Different people, different strokes. Some people want Christmas gifts to be nice and warming, like the spirit of the season; but some believe that it's a time to give your loved ones what they really want. If said loved ones happen to be into blood, guts and generally malicious stories, then why not have a little blood, guts and malice for Christmas? It's a sign of care, after all. Here's a list of items to help you pick a great last minute gift for the horror fans.
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Se7en [Blu-ray]
The psychological thriller that made horror fans everywhere think twice before opening a FedEx box was finally made available on Blu-ray earlier this year, just in time for the fifteenth anniversary of this modern classic. This is the movie that put David Fincher on the map and steered Brad Pitt away from pretty boy gigs and into grittier roles.
The Walking Dead: Compendium One
If you enjoyed Season 1 of the show, make sure you read the still-ongoing comic that inspired it! This thick-as-log trade paperback collects the first 48 issues of The Walking Dead and should get any newcomers up to speed on Rick and his family's survival against the undead.
Hausu (House)
on Blu-ray
on DVD
What happens when a filmmaker asks his tween daughter to write a horror movie, and then he actually makes it? One of Japan's craziest 70's cult movies had a limited run in theaters this year. If you didn't get a chance to see it, don't worry; Criterion picked it up for home distribution. This hilarious haunted house romp would make for a great gift.
Psycho: 50th Anniversary Edition [Blu-ray]
For this seminal release, Universal really took care of Hitchcock's chilling classic. Presented in gorgeous high-definition in its original aspect ratio and with a new 5.1 mix, giving this to someone means you only want them to be scared of showering in the best quality possible.
Videodrome [Blu-ray]
The Criterion Collection selected several titles from their library to port to Blu-ray this year, with David Cronenberg's 1983 body horror flick Videodrome being one of the best of the bunch. Containing the same great extras from their original 2004 DVD release, but with the movie presented in a restored hi-def digital transfer of the unrated version, this release of Videodrome is a great gift for anybody who wants to spend the holidays reveling in snuff.
Metro 2033
on PC
on Xbox 360
Want to spook someone but they're more into video games than movies? Metro 2033 is a first-person shooter and survival horror game that takes him to a post-apocalyptic Moscow, where he'll explore an underground metro system that's been gripped by hostile mutants with only a flashlight to pierce the darkness. It's fun and frightening—just like Christmas with the family.
Grindhouse: Two-Disc Collector's Edition [Blu-ray]
It took them 3 years, but the theatrical version of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez' Grindhouse finally makes its way to Blu-ray. Previously released only separately in extended versions, this new release presents Death Proof and Planet Terror as a 3-hour double feature, with those great fake trailers intact!
Full Dark, No Stars
Don't you just hate how cheerful the holidays can be? Then get a little negative and cynical with what people are calling Stephen King's darkest, most violent work yet. Eschewing the supernatural for the commonly disturbed, this book offers four brutal stories that embody the title. This is the darkest as King gets.
Antichrist
on DVD
on Blu-ray
Another Criterion Collection grab. Lars von Trier's controversial film made waves last year when it was released in theaters. Most people might have missed the opportunity, so give this beautiful film to them now that it's on DVD and Blu-ray. It has a striking cinematography, choking atmosphere, wonderful acting from Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg, and even explicit genital mutilation. Your friends and family will have a Merry Antichristmas.
Necronomicox Adult Toys
Purchase at Elastica Engineering
Not pictured because it's NSFW: if you usually like your holiday gifts a little naughty, and in this case you're thinking you want it to be horror-related, too, here is a set of three disturbing adult toys that, unless you know a really freaky female giftee, is really more of a prank gift than anything. Choose between a Xenomorph alien, Chtulhu or zombie dildo. We absolutely do not recommend even looking at the zombie one.
