Death and Christmas - the holiday horror sub-genre
12/21/2010 11:41:00 AM ET
by: Pix
When it comes to holiday entertainment, I've always conflated horror and Christmas. Perhaps it's the lurid red of decorations, the voracious consumer appetite, the strange displacement from your regular routines/surroundings as you travel to join family festivities. Anything can happen.
And I'm not the only one who thinks this way: There's a whole sub-genre of horror movies out there set during the holiday season whose mission seems to be to warp your sense of mirth and merriment with disturbing images. Is there anything more terrifying than a knife-wielding killer juxtaposed with the tinny refrain of "Holly, Jolly Christmas"?
With this in mind, I will be starting out my Christmas-horror watching with a Canadian classic.
WATCH BLACK CHRISTMAS, WEDNESDAY 9E/P
SPACE will be airing one of the pillars of the Horror/Christmas genre with Black Christmas, the original 1974 Canadian gem starring Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, and Andrea Martin. Sorority sisters are being killed off during Christmas break, and the killer making taunting, creepy phonecalls to the house. This flick was so ahead of the game, it set the standard for slasher films (Halloween would not come out for 5 years!).
Here's a short list, in no particular order, of other Christmas/Horror movies for your yuletide consumption.
Calvaire
Marc Stevens’ world goes profoundly and utterly wrong. He is en route to a Christmas concert when his car breaks down in the middle of the isolated backcountry. He’s forced to seek refuge in a rural inn. Marc is taken in by Bartel, a lonely and psychologically fragile innkeeper who promises to help. But when Marc catches him dismantling his car, he realizes that the innkeeper has other plans for him. Our PA cites this as one of his favourite movies of ALL TIME. And he's a major horror buff.
Gremlins
Don't get them wet,don't expose them to bright light. And don't feed them after midnight. A boy inadvertantly breaks 3 important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.
Jack Frost
A dead serial killer comes back as snowman and terrorizes Snowmonton.
Silent Night, Deadly Night
After witnessing his parents' brutal murder at the hands of a man clad in a Santa suit on Christmas, a young boy grows up tumultuously in a Catholic orphanage and slowly emerges into a spree killer himself.
Santa's Slay
Santa Claus is actually a demon who lost a bet with an Angel, so he becomes the giver of toys and happiness. But when the bet is off, he returns to his evil ways.
Christmas Evil
Because of a boyhood trauma during Christmas, a man remains obsessed with the holiday, becoming a toy maker and keeping track of which children are naughty and nice. After learning of his company's corporate greed he snaps and goes on a killing spree dressed as Santa.
Night Train Murders
Two young girls taking a train home for the Christmas holidays, are assaulted by two men and their elderly lady companion...sounds interesting.
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (coming soon)
In the depths of the Korvatunturi mountains, 486 metres deep, lies the closest ever guarded secret of Christmas. The time has come to dig it up! This Christmas everyone will believe in Santa Claus.
A couple of guys in the office saw this at TIFF and promised it will RAWK.
Please add any gems I've missed in the comments!
