Final Women

I've been covering winter horror films recently, so I thought I'd take this time on Christmas Eve's Eve to cover some Christmas horror movies that fit into that category. Gremlins Gremlins has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. It's the perfect horror movie for the whole family to enjoy and features a great snowy atmosphere that amazes with its beauty even as the Gremlins wreak havoc. The movie also features Gizmo, who is just about the cutest thing ever. Black Christmas The perfect holiday slasher. I watch it every year. Billy is easily one of the creepiest killers ever put to film. Black Christmas (2006 remake) I was really disappointed when I first saw this remake, but over time, it's grown on me. It still doesn't hold a Christmas candle to the original, but it's fun in its own way and features great snowy atmosphere. Silent Night, Deadly Night This controversial slasher is really a lot of fun once it gets going. Whi...

The Signalman The 1976 episode of A Ghost Story for Christmas was the first episode not to be based on the work of M.R. James. Instead, The Signalman is based on Charles Dickens's most famous ghost story outside of A Christmas Carol. The episode stars Bernard Lloyd (who would appear as Marley's Ghost in the 1999 A Christmas Carol adaptation with Patrick Stewart as Scrooge) as a traveler who befriends a railway signalman, played by beloved character actor Denholm Elliott (Marcus Brody from the Indiana Jones movies). The signalman tells Lloyd's character (simply billed as "The Traveler" in the credits) about a recurring apparition that appears every time a tragedy is about to occur on the railway. The first time he saw the apparition, a nasty wreck occurred in the nearby tunnel, costing many people their lives. The second time, a woman soon leapt to her death from the train right in front of him. The signalman is concerned because the apparition has recently begu...

From 1971 to 1978, the BBC produced the informally linked A Ghost Story for Christmas series, with one episode airing each year around Christmas time. This year, in keeping with the season, I am issuing a two-part review of this exemplary series, which is worth a watch for any British horror fan. The Stalls of Barchester This first episode, premiering Christmas time of 1971, is adapted from a short story by M.R. James and concerns a cleric of Barchester Cathedral who, after growing tired of waiting for the current Archdeacon to retire or pass of old age, resorts to murder. After he apparently rigs a stairwell to cause the old man a fatal accident, he succeeds in becoming Archdeacon, but in the process also becomes haunted. It begins with him hearing voices in his house when alone at night. Then a large black cat begins stalking him. Eventually creepy hooded figures deliver the deacon to his just rewards. I've seen people complain that this (as well as other episodes of the se...

With Christmas just around the corner, I thought I'd publish a short list of some of my favorite holiday horror movies to get you in the mood for the scary season. Black Christmas Gremlins Silent Night, Deadly Night Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 Jack Frost* *Not the one with Michael Keaton. We're talking horror movies here. Not horrifically bad pathetic excuse for a film   movies. To All a Goodnight Don't Open Till Christmas If you're looking for more Christmas horror themed fun, then you also can't go wrong with A Christmas Horror Story (from the Spanish series 6 Films to Keep you Awake); A Nightmare Before Christmas; Silent Night, Bloody Night; Christmas Evil; Better Watch Out; and the recently reviewed Home for the Holidays.

I recently watched the 1972 Aaron Spelling produced TV movie, Home for the Holidays for the first time. I love to watch Christmas horror movies throughout the season, and this was my first choice for this year, as I have a minor obsession with 1970s TV horror (and also a slightly more minor obsession with the work of Aaron Spelling). Plus this movie features some awesome ladies, including Julie Harris ( The Haunting ), Jessica Walter ( Arrested Development and Archer , here playing a more seriously depressed - but similarly drunk and neurotic - version of her more famous roles), and a very young, fresh faced Sally Field.                                                           The plot of the movie revolves around four sisters (including Walters and Field), who return to their family home to see their estranged dying father (...