The selections for holiday horror or anthology horror are seemingly endless, but not so much when it comes to combining the two. Though there are memorable segments dedicated to holiday fare, the amount of anthology films dedicated solely to holiday-themed horror can be counted on one hand. That makes upcoming holiday horror All the Creatures Were Stirring a pioneer. Written and directed by Rebekah McKendry and David Ian McKendry, All the Creatures Were Stirring follows a couple who find themselves on an awkward first date that leads them to a theater playing bizarre tales of Christmas horror. The segments look to explore the twisted, darker side of the beloved holiday.
The film stars recognizable names in horror like Graham Skipper (The Mind’s Eye), Jocelin Donahue (The House of the Devil), Matt Mercer (Contracted), Amanda Fuller (Creature), Jesse Merlin (Beyond the Gates), Morgan Peter Brown (Ouija) and Chase Williamson (John Dies at the End) as well as Jonathan Kite, Ashley Clements, and Constance Wu. All the Creatures Were Stirring releases on DVD, digital platforms, and On Demand on December 4, 2018.
To revel in the holiday cheer, here are 5 great holiday horror anthology segments that bring the ho-ho-horror.
“New Year’s Eve” – Holidays
Here’s to hoping the awkward date in All the Creatures Were Stirring fares better than the one featured in this segment written by Kevin Kölsch & Dennis Widmyer (Starry Eyes, Pet Sematary), and directed by Adam Egypt Mortimer (Some Kind of Hate). After murdering a woman he met on a dating site, Reggie sets his sights on Jean (Lorenza Izzo) for New Year’s Eve. They click so Jean invites him back to her apartment, unaware that Reggie is preparing to make her his next victim. Too bad for Reggie that Jean has more in common with him than he knows, and a battle to the death begins. No, it’s not set at Christmas, but it is set on a holiday so close to Christmas that traces of it still remain. Plus, it’s just plain bloody fun.
Santa versus Zombie Elves – A Christmas Horror Story
This Christmas themed anthology offers an eclectic bag of noel nightmares, from weird ghosts obsessed with pregnancy to old fairy tales of changelings. In other words, it can be a mixed bag. But the best segment of the bunch is the one that sees Santa’s workshop hit with a zombie plague that leaves him fighting for his life against his zombie elves. It’s silly, it’s violent, and it builds to an unexpected twist that makes this a little more complex than your average zombie story.
“The Box” – XX
Directed by Jovanka Vuckovic and adapted from Jack Ketchum’s short story of the same name, this segment follows the Jacobs family. When mom Susan and son Danny are riding the train home, Danny is intrigued by a big red present on a man’s lap. The man offers Danny a peak inside. Whatever Danny sees inside causes him to lose the will to live, and he rapidly withers away as he refuses to eat. If that’s not enough, whatever Danny has is spread to other members of the family as mom looks on in horror. Christmas is usually a time of overindulgence and gluttonous delight, but in the case of “The Box,” Vuckovic imbues her segment with horrific and grotesque imagery befitting of Ketchum’s horror short.
“The Christmas Party – Dead of Night
There’s an old British holiday tradition of telling ghost stories on Christmas Eve, and this holiday segment perfectly encapsulates why that tradition should be revived. Set at a Christmas party, Sally proves terrible at playing sardines (think a sort of reverse hide-and-seek). When she’s found straight away, her finder tells her of the haunted history of the house while they look for a new hiding spot. They’re separated, and Sally stumbles across a crying little boy in tucked away bedroom. It’s a sweet, seemingly benign story that ends with Sally in hysterical tears.
“And All Through the House” – Tales from the Crypt
Two decades before this story would be adapted again in the inaugural season of the Tales from the Crypt TV series, it was the first segment of the British horror anthology of the same name. Starring Joan Collins, the segment sees her character murder her husband on Christmas Eve. As she’s preparing to clean up her crime, the radio announces a homicidal maniac on the loose dressed as Santa Claus. She sees him lurking outside her home, but can’t call the police until her husband’s body is hidden. It leads to a creepy stalking situation and a race against the clock. Christmas has never been so intense.
For more Christmas-themed anthology horror, All the Creatures Were Stirring releases on VOD, Digital and DVD December 4 from RLJE Films!
