Ho Ho Oh No: Ranking Our Top 9 Killer Santas

Ahead of Mike P. Nelson's Silent Night, Deadly Night remake hitting theater screens on December 12, what better time to dive into the blood-soaked world of a Christmas horror classic? Originally released in 1984, the festive slasher film follows Billy Chapman (Robert Brian Wilson), a man who has been left traumatized after witnessing his parents' murder on Christmas Eve.

During the Christmas season, he suddenly snaps, leading him to don a Santa suit and embark on a killing spree. What makes Chapman particularly chilling in Silent Night, Deadly Night is not the sudden nature of his crimes or the savagery, but the tragedy of it all, in that his slayings all stem from his parents' murder and upbringing in an abusive orphanage, and could have all been avoided with a little bit of love and care growing up.

If it's good enough for John Waters, it's good enough for us. Since its release in 1980, Christmas Evil has gained a rabid cult following, including from the Pope of Trash himself. Much like Silent Night, Deadly Night, it follows a youngster who reaches for the bright red robe to hack and slash through the general public when they cannot take any more.

This time, we follow Harry Stadling (Brandon Maggart), who, as a young boy, catches his mother being groped by a man dressed as Santa Claus and is left horrified. As an adult, following a series of seemingly minor slights, he snaps and goes on a murderous rampage dressed as Santa himself.

We've all heard the legend of jolly ol' Saint Nicholas – but what if everything we have been told is a lie? That is a notion explored in 2010's Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, in which Santa Claus is far from the rosy-cheeked, chuckling embodiment of cheer, but instead an ancient, gnarled monster that kidnaps children.

Set in Northern Finland, a secret mountain drilling project uncovers the tomb of Santa Claus. Meanwhile, in the village nearby, Pietari (Onni Tommila) and his friend Juuso (Ilmari Järvenpää) are perturbed when children around them begin to disappear, and reindeer are slaughtered.

Did you ever think Home Alone needed even more violence? If Kevin McAlister’s plight never quite did it for you, then 1989’s Deadly Games may just be the Christmas film for you. Also known as Dial Code Santa Claus and 3615 Code Père Noël, Deadly Games follows resourceful youngster Thomas (Alain Lalanne) who is left alone with his elderly and partially blind grandfather, Papy (Louis Ducreux), on Christmas Eve.

When a killer dressed as Santa Claus (Patrick Floersheim) breaks into their home and preys on them, Thomas does whatever he can to keep them alive. Sound familiar? Director René Manzor thought so too, and attempted legal action, though nothing ever came of it.

This French gem has gained popularity in recent years thanks to a Vinegar Syndrome 4K and its inclusion in an episode of The Last Drive-In. It's still not quite a household name, but it deserves to be.

What is more terrifying than an axe-wielding Santa Claus? A robot axe-wielding Santa Claus. And it just so happens that's the main antagonist of 2022's chaotic festive flick Christmas Bloody Christmas. Set on Christmas Eve, record store owner Tori Tooms (Riley Dandy) is counting down the minutes until she can close up shop, get drunk, and party.

But her plans of Yuletide debauchery are put on hold when a robotic Santa Claus in the nearby toy store goes haywire and embarks on a neon-drenched bloodbath through the city, forcing Tori into a battle for survival.

We've seen plenty of everyday men grab a Santa suit and an axe and get to work annihilating the town, but you don't often see a demonic Saint Nick cursed to become a kind gift-giver for 1,000 years after losing a curling match to an angel – as you do.

In Santa's Slay, once the millennium is up, he reverts to his true, violent nature and – you guessed it – embarks on a murderous rampage in Alberta, Canada. At the centre of the story is teenager Nicholas Yuleson (Douglas Smith), who takes shelter in the bunker his grandfather has made to survive Christmas.

Since its 2015 release, Krampus has become a Christmas staple for many horror fans. And with its skin-crawling practical creature effects, haunting narrative, and performances that ramp up the tension – it's easy to see why.

Krampus follows a dysfunctional, squabbling family getting together over the Christmas holiday, but the festive cheer is far from flowing. It upsets the young Max (Emjay Anthony) so much that he loses enough of his Christmas spirit to unleash the wrath of Krampus, a demonic beast from ancient European folklore who wreaks havoc on the family.

When he's not battling creatures from the Upside Down and saving Hawkins in Stranger Things, David Harbour plays a pretty convincing, murderous Santa in 2022's Violent Night – which also has a sequel on the way, slated for 2026.

In the film, a group of mercenaries invades the mansion of the wealthy Lightstone family on Christmas Eve in a bid to steal millions from their deep underground vault. However, at the same time, the family's young daughter, Trudy (Leah Brady), makes contact with Santa (Harbour) via a walkie-talkie, who takes out the mercenaries one by one.

Topping our list of iconic killer Santas is a newcomer to the holiday horror game. One of the most maniacal, spine-chilling Santas we have seen in recent years was one Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) in 2024's record-breaking, box office-smashing slasher film Terrifier 3. We never thought the Terrifier franchise would be bringing us holiday cheer, either.

Set five years after the events of Terrifier 2, Damien Leone's latest film sees Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) and her brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullam) struggling to rebuild their lives. As the holiday season approaches, they reconnect with family and try to inject some merriment into the occasion, but just as they begin to feel like the horrors of their past are behind them, Sienna begins to see Art across Miles County, sparking the start of a brand new nightmare.