4 lesser known winter horror films guaranteed to chill you to the bone

The dark moodiness of the winter has always paired nicely with the fear and desolation of horror. The sun sets early, there’s a chill in the air, and generally if you are not in a sunny southern state, you are locked up in your house. What better time to explore those themes on the screen, and true to form, the genre has plenty of options that perfectly invoke them. Early films like The Thing and Misery set this mood magically and show the natural connective tissues that the genre has with the season. The following is a selection of four of my personal favorite lesser known winter horrors to check out as you’re hunkered down for these next few months of isolation. 

Dead of Winter

We will kick things off with a brand new film from this year that really flew under the radar. Generally a television director, with involvement in projects such as Game of Thrones, Brian Kirk returned to the film directing chair for this action thriller with plenty of horror elements. Starring Emma Thompson as Barb, a widow grappling with the death of her husband, the film follows her journey to a remote frozen lake where they had spent time together to spread ashes at his request. Unluckily, she stumbles upon the remote cabin of a murderous couple holding a young woman hostage and a fight for her own survival begins. 

While this isn’t necessarily horror proper, it is a compelling survival thriller in the most remote desolate winter you can imagine. You can viscerally feel the cold sting your face and that icy wind cut to your bones as you watch. Thompson gives an excellent emotional and physical performance,  and Judy Greer turns in her own as the villainous Purple Lady. If you are looking for something that pulls on the emotional heartstrings a bit while keeping you on the edge of your seat, this is a great choice. You can rent it now on major platforms such as Youtube. 

The Lodge

This early Neon film had a limited theatrical release on February 21st of 2020. If that date doesn’t ring a bell, the following few years were a little complicated due to COVID and really axed the theatrical run of this haunting film. Directed by Austrian filmmaking duo Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, the film follows Richard (Richard Armitage) in the aftermath of his wife’s suicide. He informed her he was going to be marrying a new woman that he had met researching an extremist cult, which led to her death. The sole survivor of the cult after mass suicide, Grace (Riley Keough) tries to ingratiate herself to Richard and his children a few months later over the holidays when he takes them all to his family’s remote Massachusetts lodge. As the children learn more about Grace’s troubled past, their father tries to keep the peace and a slow descent into chaos ensues. This film deeply explores themes of survival, isolation, and abandonment and its’ tone and unsettling atmosphere are perfectly melded with the brutal cold and buffeting snow that keeps them trapped in the lodge. It is broody, atmospheric and filled with dread and it's the perfect companion for a snowy day in. It is currently streaming on Tubi.

The Blackcoat’s Daughter

The last few years, Osgood Perkins has gripped the horror world with a whirlwind of projects that just keep coming from the talented director. However, I am traveling back years before his 2024 resurgence to 2015 to  revisit his directorial debut and talk about what is, in my opinion, his best piece of filmmaking in The Blackcoat’s Daughter. This psychological slow burn stars Emma Roberts and Kiernan Shipka early in both of their careers as catholic boarding school students. Taking place in the dead of winter (of course), the story follows Joan (Emma Roberts) as she travels to the isolated school where two stranded students (Kiernan Shipka and Lucy Boynton) face a malevolent unseen evil creeping in. The most fascinating part of the film is Perkins’ directorial style and the split script, with audiences seeing things unfold from three different perspectives throughout. Perkins relies on the audience to really pay attention and piece together the timeline as they head towards an absolutely chilling ending that is sure to rattle even the most stringent horror fans. The winter once again becomes almost a character, as it strands the girls in place and provides a haunting backdrop to an already terrifying situation. If you loved his new work such as Longlegs or The Monkey, I would encourage you to find the most biting chilly night and pop on what I believe to be Perkins best work in his catalogue. It is also streaming on Tubi.

The Wolf of Snow Hollow

This season can feel heavy and lifeless so after all of the dread and forlorn feelings, the best way to end is with the much lighter note of an incredibly underrated horror comedy The Wolf of Snow Hollow. The second film from director Jim Cummings stars himself as John Marshall, the sheriff of a sleepy Utah town who is grappling with his own demons of alcoholism and the expectations of his father and former sheriff. Suddenly, mutilated bodies start turning up and with clues such as paw prints in the snow and fur at the scenes, Marshall slowly finds himself realizing he may be dealing with a werewolf. This film is intense at points but it is also hilarious and has heart. Marshall’s struggle with alcoholism mirrors the ‘beat within’ here and his relationships with his friends and father are endearing and charming. It is filled with plenty of twists for its 84 minute run time and has a really exciting and anxiety inducing final act. Of course, the entire film is blanketed by the canopy of winter and constantly falling snow, making it the perfect monster romp through a quaint snowy mountain town. This is also available to stream on Tubi.

Don’t stop after The Thing! Those feelings of isolation and imagery of fresh crimson blood on a snowy canvas come in many forms and these are just a few of those flavors. Hopefully they leave you with something exciting and original to binge as you are snowed in this winter season.