Christmas is a very merry time of the year when you might want to just snuggle in and watch all sorts of different Christmas movies. However, if you want to depart from the usually family-oriented Christmas movies, we have some of the best zombie Christmas movies that you might want to watch to entertain yourself during a festive season.
Horror and Christmas might not go well together in a conventional manner. But trust us when we say that nothing is more enjoyable than watching people trying to survive a killer zombie outbreak during what is supposed to be a special time of the year.
Best Zombie Christmas Movies
Two things that often don’t go well together in the usual sense are zombie and Christmas because of how horror movies are usually reserved for Halloween, and Christmas is more or less a festive and wonderful time of the year. Still, we promise that you will enjoy watching these horror Christmas movies at a time when you are supposed to be celebrating the most wonderful time of the year.
1. Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)
When it comes to mixing Christmas and zombies, nothing beats what Anna and the Apocalypse offer. While most other horror Christmas movies are focused more on the horror side, what makes this film amazing is that it is actually more of a musical comedy that was able to mix horror and Christmas together in a totally amusing way.
Basically, Anna and the Apocalypse dwells on a teen living in a small Scottish town. However, a zombie outbreak happens in the middle of the Christmas season, and all hell breaks loose in Anna’s small town. So, while it does follow the usual zombie apocalypse survival cliché, the addition of the musical side and the comedy makes it a great movie to watch for entertainment value.
2. A Christmas Horror Story (2015)
A Christmas Horror Story is literally a Christmas horror story in the sense that it tries to do something that sets it apart from the usual Christmas movies. In a way, it comes with an anti-seasonal appeal that makes it entertaining to watch at a time when most people would rather watch movies that are focused on family and friends.
What happens in this story is that the anti-Santa Claus named Krampus and a host of zombie elves and malevolent spirits descended on a small town called Bailey Downs. Now, it is up to Santa Claus to find a way to fight off evil in what is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year.
3. Rare Exports (2010)
Rare exports is a very entertaining zombie Christmas movie that follows the story of a group of friends that are in search of Santa’s ancient burial. In a way, they actually believe that a real Santa Claus once existed and that it would be the discovery of the century if they were to discover that the ancient burial site is real.
The best part about Rare Exports is that it has a special way of making the Christmas season malicious. That’s because the story doesn’t give us the usual Santa Claus in red. Instead, we see a zombie incarnation of the jolly fat man. You better watch out, indeed.
4. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
The Nightmare Before Christmas is a classic horror Christmas film that follows the story of Jack Skellington in what is actually an entertaining musical that is amazing to watch at any given time of the year. And this is what has made it a classic that 90s kids truly enjoyed. It isn’t necessarily the zombie film you would expect, but it’s a great film that mixes the undead with the Yuletide season.
The film follows the adventures of the undead Jack, who is actually the pumpkin king of Halloweentown. What happens is that he has become bored of scaring people in the real world and now wants to go to Christmastown to kidnap Santa and take over the fat man’s role. In a sense, Jack simply wants to take over Christmas.
5. Stalled (2013)
Stalled is the usual kind of zombie movie that follows the usual zombie apocalypse trope. However, what you are going to love about this film is that it has a way of mixing the zombie trope with Christmas to make it more entertaining.
What happens in the film is that a horde of zombies was able to infiltrate a Christmas party. They were able to infect most of the people in the party, but a janitor was trapped in the bathroom during the entire time. Now, he has to find a way to escape the bathroom, all while trying to stay alive without getting infected by the undead.
6. Silent Night, Zombie Night (2009)
Silent Night, Zombie Night isn’t necessarily the best zombie Christmas movie around. But the fact that it blends a zombie apocalypse with Christmas in a way that seems a bit ridiculous is what makes it a bit too entertaining. Of course, you are also going to love the ridiculousness of the low-budget approach of this film.
Basically, the film explores the day of two police officers in the middle of the job during Christmas. What happens is that a zombie apocalypse breaks out and forces the two officers to stay trapped in an apartment. And what makes the entire story a bit too ridiculous is that they are trapped with the woman they both love, as a love rivalry breaks out to test the limits of the partnership between the two officers.
7. Christmas Zombies (2020)
Christmas Zombies is one of the newer films we have on this film. But while it is a bit new compared to some of the other films we have on this list, it doesn’t feel that way because of the low-budget approach that this film takes. It is basically a film that is there to entertain you instead of giving you an experience that you will remember for the rest of your days.
What happens in this movie is that we have a Christmas elf named Stuffy, who gets fired by Santa. Stuffy finds himself in the employment of a zombie boss, who helps the disgruntled elf in his revenge quest against the North Pole. Stuffy basically creates an army of stuffed robot zombies that he will use to go after presents and ruin Christmas for everyone.
8. A Cadaver Christmas (2011)
A Cadaver Christmas is another one of those films that manage to become entertaining in a manner that is deliberate. That’s because, while this may be a zombie Christmas movie that blends the two elements together, it actually tries to be funny in a deliberate manner. This means that the ridiculous aspect of the film was on purpose.
The movie follows the story of a janitor, a drunk, a bartender, a cop, the cop’s perp, and a security guard who find themselves in the middle of a bizarre circumstance involving a professor that was able to raise an army of the living dead in the middle of Christmas. Now, they must band together to undo the professor’s work and save the holidays.
9. A Christmas Tale (2005)
A Christmas Tale is actually a foreign film that is able to tell a good and gruesome tale of a zombie attack in the middle of Christmas. It doesn’t have the entertainingly ridiculous approach that some of the other films on this list have, but the best part about this film is its unique storytelling.
The movie explores the story of a group of friends in a small coastal town in 1985. They stumble upon a woman dressed like Santa trapped in a hole in the woods. The boys go to the police station and find out that the woman is actually a dangerous thief. Set on forcing the woman to give up what she had stolen, the boys turn her into a zombie using a ritual only to find the woman hunting them down with an ax.
10. Christmas with the Dead (2012)
Christmas with the Dead is a film that was able to make a good story out of a husband’s personal Christmas quest to try to right all of his wrongs in time for Christmas. However, what makes it ridiculous is that it actually happens in the middle of June, which is kind of odd for what is supposed to be a Christmas movie.
Nevertheless, our protagonist finds that his wife and daughter turned out to become flesh-eating zombies that are out to make lunch out of humans. Driven by his guilt because he wasn’t able to save his family from becoming zombies, he teams up with an ex-garbage-man-turned-undead-slayer to try to stop the apocalypse.
Yet, this all happens in June despite the fact that, again, this is supposed to be a Christmas movie. It sounds ridiculous but it is mildly entertaining to watch with friends during Christmas.