Holiday-themed horror films or holiday horror are a
subgenre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
of
horror films set during
holidays. Holiday horror films can be presented in short or long formats, and typically utilize common themes, images, and motifs from the holidays during which they are set, often as methods by which the villain may murder their victims.
[Baker, To]
"10 Ridiculous Holiday Horror Films"
What Culture'', 11 December 2014.
Film scholars Chris Vander Kaay and Kathleen Fernandez-Vander Kaay explain the subgenre as such: "The expression 'adding insult to injury' is an excellent encapsulation of the motivation behind the horror movie obsession with holidays (aside from the obvious desire to brand a killer with a theme and costume that can be revisited many times within a lucrative film franchise). The holiday is a place for happiness and family... The horror movie loves nothing more than
irony (except perhaps a good death scene), and there is very little more ironic than the fear and isolation of a horror movie taking place right in the middle of the festivities."
List of films
The following is a list of holiday horror films that depict or are set during a holiday or holiday season.
1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
See also
* ''
Into the Dark'', a holiday horror anthology TV series
*
Lists of films set around holidays
Lists of films set around holidays includes:
* List of films set around Easter
* List of films set around Christmas
* List of films set around Father's Day
* List of films set around Halloween
* List of films set around Thanksgiving
This is a l ...
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List of films set around Easter
This is a list of films that have something to do with Easter or have Easter as a significant part of them. For Easter specials of regular TV shows, see the list of Easter television specials. For films about the Biblical Easter see List of film ...
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List of films set around Father's Day
This is a list of films set on or around Father's Day.
Crime
* ''Underworld'' (1996) - an American mob film in which a mobster attempts to solve his father's murder and settle scores on Father's Day
Drama
* ''Jam'' (2006), an American film about ...
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List of films set around Halloween
This is a list of films set on or around Halloween.
Comedy
* '' Arsenic and Old Lace'' (1944)
* ''Boo! A Madea Halloween'' (2016)
* '' Boo 2! A Madea Halloween'' (2017)
* ''Burying the Ex'' (2014)
* '' Dracula: Dead and Loving It'' (1995)
* '' F ...
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List of films set around Thanksgiving
This is a list of films set on or around the American Thanksgiving holiday. It does not include Thanksgiving television specials.
Action
* Below Utopia (aka Body Count), a 1997 film starring Justin Theroux, Alyssa Milano, and Ice-T
* '' Spider- ...
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List of films set around May Day
This is a list of films set on or around May Day. Adventure
* '' First Knight'' (1995) - American Arthurian adventure film in which Guinevere rides out on May Day
Animated
* '' Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch'' (2005) - Disney film about a hu ...
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List of films set around Mother's Day
This is a list of films set on or around Mother's Day.
Comedy
* ''Mother's Day'' (1993), an Austrian comedy film about a Viennese family preparing for Mother's Day
* ''Mother's Day'' (2016), an American romantic comedy film in which various people ...
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List of films set around New Year
This is a list of films set on or around the New Year of the Gregorian calendar.
Action
* '' Assault on Precinct 13'' (2005)
* ''Friday Foster'' (1975)
Comedy
* '' Are We There Yet?'' (2005)
* ''Bachelor Mother'' (1939)
* '' Bloodhounds of Broa ...
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List of films set around St. Patrick's Day
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List of films set around Valentine's Day
This is a list of films set on or around Valentine's Day. Animated
* '' A Charlie Brown Valentine'' - a 2002 animated TV special based on the comic strip ''Peanuts''
* '' A Special Valentine with the Family Circus'' - a 1978 animated TV special ba ...
References
Works cited
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{{Film genres
Holiday
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horror