The holiday spirit is alive and well in these fun and festive Christmas movies, but sometimes you need some holiday spirit That doesn't mean spiced drinks like eggnog Holiday movies like "The Nightmare Before Christmas" satisfy the desire for a darker Christmas movie

Tim Burton first wrote the idea in a 1982 poem of the same name From there, Jack Skellington was drawn and later made into a film Henry Selick directed the film, and Michael McDowell and Caroline Thompson turned Burton's story into a feature film Danny Elfman provided Jack's vocals and several supporting roles, and Chris Sarandon took the character's speaking role

While there is nothing like this dark, twisted, yet uplifting movie musical, there are plenty of other films that scratch the holiday horror itch Here are a few movies like "The Nightmare Before Christmas

Just three years before "The Nightmare Before Christmas," Tim Burton started his holiday horror streak with "Edward Scissorhands" While some might not classify this film as a Christmas movie, the majority of the key events take place during the holiday season The film opens with a story about making snow With ice sculptures, heart Christmas cookies that bring human-shaped creations to life, and snow dancing, "Edward Scissorhands" more than earns its place as a Christmas movie

Johnny Depp plays Edward, with Winona Ryder as his love interest Like "The Nightmare Before Christmas," "Edward Scissorhands" is a critique of the world of the unconventional Of course, the main takeaway from the film revolves around the deadly consequences of hypocrisy and gossip Burton directed the film, which he co-wrote with Caroline Thompson (the same screenwriter he used for The Nightmare Before Christmas)

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Satirical horror is a must during the holiday season, and "Gremlins" filled the void in 1984 when the world became obsessed with the supremely cute monster known as Gizmo But behind his cute and fluffy exterior, failure to follow the rules of the species can have deadly consequences If a Mogwai is wetted, fed after midnight, or left in bright lights, it will either multiply, transform into a ferocious and mischievous gremlin, or die, respectively

Needless to say, the film would not be interesting without chaos Protagonist Billy (Zach Galligan) soon breaks that rule, and he and his girlfriend Kate (Phoebe Cates) spend the movie cleaning up his mess while on vacation Joe Dante directed the film and Chris Columbus wrote the screenplay

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Following in the footsteps of The Nightmare Before Christmas, the 2017 film Anna and the Apocalypse fills our void for Christmas horror in film music Like a good portion of holiday horror, the film is satirical and doesn't take itself too seriously

As the title suggests, Anna (Ella Hunt) wakes up on Christmas morning to an apocalyptic world full of zombies She carves up the zombies, who are dressed as snowmen and armed with candy canes, but she can't bring the deadly brightness to life without a little singing and dancing Alan MacDonald co-wrote the screenplay with Ryan McHenry, and John McPhail directed

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Evil Santa may sound like a comedic premise, but the 2015 film Krampus does not toy with evil St Nick Many, if not all, of the families who celebrate Christmas can recall Christmases when families fought more often than they bonded Most of us, however, are not cornered by the demonic Santa Krampus is obsessed with punishing the family in the midst of a big family fight, and everyone pays the price

The film is a cautionary tale as well as an existential crisis inducing one If you're looking for a slasher flick like Reindeer on the Nose, this is not the movie for you

Adam Scott (Tom), Toni Collette (Sara), Allison Tolman (Linda), and David Koechner (Howard) star Michael Dougherty directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay with Todd Casey and Zach Shields

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Directed by Peter Ramsey, Rise of the Guardians is not the spookiest holiday movie, but it certainly has its darker elements The Guardians must protect their children from Pitch (Jude Law), the boogeyman Pitch is determined to eliminate children who believe in holiday Guardians like Santa and the Easter Bunny Keep in mind that Pitch is a rather creepy villain by animated film standards Speaking of the Guardians, Chris Pine plays Jack Frost, Hugh Jackman voices Bunny, and Alec Baldwin plays North

David Lindsay-Abaire and William Joyce wrote the screenplay, which has a strong "Nightmare Before Christmas" feel to it Directed by Peter Ramsey

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