Some movies to help get you into the Christmas spirit
Sometimes it's hard to get into a festive mood so here are some movies to kick-start the holidays. These are in no particular order ...
1. P2 - A businesswoman finds herself locked with an unhinged security guard in a parking garage after getting stuck working late on Christmas Eve.
First off we have a movie that really shouldn't work, but I think does on the strength of the 2 stars, Wes Bentley & Rachel Nichols. It also helps that one of horror's heavy hitters, Alexandre Aja, gets a script/story credit. You can watch this one on tubi, VUDUfree, and Amazon's Freevee channel on Prime.
2. Krampus - When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus: a demonic force of ancient evil intent on punishing non-believers.
From the creative mind behind Trick 'r Treat, one of the greatest anthology horror movies made (shut it Daniel Volpe), comes a great Christmas horror tale about Krampus. The cast is fantastic, and the movie does a good job of showing us the stress of family visiting during the holidays. If you still have that Peacock Premium subscription from Halloween Ends, you're in luck. Otherwise, you'll have to rent it.
3. A Christmas Horror Story - Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy, peace, and goodwill. But for some folks in the small town of Bailey Downs, it turns into something much less festive.
This movie came out the same year as Krampus and I'm sure ended up piggybacking on its success. I haven't seen it yet, but it's on my watch list for this year and I'll be sure to report back. You can stream it on Shudder & amc+.
4. Santa Jaws - Trying to survive the family Christmas, Cody makes a wish to be alone, which ends up backfiring when a shark manifests and kills his entire family.
Okay ... I haven't seen this one either, but I mean come on. Santa and Jaws together, it's a match made in heaven. If this one doesn't get you in the Christmas spirit, you may just have a heart of coal. Check it out on Amazon Prime.
5. Gremlins - When Billy Peltzer is given a strange but adorable pet named Gizmo for Christmas, he inadvertently breaks the three important rules of caring for a Mogwai, and unleashes a horde of mischievous gremlins on a small town.
Time for a classic Christmas tale. What do you get the boy who has everything? How about a creature that can birth an army of monsters? You can watch this on HBOMax.
6. Anna & the Apocalypse - A zombie apocalypse threatens the sleepy town of Little Haven – at Christmas – forcing Anna and her friends to fight, slash and sing their way to survival, facing the undead in a desperate race to reach their loved ones. But they soon discover that no one is safe in this new world, and with civilization falling apart around them, the only people they can truly rely on are each other.
As a child raised on Disney musicals and Grease 2, I do enjoy movies that break into songs, add that to a zombie apocalypse Christmas movie, and it's a win-win-win. You can watch this one on tubi, Shudder, and amc+.
I hope you find something here to get you in the mood to tackle this holiday season. There's always The Nightmare Before Christmas on Disney+ if they don't work.