Summary

• Killer Santa Claus movies have been a genre staple for over four decades, subverting the innocence of Santa by turning him into a malevolent murderer.
• Some killer Santa movies feature the real Santa chopping down bad guys, while others depict an evil version of Santa terrorizing anyone in his path.
• Many killer Santa movies add a new twist to the slasher horror genre, with lots of dead bodies and Santa tearing through with a vengeance.

Going back to Black Christmas and Halloween, holiday horror movies have remained a genre staple for well over four decades, and this includes Santa horror movies. One of the more terrifying sub-genres includes a killer Santa Claus, which gleefully subverts the childhood innocence of jolly St. Nick by turning the benevolent figure into a malevolent murderer who punishes naughty and nice behavior in equal measure. While several killer Santa Claus movies have been released over the past 50 years, the horrific depiction of killer Kris Kringle varies widely.

While many killer Santa movies have people dressing up as old Saint Nick to kill people, movies like Violent Night have the actual real-life Santa Claus chopping down bad guys with an axe and more. On top of that, there are also movies where an evil version of Santa Claus kills anyone he crosses the path of, with one of the more polarizing featuring former wrestler Bill Goldberg as a murderous Santa. Finally, there are a lot of killer Santa Claus movies that are not about the real Santa at all and just add a new wrinkle to the slasher horror genre with tons of dead bodies and a person in a Santa costume tearing through with a vengeance.

12 Santa Claws (1996)

A Stalker Serial Killer Dressed As Santa Claus

Santa Claws, also known as 'Tis the Season, is a killer Santa Claus movie that is also a look at toxic fandom and stalkers. John A. Russo, who co-wrote the original George Romero Night of the Living Dead, directed this movie about a B-movie scream queen who finds herself the victim of a stalker in real life. The movie sees the actress gain custody of her daughters after a divorce. However, when she moves into a new home to start her life over again, she meets a man who seems very supportive at first. However, this man is a dangerous stalker who begins to jealously kill anyone close to her while dressed as a demonic Santa Claus.

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11 Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 (1987)

A Cult Classic Santa Claus Revenge Movie

Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 recycles a lot of footage from its predecessor, but the vengeful boy named Ricky (Eric Freeman), who grows up to follow in his older brother's footsteps as a killer Santa Claus, is still quite alarming. Following his release from a mental ward, now-adult Ricky still can't shake the image of seeing his older brother Billy gunned down in front of his eyes. To exact revenge, Ricky picks up the mantle his brother left behind and dresses up as Santa Claus before going on a gory death march as he seeks revenge against Mother Superior from the first movie. The movie has become a cult classic for fans of B-movie horror.

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10 To All A Goodnight (1980)

A Santa Killing At An All-Girls School

Made for roughly $70,000, David Hess' To All a Goodnight is a festive and ferocious killer Santa Claus movie in which the boyfriends of an all-girls school end up stalked and slashed, one by one. During Christmas vacation at the Calvin Finishing School for Girls, a holiday party is held for all the students. After drugging their headmistress, the girls invite their boyfriends over for a naughty celebration. However, a deranged serial killer dressed in a Santa Claus outfit begins slaughtering the boys in wildly gruesome ways. Another thing that makes this Santa terrifying is his Miss Claus accomplice.

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9 Deadly Games (1989)

A Homeless Santa Claus Battles A Young Boy

The little-known French slasher Deadly Games featured one of the most terrifying killer Santa Clauses ever committed to celluloid. What makes it so scary is that a little boy is the direct target of the killer, and he has to protect his grandfather. Written and directed by Rene Manzor, the film follows Thomas (Alain Lalanne), a brilliant and precocious young boy who is left alone with his withered old grandpa on Christmas Eve. When a killer in a Santa Claus outfit breaks into the mansion and begins terrorizing the boy, Thomas has to stop him. The movie resembles Home Alone, if Kevin battled Santa instead of the Wet Bandits.

8 Sint (2010)

A Demonic Santa Claus Who Returns To Kill Every 23 Years

Dick Maas' Dutch horror film Sint offers a refreshing slant on the killer Santa Claus subgenre. Rather than having a murderous madman dressed in the iconographic red Santa suit, Sint imagines St. Nicholas as a sinister figure of a different kind. When the moon is full on December 5, 1492, a former bishop named Niklas (Huub Stapel) slaughters a gang of thieves and murderers. On the anniversary of the ill-fated night, the ghosts of the deceased come to haunt the public during their annual Sinterklaas celebration. Sint also returns every 23 years to continue slaughtering victims with his sharpened staff.

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7 Rare Exports (2010)

A Movie Where The Real Santa Claus Was Always Evil

The historical mythology of Santa Claus is turned on its head in Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, the deeply unsettling Scandinavian horror-fantasy film directed by Jalmari Helander. On Christmas Eve in the mountains of Finland, an archeological dig unearths what appears to be Santa Claus' frozen corpse. When little children in the region begin vanishing shortly after, all signs point to Santa's involvement. As a little boy and his father attempt to return Santa to his grave, they are met with violent resistance from Santa's evil elves.

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6 Christmas Evil (1980)

A Santa Claus Slasher Movie

Also known as You Better Watch Out, Lewis Jackson's 1980 slasher film Christmas Evil features one of the all-time most disturbing deadly Santa Clauses. The reason why is that he's both the protagonist and antagonist. After being scarred by the image of Santa Claus going down on his mother on Christmas Eve, Harry is even more devastated to learn Santa Claus isn't real. As an adult, Harry dedicates his life to making toys in a factory for kids at Christmas. However, when society shuns the holiday and dismisses Harry's work, he dons the Santa suit and goes on an indiscriminate killing spree.

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5 Santa's Slay (2005)

Bill Goldberg As A Real-Life Murderous Santa Claus

Although the movie is exaggerated for laughs, former professional wrestler Bill Goldberg stars as a buffed Santa Claus who massacres a whole family in under three minutes. The former wrestler uses his domineering physique to brutally waylay anyone in his way in Santa's Slay. After losing a bet with an angel, Santa Claus is morphed into a deadly demon who has to pose as a well-behaved Santa Claus for 1,000 years. Now that time is up, Santa reverts to his wicked ways and begins making up for the lost time through a series of grisly murders.

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4 Silent Night (2012)

A Remake Of Silent Night, Deadly Night

In the loose remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night, a new wrinkle is added to the killer that makes it nearly as scary as the original. In addition to Jolly Ole St. Nick perpetrating a string of gruesome murders, the person under the suit is also an entrusted lawman who is respected in the community. Moreover, the killer Santa Claus in Silent Night is arguably the most violently inventive of the lot, using everything from a flamethrower and wood-chipper to a fire-ax and strand of electric Christmas lights as murder weapons.

3 Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

The Most Famous Santa Claus Slasher Movie

The controversial "video nasty" Silent Night, Deadly Night is widely hailed as the most famous killer Santa horror movie ever made. The film centers on Billy (Robert Brian Wilson), a little boy who witnesses Santa Claus murder his parents. When he grows up, Billy follows in his parent's killer's footsteps. Fresh out of the orphanage at age 18, Billy adorns the Santa suit and goes on a ferociously fatal rampage in his hometown. He uses axes, crossbows, deer antlers, Christmas lights, box cutters, hammers, and anything he can get his hands on to punish those who've been naughty.

2 Violent Night (2022)

Santa Claus Kills Bad Guys To Save A Family

A new Christmas killer Santa Claus movie arrived in 2022 with David Harbour (Stranger Things) as the actual Santa Claus. When a little girl finds herself in danger from a group of dangerous mercenaries, Santa shows up to save her and deal with the people on his naughty list. The movie is darkly humorous and remains positioned to become a cult favorite that fans can turn on every year for more killer Santa action. While it is violent and deadly, it even has a feel-good message for fans of the season. For anyone wanting a funny, gory, violent Christmas movie, Violent Night is the new go-to Santa flick.

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1 Tales From The Crypt (1972)

Santa Claus Stalks Joan Collins In The Anthology Movie

The first truly terrifying Santa horror movie that set the template for the rest belongs to And All Through the House, the opening chapter in the 1972 anthology horror film Tales From the Crypt. The TV adaptation recycled the story in 1989. In addition to the novel originality, what makes Santa (Oliver MacGreevy) so scary in this chapter is how old, feeble, and endearing he first appears. Nothing about Santa seems threatening until he invades the home of a woman (Joan Collins) who has just murdered her husband and begins to stalk her in the house alone with lethal intent.