1428 Elm
Fansided

5 Winter horror films for holiday Grinches

By Adrienne Clark

SANKT JOHANN IM PONGAU, AUSTRIA - DECEMBER 06: Men wearing horned, wooden masks and dressed as the Krampus creature prepare to participate in the annual Krampus parade on Saint Nicholas Day on December 6, 2017 in Sankt Johann im Pongau, Austria. Several hundred Krampus creatures from the region took part in this year's Sankt Johann parade. Krampus traditionally accompanies Saint Nicholas and angels in a house to house procession to reward children who have been good and warn those who have not, though in recent decades Krampus parades have become an intrinsic part of local folklore and take place throughout the end of November and into the first half of December in the alpine regions of Germany, Austria and Italy. Krampus usually wears large cowbells on his back that he rings by shaking his hips to ward off the evil spirits of winter. He also carries a switch made of branches or animal hair that he uses to whip bystanders. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
SANKT JOHANN IM PONGAU, AUSTRIA - DECEMBER 06: Men wearing horned, wooden masks and dressed as the Krampus creature prepare to participate in the annual Krampus parade on Saint Nicholas Day on December 6, 2017 in Sankt Johann im Pongau, Austria. Several hundred Krampus creatures from the region took part in this year's Sankt Johann parade. Krampus traditionally accompanies Saint Nicholas and angels in a house to house procession to reward children who have been good and warn those who have not, though in recent decades Krampus parades have become an intrinsic part of local folklore and take place throughout the end of November and into the first half of December in the alpine regions of Germany, Austria and Italy. Krampus usually wears large cowbells on his back that he rings by shaking his hips to ward off the evil spirits of winter. He also carries a switch made of branches or animal hair that he uses to whip bystanders. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next

4. I Saw the Devil

Has your car ever broken down late at night in the snow? Even with a cell phone handy, it’s not a pleasant feeling.

Jee-Woon Kim’s 2010 winter horror revenge film I Saw the Devil begins in just such a way. The stranded driver is a young woman. She’s safe and warm in her car, that is until another vehicle rolls to a stop just in front of hers.

The man in the car is Jang Kyung-chul (Min-sik Choi), a psychopath with murder on his mind, and this young woman, all alone in the snow, is the perfect target.

The next morning the woman’s fiancé Kim Soo-hyun (Byung-Hun Lee) is told the terrible news, his fiancé hasn’t just been killed–she’s been torn to shreds.

What follows is an extremely dark tale that uses the traditional revenge film tropes, but only to a point. Just when you think you understand what the film has in store, Kim takes a hard left turn dragging his characters, and the audience, in a new direction. Instead of simply pitting Soo-hyun and Kyung-chul against one another, Director Kim uses his characters to explores how revenge can deteriorate the soul. You see, after Soo-hyun gets his first taste of retribution, he starts to like it.

Watch for the opening alone, which features long shots of a car driving slowly through the snow at night. Although there isn’t anything overtly menacing at first, the atmosphere created by the snow falling through headlights and surrounded by darkness will work its way into your psyche. Before any action has even taken place, you’ll be wound tight with worry.

Before we move on, a word of warning. This is a brutally violent film, and that’s coming from a seasoned horror fan. If you’re not comfortable with senseless cruelty, mutilation, cannibalism, and sexual assault on screen, this film is not for you.

3. Climax

Climax is a movie that redefines what madness looks like on screen.

This is a movie that focuses on image and feeling over traditional storytelling beats, so it’s worth noting that while the story may seem simple, the execution is anything but.

In Climax, a dance company has come together for an extended rehearsal in a closed-down school compound. One can assume they’ve been practicing since early that morning, and now, as the day draws to a close, the group runs through their big number (in an extremely impressive 5-minute one-shot).

As a vicious winter storm rages outside, the dancers give it their all. Voguing, acrobatic splits and high kicks, even a ribbon dancer gets into the mix. It’s the kind of performance more often seen on a stage in an underground club or theater space, and it’s refreshing to watch such a spectacle on film.

The number goes off without a hitch, and the rehearsal quickly turns into a celebration complete with homemade sangria. But what starts as a well-deserved release spiral into chaos when it’s revealed that someone has spiked that sangria with LSD.

Now the entire group must contend with the effects of psychedelics they didn’t consent to take. And since this is a Gaspar Noé film, you can expect the fallout to be brutal.

Vicious, stylish, and insane, Climax is a wholly original film in the winter horror sub-genre. Guess at the outcome all you want, but you ain’t seen nothing like this.

Home/Horror News