By George & Josh Bate
Christmas movies have never quite had the same cultural staying power as Halloween movies. Every October, horror fans are inundated with slashers, monsters, ghosts, and all manner of gruesome treats, while December is usually reserved for warm-and-fuzzy family fare, romantic comedies, and endless variations on A Christmas Carol. Thankfully, Christmas horror has carved out a niche of its own over the years, giving filmmakers the opportunity to turn the holiday season into something a little more sinister. Unholy Night, the new Canadian horror-comedy from writer-director Michael Gabriele, is the latest to do so, putting a surprisingly fresh spin on one of horror’s most well-worn subgenres.
Making its world premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival 2026, Unholy Night follows Gino (Marc Bendavid), whose Christmas Eve is thrown into chaos when zombie-like figures of deceased family members begin rising up throughout the town. There’s an intriguing wrinkle to the setup, though: these aren’t your typical flesh-eating undead. At first, the resurrected relatives are peaceful and seemingly unaware that they’re even dead, creating an understandably bizarre situation for the living characters. As the night progresses, however, that peacefulness gives way to aggression, and the dead become increasingly violent. What starts as an awkward family reunion quickly turns into something much more dangerous.
Gabriele’s film bolsters a novel premise, particularly because Unholy Night doesn’t quite fit neatly into the zombie movie box. The film clearly draws from the genre, but these creatures aren’t exactly zombies in the traditional, Romero sense. That distinction gives Gabriele room to play around with the familiar rules of the undead while still delivering the sort of chaos audiences expect from a zombie movie. It’s been a long time since a film has come along that feels like it’s actually adding something worthwhile to the zombie subgenre, and Unholy Night deserves credit for doing something somewhat different with admittedly familiar subject matter.
Powering this premise forward is a strong cast, delivering solid performances across the board. While everyone brings enough personality to their respective characters to make the family dynamics work, lead actor Marc Bendavid is particularly adept in the lead role as Gino, giving the character a grounded quality that helps keep the increasingly bizarre events from becoming too ridiculous, while also allowing Gino’s more emotional moments to land.
And, thankfully, Unholy Night delivers where it counts as a horror movie. Gabriele knows how to have fun with the premise, but the film doesn’t forget to get bloody when the opportunity arises. The shift from the initially peaceful undead to something much more aggressive gives the movie a calculated escalation of tension, and there are plenty of opportunities for the holiday setting to become increasingly nightmarish. The horror and comedy balance each other well for the most part, with the film understanding that sometimes the funniest thing you can do with a Christmas movie is make the Christmas gathering absolutely horrifying.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is just how much character work is packed into all of this undead mayhem. Unholy Night could have easily settled for being a simple Christmas zombie romp, but there’s genuine thought given to the characters and their relationships. Gino’s personal struggles and his complicated relationship with Rene provide the film with an emotional backbone, and their chemistry gives the story a welcome sincerity. It means that, when the film turns up the horror, there’s actually something at stake beyond simply surviving the night.
VERDICT: 7.5/10
Unholy Night doesn’t completely reinvent Christmas horror or the zombie movie, but it stands out with its novel premise that fuses together two subgenres of horror. A calculted escalation of tension and steady balance of horror and humor couple a movie filled with genuinely likable characers, strong performances, and a surprisingly heartfelt story about family and relationships. Halloween, understandably so, gets all the attention for being the holiday for horror hounds, but Christmas is an underappreciated time of year for fans of scary movies. Unholy Night has just joined the ranks of Black Christmas and Silent Night, Deadly Night as a fun, inventive addition to the Christmas horror canon.