All the Horror You Need to Stream in December 2022

Welcome to Horrorscope, a monthly column keeping horror nerds and initiates up to date on all the horror content coming to and leaving your favorite streaming services. Here’s what to watch in December 2022:

Folks, it’s the most wonderful time of the year: holiday horror time! Just as with genre films set at Halloween, festive horror hits differently when there’s snow falling, distant carollers, and twinkling lights aplenty. To get you in the spirit, there are a whole lot of spooky flicks hitting streaming services this month — and more than a few of them include murderous Santas!

All that said: be sure to peruse the complete list below, calendar in hand, for a full picture of what horror movies are coming and going from your favorite streaming services in December 2022.

Please keep in mind that all dates listed below may not apply to viewers outside the US.

December 2022 Horror Streaming Cheat Sheet

• There are six (count ’em) six films in the Ju-On franchise hitting ARROW on December 12th;
• An enormous chunk of horror films (including entries from this Halloween’s 80s Horror collection) are leaving The Criterion Channel at the end of the month, be sure to have a look at the expiring titles page at the end of this article for the full listing;
• And there are six (count ’em) six films in the Hellraiser franchise hitting HBO Max on December 12th;
• Fans of fate can check out five entries in the Final Destination franchise on Hulu on December 1st (they leave at the end of the month);
• Three films in the Omen franchise leave HBO Max on the 31st of December;
• The Blade trilogy leaves Hulu on the last of the month;
• In what has become something of a holiday tradition, Joe Bob’s Ghoultide Get-Together premieres on Shudder on Sunday, December 18th.
• New-ish releases this month include:
  • The Leech (2022) on ARROW as of December 5th;
  • The Night House (2020) on Hulu as of December 1st;
  • Troll (2022) on Netflix as of December 1st;
  • The Black Phone (2022) on December 1st and Nanny (2022) on December 10th on Prime Video;
  • History of the Occult (2021) on Screambox on December 6th; The Anchor (2022) arrives on December 27th;
  • A Wounded Fawn (2022), Christmas Bloody Christmas (2022), The Apology (2022), and Burial (2022) arrive on December 1st, 9th, 16th, and 29th, respectively;
  • Bed Rest (2022) and Terror Train 2 (2022) arrive on Tubi on December 7th and 30th.

The streaming service champion of the month is ARROW for consistently delivering on the collection, franchise, and single-title front.

The streaming service dunce of the month is (say it with me) Disney+ which predictably continues to deliver a whole lot of nothing surprising absolutely no one.

Collection Corner: December 2022 Horror Streaming

• ARROW — J-horror Legends (as of Dec. 12)
  • Titles include Ju-On: The Curse, Ju-On: The Grudge, Ju-On: White Ghost;
  • “In the 90s, the J-horror phenomenon swept the globe, and horror fans were enthralled by a new kind of scary movie. The antithesis of gory 80s slashers, J-horror films were more restrained, but utterly terrifying nonetheless.”
• ARROW — Video Nasties (as of Dec. 23)
  • Titles include The Driller Killer, Tenebrae, Blood Feast;
  • “You can learn all about what went down in our two excellent Video Nasties documentaries, but if you just want to see what all the fuss was about (or tick some titles off your list) then go gorge yourself on an incredible, unmatched collection of nasties that would make the Daily Mail pee its pants.”
• ARROW — The Best of 2022 (as of Dec. 30)
  • Titles include Two Witches, The Righteous, The Sacred Spirit;
  • It’s been another incredible (but true) year for new and exclusive releases on ARROW. From the dark side of Hollywood in Jim Cummings’ The Beta Test to ufology conspiracy thriller The Sacred Spirit, from a theological battle for the soul in The Righteous to the latest absurdist quirk fest from Quentin Dupieux, and from the essential feminist monster stalking of Take Back the Night to the grimy and crazy splendid scuzz of Hotel Poseidon.”
• Shudder — Nightmare on Elm Street Collection: The First 7 Movies (as of Dec. 1)
  • Titles include Wes Craven’s original 1984 masterpiece, followed
    by Freddy’s Revenge (1985), Dream Warriors (1987), The Dream Master (1988), The Dream Child (1989), Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994).

Horror Streaming Highlights for December 2022

Pick of the Month: Ravenous (1999)

Synopsis: After surviving a bloodbath, Captain John Boyd (Guy Pearce) is heralded as a hero. However, when it’s discovered that he “survived” by playing dead under a pile of corpses, his inaction is rewarded with a “promotion” to the remote Fort Spencer. Just as Boyd is wrapping his head around his new life, a frostbitten stranger (Robert Carlyle) shows up on their doorstep with a harrowing story: his caravan party became trapped in a snow storm, and the group resorted to cannibalism … which turned their leader into a man flesh-loving madman. They’d better go find him. He’s still in the cave, the stranger says. But can he be trusted?

If you want to watch a cannibal cowboy horror comedy based on the historical case of Alfred Packer, you have two choices: Cannibal! The Musical! and Ravenous. And only one of those two films has a banjo-heavy score by Michael Nyman and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn.

Directed by Antonia Bird and featuring an all-star cast, Ravenous is a peerless example of how you can make a genuinely funny film that also churns stomachs. Ravenous can be found alongside a much of non-horror wintery westerns that are also well worth your time.

Available on the Criterion Channel December 1st.

I’m dreaming … of a fright … Christ-mas

Synopsis: Snowbound thrills and chills aplenty can be found in this Christmas horror collection from the fine folks at ARROW — including a new release that may well be a new cult-Christmas fave.

Listen, there’s nothing wrong with the horror holiday classics. But if you want to venture off the beaten path, ARROW’s Fright Christmas collection has got you covered (in snow and … oh god, is that blood?). From feature-length wintery expeditions like The Leech and The Chill Factor to itty bitty stocking stuffers like Adams Family shorts, this collection offers a smörgåsbord for anyone looking to get a little festive with their horror-watching this December.

Available on ARROW, December 9th.

A collection of Christmassy carnage courtesy of Shudder

Synopsis: Oh, the weather outside is frightful. And if you’re a horror fan with a Shudder subscription, your streaming habits this December can be frightful too.

Shudder’s “Unhappy Holidays” is getting an update. Night of the Comet will join the collection on the first of the month. And Christmas Bloody Christmas will join the fray on the 9th.

Current titles include Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2, Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out, Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: The Initiation, Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toymaker, To All A Good Night, Black Christmas (1974), Christmas Evil, Better Watch Out, A Christmas Horror Story, All The Creatures Were Stirring, Christmas Presence, Deadly Games, Blood Beat, The Advent Calendar, A Creepshow Holiday Special, and The Christmas “Ghoul Log.”

Available on Shudder throughout the month.

The greatest horror film you missed in 2020

Synopsis: What should you broadcast for the final episode of the most-viewed journalistic show on television? Do you do a victory lap and run a retrospective of your greatest moments? Or do you risk it all and expose the president’s ties to witchcraft? It’s the latter, isn’t it?

A lot of films got done dirty by the shit show that was 2020. (For the record, David Prior’s  The Empty Man is the biggest loser of the lot). And the Argentinian found-footage horror mockumentary History of the Occult absolutely deserves to be on your radar. It’s 82 minutes long. It’s by the folks behind Netflix’s The Kirlian Frequency. It’s got atmosphere to spare. And the end result is a hypnotic, vintage-styled tale of terror that hooks you into the mystery. So if you need a break between all your holiday-themed horror this month, consider venturing into this paranoiac conspiracy of witches, warlocks, and satan worship.

Available on Screambox December 6th.

Streamable Horror Incoming This Month

Horror Titles Expiring from Streaming Soon

Related Topics: Horror, Horrorscope

Meg Shields is the humble farm boy of your dreams and a senior contributor at Film School Rejects. She currently runs three columns at FSR: The Queue, How'd They Do That?, and Horrorscope. She is also a curator for One Perfect Shot and a freelance writer for hire. Meg can be found screaming about John Boorman's 'Excalibur' on Twitter here: @TheWorstNun. (She/Her).