This may be one of the more explicitly-set at Christmas movies on this list, but it's still not exactly festive. The movie follows Billy (Zach Galligan) after he's given the gift of a mogwai - a small, strange, furry, creature with a strict set of rules to follow while looking after it.
Of course, these rules go out the window and he ends up with a host of other, evil mogwai referred to as, you guessed it, "gremlins." They wreak havoc on the snow-laden town and cause all manner of mischief and straight up murder.
The dark comic tone of this horror-flecked movie is helped by its setting at Christmas, which melds nicely with the scarier elements of the film.