Deathcember star AJ Bowen reveals his top 5 Christmas horror films

In horror circles, actor AJ Bowen is famous for two things: his appearances in scary films such as The signal, The House of the DevilAnd You are the next one, and being a big fan of Christmas horror movies.

“I guess that's my weird inclination,” the actor tells EW. “It's very satisfying for me when the plot of a genre film is intertwined with snow and cold.”

Bowen is currently seen In a Christmas horror film that focuses on the Christmas season Deathwhose cast also includes Barbara Crampton and Tiffany Shepis, as well as a list of filmmakers including Lucky McKee and Walking dead Actress Pollyanna McIntosh. Bowen himself appears in a segment directed by Sam Wineman.

“I worked on Chelsea Stardust’s film Satanic Panic and I met Sam Wineman, who was a second unit director,” says Bowen. “We hit it off right away and discovered we had a fascination with Christmas horror. He contacted me and said he would direct a piece for a Christmas-themed horror anthology. I said, 'Let me interrupt you right now, the answer is yes.'”

But what are Bowen's absolute favorite Christmas horror movies? Grab a glass of eggnog and check out the actor's picks below.

Jaws – The Reckoning (1987)

AJ BOWEN: There's a lot of smearing. Yes, there's a cursed shark in it, and yes, it screams like a lion at various points. But if you take away the cursed shark, it's a pretty compelling family drama about loss. I'm not even kidding about that. Particularly in the beginning, when it's cold and Sean Brody is on the water and I think for some reason there's a children's choir on the pier singing “The First Noel” while he then gets eaten by a cursed shark – I just loved the combination. It's supposed to be a time of safety, love and family, and then there's this cursed shark systematically hunting them. That was my gateway drug to Christmas horror.

Black Christmas (1974)

BOWEN: My favorite horror movie of all time is '74 Black Christmas. It's packed with really good actors and seemed so formative for what would become the slasher genre, which is one of my favorite subgenres. I watch the movie every year, which means I've probably seen it at least 25 times at this point. They play it every year at the New Beverly. Anyone who's in LA – if it's not a pandemic – anyone who has the opportunity to see the film with an audience can only recommend it.

Silent Night, Terrible Night Part 2 (1974)

BOWEN: I choose one of the Silent night, deadly night franchise, but it won't be the first. The original Silent night, deadly night is a bit mean to me. But for whatever reason, Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 is undoubtedly my favorite of all. I am aware that it is 60 percent original Silent night, deadly Night re-edited, but it's a pretty shocking film. When I first saw it, I watched it to the end, went back and watched it again, literally back to back.

Deadly Gamesalso known as Area code Santa Claus (1982)

BOWEN: I have tried to argue with people who Home alone is a horror film based on the perspective of the characters. Because if you are one of the burglars, it is a nightmare. It is a real nightmare. But I don't have to discuss that anymore because I have learned that Deadly Games exists. The film is crazy. It is a kind of horror mashup of Home alone And Die Hard.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Story (2010)

BOWEN: There are so many I could choose. I could say Christmas EvilDo you count Night of the Comet as a Christmas horror film? I could list Gremlins and how much I love this movie. But as far as modern things go, I have to say Rare exports. I have already saw it! I usually get mad at people who start putting up Christmas decorations so early. But this year, with everything going on, I was walking through our rural area in the mountains and saw people who had already put up Christmas lights and I just had this moment where I thought, thank you, this is so wonderful. It made me Rare exports. [Laughs] I find this film very comforting. If it is Scandinavian, for whatever reason, then their cinematography kills me, and when I saw a Christmas horror where a young person is again one of the main characters, it felt like I was watching an Amblin film. It felt like a child of Gremlins in terms of magical realism, it works. I really love it.

Shout Studios and Scream Factory's Death will be released on digital platforms on November 24th and on cable VOD on December 1st.

Check out the Death Trailer at the top of this post.

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