CHRISTMAS HORROR: A Christmas Horror Story, Christmas Evil & Creepshow

What happens when Santa stops being jolly and has to fight Krampus with chains?

Content note: discussion of a fictional Christmas killing spree, a brief joke about a van used to lure children (about 28:31 to 28:42) and some gleefully gross vomit special effects.

It’s our Christmas Day 2020 Shrink Chat. Cath brings Horror Facts on The Descent, then we catch up on the Clarice series and why it couldn’t use Hannibal Lecter. The heart of the episode is the Christmas horror rabbit hole: our buddy watch A Christmas Horror Story, with William Shatner as the DJ and a weathered Santa who takes on Krampus, plus Joe Bob Briggs’ charity holiday special and the cult classic Christmas Evil, the Creepshow Holiday Special, Christmas Presence, Unholy Night and Santa’s Slay. We finish with Dread Central’s list of the ten most underrated Christmas horror movies.

Therapists Shannon and Cathy talk about the difference between enjoying fear and feeling trapped, how a “pathetic likability” lets a killer hide in plain sight, the mother who returns like Norman Bates’ mother, a psychopathic superego dressed as an elf, why the Christmas mythology suits fantasy horror, and why watching a hit-or-miss movie with a group helps you finish it.

Covered in this episode:

• The Descent (2005) in Horror Facts with Cath
• Claustrophobia and why “no way out” horror hits so hard
• Clarice on CBS and the split rights to Hannibal Lecter
• A Christmas Horror Story (2015), our buddy watch: William Shatner, Krampus and a battle-scarred Santa
• Joe Bob Saves Christmas on Shudder: 3615 Code Père Noël (Deadly Games) and the charity auction
• Christmas Evil (1980), Brandon Maggart and the Fiona Apple connection
• The Creepshow Holiday Special: Shapeshifters Anonymous with Adam Pally and Anna Camp
• Christmas Presence (2018), British isolation horror at a remote lodge
• Unholy Night (2019), the nurse, the elf and the last 30 minutes
• Santa’s Slay (2005) and Dread Central’s ten most underrated Christmas horror movies
• Learning to love a genre you don’t like, from Christmas horror to found footage

Clinical themes: fear versus panic, claustrophobia, compulsive obsession and enmeshment, childhood disillusionment, likability as camouflage, reframing, the superego, group viewing and engagement.

Corrections and updates: A Christmas Horror Story came out in 2015, not 2012. 3615 Code Père Noël was written and directed by René Manzor; it was made in 1989 and released in France in 1990, and Bonnie Tyler sings its song “Merry Christmas.” Christmas Evil’s original title is You Better Watch Out, and Brandon Maggart, who plays Harry, is Fiona Apple’s father. The Dexter connection we mention for Christmas Presence could not be confirmed. Clarice premiered on CBS on February 11, 2021 and ended after one season when talks to move it to Paramount+ fell through. The Dread Central article is “Deck the Bloody Halls: Top 10 Underrated Christmas Horror Movies.”

Related episodes:

• WINTER HORROR: Dead Snow, Cold Prey, Pontypool, ATM & Jack Frost
• WINTER HORROR: Krampus, Black Christmas, 30 Days of Night & Gremlins
• DIAGNOSIS: Hannibal Lecter & Will Graham from NBC’s Hannibal

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Two licensed therapists, one forensic psychologist, one clinical LMFT, take apart the minds behind the crimes.

Until then... sleep safe. 😴
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