Your Christmas Movies! Whatcha' Watchin' this Christmas season?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Ice House (1978)

A quietly creepy entry in the Ghost Stories for Christmas series that runs intermittently on the BBC.

Whilst barely a ghost story this is still a bit of a delight. The whole thing echoes the sense of dread that many of these dramas envelop themselves in, but rather than showcasing the Gothic trappings of MR James this is a modern day set drama in which it's becomes obvious that the more times the immortal line "There is only ice in the ice house" is uttered that there's clearly something else as well as ice in the ice house.

The whole thing has an ambiguous approach and i'm still not convinced i understand the final scene but it's still rather good

[gag]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

The Ice House (1978)

A quietly creepy entry in the Ghost Stories for Christmas series that runs intermittently on the BBC.

Whilst barely a ghost story this is still a bit of a delight. The whole thing echoes the sense of dread that many of these dramas envelop themselves in, but rather than showcasing the Gothic trappings of MR James this is a modern day set drama in which it's becomes obvious that the more times the immortal line "There is only ice in the ice house" is uttered that there's clearly something else as well as ice in the ice house.

The whole thing has an ambiguous approach and i'm still not convinced i understand the final scene but it's still rather good

I've had the boxset for ages but I've never watched it .

[Demoncrat]

Black Christmas (Bob Clark)

Where's the all female remake then??
Ahem. A sorority house is plagued with nuisance calls of a slightly disturbing nature. Could the caller be closer than they think?
Still works and always will in my mind. The characters are all reasonably rounded out, the shocks still shock more or less and John Saxon. Have never seen the "reboot". Mainly because I don't want to.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Stigma (1977)

Stigma is certainly the most disturbing of all the Ghost Stories For Christmas. Set in the present day, well present day 1977, it's the final film of the series from director Lawrence Gordon Clark.

Where this differs from the MR James adaptations is that the subtleties of Gothic horror are long gone, Stigma melds Folk horror with what can only be described as full on body horror. The story which involves stone circles and ritual execution disturbs me more than most horror films. Kate Binchy's performance in a difficult lead role as a regular woman and mother who becomes afflicted with the stigma of bleeding uncontrollably is superb and very unsettling because it's done all so matter of factly. There's no big build up, no hysterics, she simply attempts to deal with her body bleeding for no apparent reason as best she can.

The whole thing is a bit gut wrenching and the realism frightening enough to make it a less enjoyable viewing experience than say a zombie outbreak or a mad man in a hockey mask running round with a machete. Stigma ends up being very chilling, very grim and very good but not what i'd call a fun ride.

[Nostalgic]

Gremlins
Krampus
Black Christmas
Don't Open Till Christmas
Silent Night Deadly Night
It's A Wonderful Life
Nightmare Before Christmas

[Stephen@Cult Labs]

The same movies as I watch every single year, which includes A Christmas Story, Scrooged, Christmas Vacation, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, and lots more.

Doesn't seem like a year since I watched them all!

[Demoncrat]

You Better Watch Out (1980, Lewis Jackson)

AKA Christmas Evil.
This is what I call festive. It's got everything ... well
A naive loner thinks he can embody 'the spirit of Xmas'. Not everyone agrees.
One of the more surprising seasonal genre films. It's a high recommend.
Nae bloody remake on the near horizon neither

[Stephen@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

You Better Watch Out (1980, Lewis Jackson)



AKA Christmas Evil.

This is what I call festive. It's got everything ... well

A naive loner thinks he can embody 'the spirit of Xmas'. Not everyone agrees.

One of the more surprising seasonal genre films. It's a high recommend.

Nae bloody remake on the near horizon neither

Watch it every year. Got the new 88 blu-ray yesterday and loling forward to seeing it in HD this year.

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Yep,this,DON'T OPEN 'TIL CHRISTMAS,BLACK CHRISTMAS,SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT and it's sequel.

The BBC's GHOST STORIES FOR CHRISTMAS box will be making it's annual appearance with the creme being THE SIGNALMAN and
A WARNING TO THE CURIOUS.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Signalman (1976)

A brilliantly atmospheric adaptation of Charles Dickens' story. The sense of dread and foreboding is there from the first minutes.

Played out largely by two characters - Bernard Lloyd's traveler and Denholm Elliott's signalman (an exquisite performance by Elliott) haunted by spectral premonitions. The piece is talky yet wonderfully haunting and when the flashes of action arrive the impact they achieve is strikingly memorable.