite children as well as fans of all things ghoulish and scary.
Every so often we find ourselves with another cool holiday themed horror treat. There was the Finnish RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS TALE in 2010 which was an inventive and disturbing take on Santa Claus. And in 2012, the talented genre filmmaker Steven C. Miller gave us SILENT NIGHT. This gruesome little thriller offered up an impressive cast including Malcolm McDowell, Jaime King and Donal Logue, and it also showed audiences that a “slayful” Santa is still worthy horror material. Unfortunately however, most filmmakers seem to shy away from creating holiday flicks where the flowing blood is a colorful as the decorations and lights.
With only a few cool and unique horror films that tackle this particular holiday, it puzzles me why we don’t see more of them. I’m not saying that these flicks make a ton of box office dough, but would it really hurt a few genre writers and directors to give their fans a little something different this time of year? As of late, we hardly get quality chills and thrills even near Halloween, so it’s not necessarily all that surprising. This is something that needs to change. There are tons of stories that can be told to frighten viewers. Here is hoping that Michael Dougherty can add that special something that he managed to do in TRICK ‘R TREAT with his upcoming 2015 feature KRAMPUS.
Maybe it’s the booze talkin’, but can we give genre fans more horror for Christmas! With RARE EXPORTS and SILENT NIGHT ably adding something scary to the holiday, it’s certain there are very creative people out there that could leave a scare or two in our stocking. Perhaps Dougherty can manage to offer enough buzz with KRAMPUS that audiences will respond. Scary things can, and should, still happen on X-Mas! How is this for a New Year’s resolution? More bloody goodness underneath the Christmas tree and to all, more terrifyingly good frights!