Hello, horror fans. Welcome to this edition of Underrated Horror Movie of the Month. Many incredible films often get overlooked for bigger-budget work. A couple of times a month, I come here to discuss a genre film that is underrated and under-loved. The chosen media may be from any subgenre, decade or location. This edition’s topic is the 2015 holiday anthology, A Christmas Horror Story. Stick around to find out why I think this one deserves more love.
About A Christmas Horror Story
On Christmas Eve, a radio host talks about the holidays while many interwoven, terrible things happen across one incredibly unlucky town. A group of teens making a documentary get more than they bargained for, an unsuspecting family brings home more than a mere Christmas tree and Krampus terrorizes a family. Additionally, far away in the North Pole, Santa must face off against his evil brother, Krampus.
RELATED: Underrated Horror Movie of the Month: Pilgrim
These stories have a full cast, but a few actors span the entire tale. This list includes William Shatner, George Buza and Rob Archer. Grant Harvey, Steve Hoban and Brett Sullivan directed the movie, and James Kee, Sarah Larsen and Doug Taylor wrote the stories.
A Christmas Horror Story has an 83 percent Tomatometer Score and a 48 percent Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. It also has a 5.8/10 on IMDb.
My Thoughts
I dug through online reviews and comments to determine why some viewers do not enjoy this film. By far, one complaint was reported over and over again. Many viewers did not like the way the anthology was laid out. To get into this fully, we must first discuss anthologies at large. Generally speaking, each story in the series of tales stands on its own.
Even if they are connected, they are told one at a time. While this is not a hard and fast rule, it is an accepted expectation. In recent years, production companies have moved away from this style to some extent. Instead, like A Christmas Horror Story, they are told in small bits, moving from a scene in one part to a completely different story and back again.
RELATED: Rating the Krampus Movies
This change in style seems to be the downfall for a fairly large number of horror fans who watch this movie. On the one hand, it is certainly different, making it harder to keep up with each tale. On the other hand, other examples of this type of anthology, such as Trick r Treat, are incredibly popular among the community. This discrepancy confuses me. Why does it supposedly work for one film but not another? Please let me know your thoughts on this in the comments.
The issue with the anthology style is the only big complaint viewers have with this one. A few people said they did not like the stories, and a couple thought the Santa plot was too trite. As to the latter, while the beginning of this story is a bit over the top, I love the way it ends. I found it impactful and intriguing.
RELATED: Christmas Horror Movies: The Best and the Worst
Other things I enjoyed about A Christmas Horror Story are the design for Krampus and the variety in the stories. I am a sucker for a good Krampus tale, so two of the parts in this anthology automatically got my attention. One was decidedly better than the other, but they were both decent. The effects, in general, are also noteworthy.
Final Thoughts
If you have yet to see this movie, I highly recommend giving it a chance, especially if you are looking for Christmas-themed horror for the festive season. If you want to watch this one, it is streaming on Tubi.
Until next time, horror fans, stay spooky and watch more horror movies! Before you go, take a look at the trailer for A Christmas Horror Story below. Then, head to the comments and let me know if this movie is on your holiday season watch list.
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/underrated-horror-movie-of-the-month-krampus/
- Horror With a Side of Cheese: RETURN OF THE KILLER TOMATOES - February 13, 2025
- Underrated Horror Movie of the Month: WILLARD - February 5, 2025
- Horror With a Side of Cheese: BEASTER DAY - January 23, 2025