Ashley Jenkins

The holidays don’t always have to be so cheerful. Sit down with Ajax and enjoy the bloodier side of Christmas.

Perhaps you’re tired of hearing about the all new Red Rider BB Gun and shooting one’s eye out; perhaps you’ve seen the existence Santa Claus proved by the American Judicial System one too many times; maybe you’ve memorized every step taken by an “elf” to New York to meet his real father; or perhaps you just want to see the walls spattered with the blood of the “wet robbers” once and for all. No matter what your Christmas movie situation is, I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite darker Christmas movies to make these (surprisingly warm) December evenings a little less silent. 

 #5: Gremlins 

While perhaps tamer than many of the others on this list, Gremlins remains a classic among Christmas horror films. In the movie, a father buys a strange creature as a gift for his son. However, there are a few rules for the creature: it cannot be fed after midnight and must never touch water. Obviously, these rules are soon broken. Multiple evil little gremlins spawn from the creature, and chaos ensues. While this movie is milder in terms of frightening scenes and almost completely lacking in any form of blood or gore, the sense of suspense and general creepiness is enough to earn it a place on this list. 

#4: Anna And The Apocalypse 

Christmas: the season of peace on earth, good will to men, festive music, and of course, zombies. That’s right, Anna and the Apocalypse is a musical film about a group of high schoolers dealing with a sudden outbreak of undeath. It’s funny, bloody, and full of cheer; yet it remains suspenseful until the bloody end. If you’re looking for a mix of music, high school drama and graphic violence, this might be the movie for you. Fair warning: you may have a sudden urge to go bowling after you watch this one. 

#3: Krampus 

If you know me, you know that I love Germanic folklore. The legend of Krampus, Santa’s evil counterpart, is no exception. This modern twist on a classic folktale is an enjoyable, twisted, yet humorous retelling that remains mostly faithful to the source material. In the movie, after a rather unpleasant series of festive experiences, a young boy loses his sense of Christmas spirit, and soon after, his home is beset by a number of festive horrors. While funny, this movie is still creepy enough to jingle your bells. 

#2: Die Hard

While many may not consider Die Hard a Christmas movie, any logical train of thought would prove them wrong- with festive music and a protagonist who slides down chimneys (airducts and elevator shafts) to deliver presents (bullets) to several naughty children (terrorists), this movie is undeniably full of Christmas cheer. It’s a classic, and a great one at that. Bruce Willis plays John McClain, a cop trapped in a building with a large group of terrorists. Blood, gore, and one liners follow in abundance, as the halls are decked with the blood of terrorists.

#1: Die Hard 2 

I would have looped this one in with Die Hard 1, but I just like it better. The action feels more tense, and the stakes are higher, as protagonist John McClain must fight his way through a besieged airport to stop a large group of terrorists from bringing down several airplanes from the sky. While there’s less in the way of witty dialogue, the abundance of violence, action, and plot twists more than make up for it. Plus, someone gets stabbed with an icicle; what’s more festive than that?