5 Cult Horror Movies to Weird Up the Winter Holidays

Christmas has its own repugnance sub - writing style at this distributor point ( gota playfulness inclination for ya decent hereall about it , in fact ) , whileHulu ’s current Into the Dark anthology seriesis explore the relationship between scary movies and red - alphabetic character days on a month - by - month groundwork . But with Thanksgiving upon us , we wanted to look back at some of our most strange and overlooked winter - holiday favourite .

1) Blood Rage (1987)

Blood Freakis obviously a go - to this time of twelvemonth , but if you ’re looking to switch it up with a Thanksgiving flick need a psychotic Orcinus orca that is n’t a mutate Republic of Turkey , add profligate Rage into your rotation . ( Or do a doubled - feature ; Blood Freak and Blood Rage go together even intimately than yams and marshmallows . ) Also sometimes listed under the title Nightmare at Shadow Woods or simply as Slasher , Blood Rage slaps several genre tropes together into a single motion picture : honorable twin vs. malign twin ; an escape valve from an mad asylum ; some very intense mommy issues ; a few delightfully random casting choices ( Louise Lasser act the twins ’ troubled female parent , while Ted Raimi has a brief but instantly recognisable cameo as a teen hawking condoms in a flick - house bath ) ; and some amazingly meretricious 1980s fashion and interior decoration . And , of course , there ’s the holiday connecter . The movie ’s main killing fling — which moderate some awesomely gross ( if not in particular naturalistic ) special effects — begins after a very touch off Thanksgiving feast . ( Available on Amazon Prime )

2) Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972)

As we mentioned , the Christmas time of year has become an alarmingly popular horror - movie scope . Silent Night , Bloody Night — not to be confused with the cult - darling Silent Night , Deadly Night serial publication — is actually one of the very first holiday - themed horror movies , and it set the tone for many that followed ( including Blood Rage ) . It takes place in and around a mansion that hides a dark-skinned kinfolk secret — and a cataclysm that only the neighboring little town ’s oldest coevals has any knowledge of . And , of row , it ’s the setting for a serial publication of hideous crimes that browse up around Christmas .

Silent Night , Bloody Night was pretty obviously made on a shoestring budget and is now in the public domain , though the print that ’s pronto available to watch intelligibly shows the depredation of time ( on a film that truthfully was n’t all that cinematic to begin with ) . But it ’s an oddball curiosity that ’s get up for a few reasons , admit the fact that it predates the best - lie with early examples of vacation horror ( likeBlack Christmas , which mirrors its plot point of a crank - calling nut case ) . There ’s also its notable cast , which is make full with Andy Warhol associates : Mary Wononov has the biggest part , but you could also watch sight of Ondine , Candy Darling , Jack Smith , and others . Weirdly , noted acting - family paterfamilias John Carradine also has a support office , and a pre - Troma Entertainment Lloyd Kaufman is one of its co - producers . ( Available on Amazon Prime )

3) Terror Train (1980)

It ’s incredibly easy to pursue the , hem , train of thought behind Terror Train . GetJamie Lee Curtis , cinema ’s reigning howler queen after Halloween ( another of her slasher ledger entry , Prom Night , was also bring out in 1980 ) . Pick a vacation that is n’t Halloween , but drop costume into the mixture so that it kind of feels like Halloween , and gives the cause of death a plausible reason to wear a serial of disguise . How about … a New Year ’s Eve costume party ? And then , set the full thing on a moving string , for added claustrophobia and Agatha Christie flair ! Terror Train dutifully followsthe classic slasher pattern , with a cruel bad luck in the past times providing motivation for the present - day pursuit of gory revenge .

Curtis , who ’d already hone the final - young woman character year earlier with Laurie Strode , brings depth to a persona that otherwise requires a tidy sum of shrieking and hiding . And , like any undecomposed vintage slasher flick , Terror Train has some very random , before - they - were - celebrated name in the cast : future Prince protégée Vanity ( whose real name is Denise Matthews , though she ’s charge as “ D.D. Winters ” ) , and future Las Vegas stage magician David Copperfield ( as “ The Magician ” ) . There ’s also an aging performing legend : Oscar winner Ben Johnson ( The Last Picture Show ) , who plays the train ’s heroic conductor . ( Available on iTunes )

4) New Year’s Evil (1980)

We ’ve donean intact mail sing the praises of New Year ’s Evil , but here ’s a friendly reminder about one of the most ghastly yet scintillant victimisation movies ever made . It ’s about a notable stone ‘ n ’ roll TV innkeeper named Diane ( played by Roz Kelly , a.k.a . Happy Days ’ Pinky Tuscadero ) who ’s menace by a prank caller-out while she ’s emceeing the resilient broadcast of a New Year ’s Eve concert . The voice - disguised company not - so - subtly IDs himself as “ EVIL , ” and he proves to be exactly that as he slices and dices his mode through the movie , each time cry Diane — who conveniently has a bunch of phones as part of her point Seth — to cackle about his misogynistic misdeeds and remind her that she ’s on his putting to death list . Is there a bend termination ? Yes ! Is there an regalia of pleasingly clock time - wasting musical performances , include the title track ? Yes ! Should you make yearly viewing of New Year ’s Evil part of your holiday tradition ? Hell yes ! ( Available on Amazon Prime )

5) X-Ray (1982)

With a few alternate title to confuse you with ( including the unfortunate Hospital Massacre and the “ why did n’t they just stick with this ? ” Be My Valentine , or Else … ) , X - Ray is another Golan - Globus project — the same producers behind New Year ’s Evil , as well as Breakin ’ , The Apple , and a long ton of crummy action movies star Charles Bronson , Chuck Norris , and ninjas . As you might ’ve guessed , it ’s a horror movie with a Valentine ’s Day theme , set in a creepily underlit hospital with some serious certificate issues . It also features the glamourous Barbi Benton , a longtime girlfriend of Hugh Hefner who graced multiple Playboy cover in her prime . She plays Susan , who we first see in flashback as a little girl , turn down a pint - sized suer ’s construction - paper Valentine . The tike immediately kills Susan ’s Quaker , then bides his time for two decades , only to unleash body horrors galore ( decapitations , faces - dip - in - acid , etc . ) when Susan turns up at the said hospital for an appointment . He also subvert Susan ’s medical exam results , subjecting her to invading spurring — including a complimentary exam that ’s so skin - crawlingly frightening it attracts a Peeping Tom — which might be the most atrocious criminal offence of all . Though the whole Valentine ’s Day theme kind of becomes an afterthought once random the great unwashed embark on getting assault by bone adage , there is a very bleak “ steal your heart ” jest at the end to bring it all home base . ( usable on Amazon Prime )

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