Die Hard (1988)

You’re driving home from school with your mom, and you find yourself craving a movie. A particular kind of movie, in fact - an atmospheric horror-thriller about dancers. And then, there it is! You see it! A billboard for Dario Argento’s 1977 classic, Suspiria!

”Mom,” you ask, “can we go see Suspiria?”

”No, honey,” she says, “we have Suspiria at home.”

The Christmas horror subgenre is a growing section of horror that tends to play on the swept-away side of Christmas. It examines whose naughty, and how badly they deserve to be punished, often with comedy thrown in for extra good measure. If you are a fan of horror, especially horror comedies, this is the list for you! They are in no particular order.

*Warning movies may feature or discuss sexual assault. Those with sensitivities around this issue should proceed with caution for entry #2.

Described as Die Hard mixed with Home Alone, Violent Night is titled appropriately to set up audience expectations. A disgruntled Santa Claus decides that he has had with the predatory capitalism and consumerism that has besmirched his nominally jolly holiday. He decides to go on one last hedonistic sleigh ride, debating if this will be the last Christmas for humanity. Ending up at the mansion of the wealthy Lightstone family, he is suddenly thrust into an action thriller John Wick style, when armed mercenaries pick this night to break into the mansion and steal the purported hundreds of millions in the family vault. The youngest Lightstone, Trudy, pleads for Santa's help with a child's innocence, and Santa Claus reluctantly goes up against the bad guys. It is silly, action-packed, and has a comic twist on the idea of naughty or nice!

Although Christmas is a time of year for love and cheer for all, holiday cinema has not always represented diverse communities. Being a holiday with Christian origins, much of its media consists of straight white families or straight white romances. Luckily, modern years have been bringing with them plenty of POC and LGBTQ+ representation that the holidays so desperately need. Here are just a few to get you started!

Notice: If watching with children, it would be good to do some more research on these films, depending on the age of your child. Number 2, Jingle Jangle, is technically the only one marketed towards children, and several others may not be child-friendly at all.

After being diagnosed with a terminal illness, an introverted woman breaks out of her shell and flies off to Europe in order to complete her bucket list with her remaining time.