Welcome to December. Where has the time gone? It feels like yesterday we were ringing in the new year.

Now, December is known for the Christmas spirit, but it is also a month when certain horror films have found success. Let’s look at some.

SCREAM

A blockbuster slasher film that rejuvenated the horror genre and introduced a new subgenre of meta-horror. Wes Craven brought this groundbreaking film written by Kevin Williamson to life.

It was released on 20th December 1996. It was made on a budget of $15 million and grossed $173 million and was the start of one of the most well-known horror franchises.

SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT

Another instalment of a horror franchise but not as successful as Scream. But it is still classed as a cult film. This time, a remake of the original film.

Silent Night, Deadly Night is a Christmas slasher film that follows Billy Chapman as he dresses up as Santa and kills those he sees as naughty.

This will be released on 12th December 2025. It is written and directed by Mike P. Nelson.

KRAMPUS

A fun comedy-horror to watch during the season. Krampus is a horror film that is perfect for newcomers to the genre.

Now, officially, nobody gets killed in this film. They are captured by the titular character. The film follows a chaotic family at Christmas. Max, one of the children, announces he hates Christmas, and after ripping up his Christmas list, he unknowingly invites the creature to his town as he tries to capture them.

The film was released on 4th December 2015 and was directed by Michael Dougherty and written by Michael, Todd Casey, and Zach Shields.

It was made on a budget of $15 million and earned a moderate $61 million.

BLACK CHRISTMAS

This film can be classed as one of the original slasher films and the best instalment of this short franchise.

The film follows women at a sorority house as they start getting creepy phone calls. All this while a student goes missing and is later found dead. This all leads to the killer breaking into the sorority house where girls are murdered and they need to fight back.

This classic was directed by Bob Clark and written by Roy Moore. It

The film was released in December 1974. It was made with a budget of $680,000 and earned $3 million.

CHRISTINE

Let’s start the engines for this film. One of the many remakes of Stephen King’s books. Christine follows the titular car as it sort of possesses teenager Arnie and kills those who try and harm it.

It is one of the films you think about when someone asks you to name a Stephen King adaptation.

The film was released on the 9th of December 1983. It was directed by John Carpenter and written by Bill Phillips.

It was made on a budget of $10 million and earned $21 million.

THE EXORCIST

And to finish off, let’s talk about a film that had young me interested and scared until older me watched it and was ok with it.

The Exorcist is an adaptation of the book by William Peter Blatty. It follows a young girl, Regan, who, after playing with a Ouija board, becomes possessed by the demon Pazuzu. Her mother, Chris, gets help from
The church and priests Father Merrin and Karras are sent to help.

The film was released on the 26th of December, 1973. It was directed by William Friedkin and written by William Peter Blatty.

It was made on a budget of $12 million and earned $441 million.