Now Scream This: Stay Warm With These Winter Horror Movies Streaming Now

Matt: Those of you who watched Thankskilling based on our last collection of picks, I *dare* you to try The Head Hunter. Your mind will be blown to find out Jordan Downey is responsible for both films, the latter a Portugal-filmed medieval quest with an estimated budget of $30K. Astonishing, quite frankly, as Downey sets the golden standard for maximized production value on a below-average indie budget. It's like watching a Skyrim character carry out one arduous sidequest, but I mean that as a compliment. A barbaric warrior trudging through snow, down mountain passes, to reclaim vengeance on the monster who killed his daughter. All prop-work and set dressings completed by Downey, co-writer Kevin Stewart, and producer Ricky Fosheim. Dare I wonder what Downey could accomplish with generous funding?Chris: I dug how effective this movie is with such a low budget. Think of it like Medieval Dead.

Matt: Shudder has rescued your new favorite Christmas rewatch from international distribution hell. René Manzor's Deadly Games (aka Game Over aka 36.15 code Père Noël aka Dial Code Santa Claus) is a home invasion blast making its stateside debut after releasing internationally in 1989. Think Rambo meets Home Alone (although Deadly Games came first), but with a toy-obsessed child squaring off against one deranged Santa. It's as heartwarming as it is hide-and-seek dangerous, while one child's imagination is tested by his unhinged pursuer. Infectiously enjoyable, splendidly acted by child star Alain Lalanne (Manzor's son), and downright criminal to have been hiding from worldwide audiences for so long. Where else can you hear a Bonnie Tyler song repurposed multiple times thanks to minimal rights acquisitions or some knockoff "Eye Of The Tiger" knockoff pump-up jam with Christmas lyrics? Truthfully, Deadly Games is a gift to humankind.Chris: I mostly enjoyed how inventive and stylish this was, but the dog also dies, which means it loses points. 

Matt: If you've seen Silent Night, Deadly Night, then you've seen roughly 45% of Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2. No joke. We meet Ricky Caldwell (Eric Freeman) in a mental institution, where he recounts his brother Billy's crimes in "flashback" form – except we rewatch entire original scenes. Director Lee Harry thinks nothing of recycling footage at baffling lengths, but then Ricky gets his own massacre spree that includes every horror fan's favorite franchise line: "Garbage day!" I've already written about why Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is the best worst Christmas horror movie, so if you need convincing check out that wtf-ery. Still, to this day, I'll never understand how producers okayed such a blatant repurposing of product (that my trashy sensibilities deeply adore).Chris: Garbage day! 

Matt: You all rewatched The Shining before seeing Doctor Sleep, correct? I did! Fun fact, that was also my first ever watch of Stanley Kubrick's legendarily regarded Stephen King adaptation (to everyone but King). All work and no play may make Jack Torrance a dull boy, but Jack Nicholson's performance is anything but bland. Shelley Duvall harnesses the Overlook Hotel's damned auras as her character flees from the man she once knew and loved, now a psychopath waving an axe. While the source literature's author may not agree with the changes Kubrick implemented, I'm of the camp that The Shining is an impossibly dreadful isolation study plunged into madness like few other horror films. Catch up on a classic this winter, just make sure you're not snowed inside an evil architectural entity with the intent to destroy lives.Chris: Never heard of it. (This is a joke.) 

Matt: IT'S HERE! IT'S FINALLY HERE! I cannot recommend this impossibly excitable Christmas-themed horror comedy musical about a Scottish zombie outbreak enough. A little bit High School Musical, a little bit Shaun Of The Dead, and enough holly-jolly singalong charm to thwart the undead. Anna And The Apocalypse hasn't received its stateside due (much like Deadly Games) since only releasing theatrically, never on Blu-ray, and was hard enough to find on VOD platforms. Opening up to Hulu and Amazon Prime will hopefully spark a resurgence of love for John McPhail's impressively balanced mix of choreography, bloodshed, and pop-catchy musical numbers destined for any December holiday playlist. A miraculous, performative treat that unites audiences with a multi-headed genre beast of an olive branch.Chris: I loved the first half of this movie, but the second half lost me a bit. No matter: it's fun, and the songs are delightful. And holy shit, I just realized I've seen every one of Matt's picks. 

Chris: No, not the Disney one. This Frozen is Adam Green's brutal horror flick about three college students (Emma Bell, Shawn Ashmore, and Kevin Zegers) who get trapped on a ski lift at a ski resort. The resort shuts down for the night, and out three protagonists are left dangling, literally. Frostbite, hypothermia, and hungry wolves all pay them a visit, resulting in some increasingly nasty body horror that will make you cringe and squirm. The lesson here: never leave your house, and definitely don't go skiing.  Matt: Maybe this is why I'm so averse to skiing? Just a chilly, nasty one-location thriller. Always had a soft spot for this one in my cold, dead heart.

Chris: One of the very best Stephen King adaptations, Misery is about the ultimate fan from hell – the type of fan who feels entitled to the object of their fandom (sound familiar?). Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her work as Annie Wilkes, a nurse who is obsessed with the romance novels penned by author Paul Sheldon (James Caan). As fate, or bad luck, would have it, Paul ends up getting into a car accident close to Annie's home, and Annie finds him. Rather than take him to a hospital, Annie takes Paul home – and proceeds to hold him prisoner, insisting he write a new novel just for her.. Master screenwriter William Goldman turns King's violent novel into a battle of wits, with Bates and Caan perfectly matched against each other. Matt: A list where both myself *and* Chris recommend something King-based? Might be a first, but also completely necessary.

Chris: Larry Fessenden's low-key Wendigo sneaks up on you, building dread and chilling your bones with its icy locals and mysterious storyline. Nebbish Jake Weber takes his wife (Patricia Clarkson) and son (Erik Per Sullivan) to a cabin in upstate New York with the hopes of unwinding. But before they even get there, the three run across a group of cruel hunters who immediately emasculate Weber's character. The family eventually does reach the cabin, but strange things slowly begin to unfold, hinting at some sort of dark and supernatural force. Fessenden's script blends the psychological and supernatural, resulting in a unique piece of indie horror. Matt: A Larry Fessenden movie where Dewey from Malcolm In The Middle squares off against a Wendigo threat? Why not!

Chris: Curtains is an under-the-radar slasher about six young actresses sequestered away in mansion a secluded, snowy locale. The role the actresses are auditioning for was previously promised to a movie star (Samantha Eggar), but the film's director (and the star's lover) (Jonathan Stryker) pulled a cruel stunt that landed Eggar's character in an insane asylum – but now she's out. And one by one, the young actresses start getting picked-off. Just what is going on here? It's not what you think, and that's part of the fun. Also part of the fun: a scene with a masked-killer on ice skates.Matt: Just read the IMDb synopsis and I need to catch up on this one. October did wonders for my '80s horror blindspots, but still plenty to go.

Chris: Kids are already inherently creepy, and The Children ramps that fear up to the nth degree. Here, a pair of families with several kids unite around Christmas time for a nice get together – and then things go terrible wrong. One by one, the children succumb to a mysterious illness – and then turn into crazed killers. The results are super chilling, with a heard of murderous tots out for blood. Happy holidays! Matt: I really, REALLY enjoy The Children. A film so unafraid to pose kiddos as the hellspawns they are, and equally fine with brutalizing the innocent-looking demons as deserved. Maybe not the right movie for expecting families?