Christmas time is here. That means its time for the most unique movie genre there is — holiday movies. These are the movies that only really work from around Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day. Any other time of the year they feel just weird, and out of place.
And when we think about holiday films images of George Bailey running through the streets yelling Merry Christmas, Buddy the Elf yelling about Santa, and Ebenezer Scrooge yelling to a young boy about what day it is; aLL run through our heads. Yes, it’s a lot of yelling. But you know the hallmarks of a holiday movie — Christmas decorations, Santa Claus, snow, redemption, realizations, love — and mostly warm, fuzzy feelings.
However, there are movies that remind us of Christmas that aren’t part of that pantheon of classics. Some are set during Christmastime…but aren’t exactly movies you’d show to the kids or grandma Doris. Some aren’t even adorned in tinsel, scored with Christmas Carols, or even set during the holidays — yet they have this intrinsic Christmas feeling.
Simply put — our staff has come together to present 10 non-traditional holiday films that will make for perfect holiday viewing. So, don’t expect films like Love, Actually, Elf, or even Die Hard (we have another piece on that coming soon) on this list. Except things a little more niche, a little bit weird, and yet still are our favorite Christmas classics.
The Royal Tenenbaums – Bill Bodkin
Oh, Tenenbaums…oh Tenenbaums…how lovely is your story.
Wes Anderson’s opus The Royal Tenenbaums is not a traditional holiday film, even though the titular family’s name is part of a classic Christmas carol. Yet there’s something about this film that makes it as necessary a Christmastime watch as A Christmas Carol, or It’s a Wonderful Life. The film has this lived-in, nostalgic look and feel to it that’s akin to Christmas decorations that have been passed down from generations.
Despite not being set during the holidays has all the trappings of a Christmas film — stories of redemption, stories of love, and ultimately a story of a family reunited and remade stronger than their best days. The film explodes with excellence — a masterful soundtrack, impeccable set design, and brilliant writing, and unique story structure. It’s a near perfect film. However, it’s the performances that drive this film.
Gene Hackman, possibly in his best role ever, is perfect as the beloved bastard known as Royal Tenenbaum. Ben Stiller, Gwenyth Paltrow, Anjelica Houston, Danny Glover, and Owen and Luke Wilson easily give some of the best performances of their careers playing outlandish characters that are incredibly damaged, broken, and beautifully written. And of course there’s Bill Murray in the most un-Bill Murray role he’s ever play.
The Royal Tenenbaums will always remain one of my favorite Christmas films. Maybe I always put the two together because the film was released in December 2001, but in the end the values and stories that we sometimes laugh at in Christmas films, are on full display here, and are done perfectly.
Go — Michael Vacchiano
If you threw Pulp Fiction in a blender, added a hefty dose of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and hit purée….you’d get the hilarious and fast-paced concoction that is Go.
Director Doug Liman’s follow-up to the indie classic Swingers features a trio of overlapping and interlocked
stories that revolve around a group of young adults at Christmastime. Ronna (Sarah Polley), is an L.A. supermarket check-out girl behind on her rent. Desperate for some quick cash, she decides to sell hits of ecstasy to some underground partygoers to avoid being put out on the street. Meanwhile, her coworker Simon (Desmond Askew) takes off for a wild trip to Vegas with his buddies, and ends up having WAY more fun than he bargained for. Finally, gay soap actors Zack (Jay Mohr) and Adam (Scott Wolf) must work undercover with a creepy cop and endure an awkward holiday dinner with his flirtatious wife. Believe it or not, the whole thing weaves together seamlessly in the end for an incredible and wild night of laughs and thrills.
Rounding out the awesome cast are Taye Diggs, Katie Holmes, Timothy Olyphant, William Fichtner, Breckin Meyer, and Jane Krakowski. Also, look for a cameo by a young Melissa McCarthy in her film debut.
An under-seen gem that may not necessarily be required holiday viewing, but should still be checked out nonetheless. Rave on!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fq_uIdStyw
The Hebrew Hammer — Allison Lips
The Hebrew Hammer is not for the easily offended or children. The entire point of the movie is to be a parody of Blaxploitation films and insult as many ethnic groups as possible. Some of the most memorable lines from the movie are so obscene they can’t be reprinted here.
The film follows Circumcised Private Dick Mordechai Jefferson Carver aka the Hebrew Hammer (Adam Goldberg) as he saves Hanukah and Christmas from Damien Claus (Andy Dick). Damien had his father, Santa, killed and now wants to destroy all December holidays. Desperate to save December, Carver, who dresses like a Hasidic pimp, enlists the help of Muhammad Ali Paula Abdul Rahim, the leader of the Kwanzaa Liberation Front. Of course, they save the holidays by the end of the movie.
The Hebrew Hammer isn’t a good movie, but it is awesomely bad. The movie doesn’t take itself too seriously and playfully makes fun of Jewish stereotypes. After all, only a Jew can feasibly get away with joking that the ultimate Jewish superpower is complaining combined with guilt. If you’re Jewish, you also probably agree that that’s hilarious because it’s not too far from the truth.
For me, the movie doesn’t represent the holiday because I’ve never watched it in December. I watched it back in college sometime in the spring with a friend who introduced me to Pootie Tang. However, it is a movie you never forget.
Happy holidays and “Shabbat Shalom, motherfuckers!”
Batman Returns — Aaron Sarnecky
If a movie is set during Christmastime, it’s a Christmas movie. It doesn’t matter if it was released during that time or not. Heck, I might accept a film as such even if only its third act is set during Christmastime. It’s by this logic that movies like Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, and Batman Returns are Christmas movies. But we’re just talking about Batman Returns here.
You could watch the 1989 Batman without knowing Tim Burton directed it. It’s not as dark and macabre as a lot of his other work. Batman Returns, on the other hand, goes full Burton. While Burton’s visual style usually doesn’t appeal to me, it works wonders in the Christmas season. Gotham City has never looked more stunning than it does in the snow. While I love Christopher Nolan’s more grounded take on the Caped Crusader, I can’t lose myself in his Gotham the same way, as it’s an amalgamation of different real world cities. Burton’s mix of gothic and art deco architecture makes his city feel more unique. A man dressed like Dracula feels right at home in a place like this.
Though I could recommend Batman Returns on its aesthetic alone, the movie is entertaining for just how bizarre it is. Tim Burton’s radical reinterpretations of Catwoman and the Penguin, played by Michelle Pfeiffer and Danny DeVito, are dark reflections of Michael Keaton’s Batman, who is arguably insane. Catwoman’s story will pull on your heartstrings at least a little, even though she’s crazy. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Christopher Walken, who’s always a joy to watch, as side-villain Max Shreck.
While Tim Burton’s killer Batman may not be my ideal interpretation of the superhero, I can accept it as Burton’s. Batman Returns is probably not the best Batman movie, but it’s haunting beautiful in its own way.
Black Christmas — George Heftler
When I first sat down to watch Black Christmas, there was very little chance I wouldn’t enjoy it. I love slasher flicks, and Black Christmas is the mother of them all (depending on who you ask. Some consider Texas Chainsaw Massacre to be a slasher, and some consider Bay of Blood. But I digress). Even though I was anticipating enjoying it, I was unprepared for the excellence that is Black Christmas.
Black Christmas is essentially an adaptation of a classic urban legend, the caller from inside the house, and boy oh boy are the calls in this freaky. They range from perverted utterances to screams and animal noises to flatly saying “I’m going to kill you”. And that’s exactly what the caller does. We see some really excellent kills in Black Christmas, and our killer ratchets up the tension as one by one the victims get picked off.
Set in a sorority house during Christmas break, the victims are primarily sorority sisters. But where many horror movies would see this as an opportunity for gratuitous nudity and grotesque violence, Black Christmas is surprisingly restrained. There is no nudity, and while the kills are violent, it never feels as over the top as some other genre staples. This works to the films benefit, allowing actual performances to take center stage. The sisters are portrayed fantastically by a variety of talented actors including Margot Kidder and Olivia Hussey, and their characters are, rather than the tropes of horror movies to come, well developed and possess agency. In fact, Black Christmas subverts many tired tropes from horror movies before they were even established, especially those concerning purity and sex shaming. Kidder is particularly effective, helping the movie effortlessly shift back and forth from genuinely funny to creepy as hell in mere moments.
An attention to detail is omnipresent as well. The soft Christmas lights lend a creepy ambiance to the deserted house, containing only a few sisters before Christmas break. The piano-heavy score lends credence to a red herring. The cinematography instills you with claustrophobia as you’re slowly going through the halls, trapped inside the house with a killer. It all adds up to an incredible horror movie that leans on its Christmas theme an appropriate amount, creating a tension not usually found in such theme-heavy concepts. If you’re a horror fan, this is a must watch around the holiday season- especially because it finds a nice middle ground between the saccharine goodness of your typical holiday movies and the hilarious but very mean streak of something like Silent Night, Deadly Night.
Krampus — Tom Moore
Being a lover of both of joyful spirit of Christmas and the blood soaked vibes of horror movies, there really isn’t a film that embodies both joy and horror more than the Michael Doughery’s Krampus.
I think what I love so much about Krampus is how it tackles to teach it’s important Christmas lesson and how it gels so perfectly with its mythical antagonist. Krampus is a legendary folk figure that aims to punish those who deny the Christmas spirit. The film’s family, filled with plenty of acting favorites like Adam Scott, Toni Collette, and David Koechner, earn a visit from Krampus as they bicker, argue, and cause their son Max to tear up his letter to Santa Claus.
Between all of the turmoil, though, there are also plenty of moments where the family begins to grow past their initial problems. In a discussion with his son after tearing up his letter, Adam Scott’s Tom says this line when talking about why putting up with family during the holidays is important: “Maybe it just makes us work a little harder to find out what we do have in common. You know, put everything aside, and think of other people for a change. Friends, family, even the assholes you normally can’t stand.” It frankly adds more context to moments when the family forgives and begins to accept one another’s beliefs.
Not to mention, Krampus is filled with horrifying jack in the boxes, scary teddy bears, and some deadly clever gingerbread men that make it a hilariously horrifying holiday film that just can’t be missed.
Eyes Wide Shut — Andrew Howie
If you’re looking for something a little outside the box to watch this holiday season, you can’t get much weirder than Stanley Kubrick’s final movie, Eyes Wide Shut. For those who may be uninitiated, the story concerns a night fraught with peril, drugs, sex (both fantasized and realized), and mystery. Set against the backdrop of New York during the Christmas season, we follow Dr. Bill Harford (Tom Cruise) and wife Alice (Nicole Kidman) as they navigate the strains on their marriage; things escalate quickly and soon spiral beyond control.
While this may not be your typical watch-with-the-family movie on Christmas Eve, for the humbugs out there (or anyone just looking for a break from A Christmas Story), the atmosphere alone makes Eyes Wide Shut worthy of your consideration. The dreamy, ethereal Christmas lights that feature prominently in every scene evoke that nostalgic feeling of childhood winters around the fireplace, without all the accompanying Christmas music. This juxtaposition of soft beauty and sexually explicit scenes can be rather jarring, but it gives the movie an almost psychedelic feel to it that’s perfect for anyone hosting an “adult Christmas party.”
Interestingly, this film can also be interpreted as reinforcing a more traditional view on the meaning of the Christian holiday, albeit through fairly extreme visuals: the importance of family and maintaining relationships with those you cherish. Just as the Harfords eventually come to the realization that they need to work on each other and forget the distractions, it’s important for us to place the time with friends and family over the need for more stuff every holiday season.
This is still a Stanley Kubrick movie, so there is that occasional vague sense of “What is even going on here?” As with any movie worth its salt, Eyes Wide Shut is of course open to various interpretations, and no opinion will likely ever be the real truth. It may not be featured in the Christmas-themed TV marathons, you might not watch it with your grandparents, and definitely not the kids, but it’s a real trip, and definitely not your average holiday film experience.
The Nightmare Before Christmas — Rachel Freeman
In October of 1993, my favorite movie ever was released in theaters, The Nightmare Before Christmas. I was only 2 at the time and didn’t see it while it was originally on the big screen (though I did get to do just that once it re-released in theaters in 2007 and 2008), my dad bought it the following year on VHS. You know, back when VHS was a thing. When we were little, pretty much the only way my brother and I would chill out and lay down for bed was if my dad let us put on a movie. We had many different movies we forced my dad to watch probably more times than he’d care to remember, but and The Nightmare Before Christmas was no exception.
This movie is incredibly special to me. I know almost every line by heart (I regret nothing), but as I got older, my interest spread to other things. Although my parents still have the VHS, I just didn’t watch it all that often. But come Christmas time, it was a family favorite to watch. During the Christmas movie specials on cable, I could usually care less about what was playing until it was time to tune in for The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Despite it not being ever-prevalent like when I was little, The Nightmare Before Christmas was still always a part of Christmas time my entire life. Even though it toes the line between fantasy and dark fantasy, and revolves around not just Christmas, but Halloween – which is pretty much the polar opposite – it’s managed to become a regularly played film on TV every Christmas. I think that says something about how amazing this movie is. Not to mention, What’s This? Is probably the most accurate depiction of what Christmas looks and feels like out of any Christmas song I’ve ever heard.
Silent Night, Deadly Night — Josh Taylor
Another one to add to the non traditional holiday movie selection, unless you’re a horror slasher film fan, is Silent Night, Deadly Night. I never watched slasher movies when I was younger — I started watching them a little over ten years now — after seeing the fake trailer “Thanksgiving” from Grindhouse.
Once I saw that trailer, I was hooked and had to set out to watch more obscure cheesy slasher gems, and low and behold I found my go to holiday film. One year I actually watched Silent Night, Deadly Night on the night before Easter because I didn’t know what else to watch that night, and felt festive in some sort of holiday spirit — so that was my choice that night, instead of Critters 2, or Night of the Lepus for some reason.
A few years back now, the soundtrack to Silent Night, Deadly Night was released on vinyl, and CD for the first time by Death Waltz Records. My brother got my a copy for the holiday season, and since then; I play those cheesy songs from that film, to spread the holiday cheer with such gems like “Warm side of the Door” and “Santa’s Watching.” Just writing up about this now makes me want to spin that record, just to get into the holiday spirit! This film represents the holidays for me, not only for its cheesy Christmas music, or crazy plot, but for the threat that concerned parents thought this film would do to ruin their kids belief in ole Saint Nick. They were threatened by it so much, that the film was pulled out of theaters, to shield the kids from having to see commercials of Santa stalking the neighborhood, punishing those who were naughty on Christmas Eve.
Even though this wasn’t the first time there was a killer Santa in a film (Amicus Films adaptation of Tales From the Crypt has a segment with a killer Santa, that still haunts me to this day, with his menacing eyes staring at the screen), it begs me to ask the question; If there was as much, or any controversy at all for Christmas Evil, like there was for Silent Night, Deadly Night since it had a killer Santa in that film?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjrRYLqjgsM
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang — Sean Cordy
Growing up in the North, I love a white Christmas as much as the next. Probably more, to be honest. But what I really love, is a Black Christmas.
Shane Black, that is.
We’re not entirely sure what his mild obsession with the holidays is, but it’s a welcome presence in virtually every film he’s directed. Maybe The Predator would have functioned better as a Christmas movie if only for the novelty. The Christmas setting sure elevated Iron Man 3 to a new level in the MCU, and The Nice Guys closes around the holiday to add some warmth. But his festive trademark is definitively stamped in the Val Kilmer, Robert Downey Jr. vehicle Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
My appreciation for the film goes beyond the witty banter between Kilmer and RDJ. It’s certainly a starting point. But as the one film I make sure to watch before Christmas Day, I’ve found more appreciation in its own context.
Just as Christmas is a day of celebrating the birth of a savior, Black’s meta-buddy cop comedy series catches one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in a moment of rebirth. Without this, RDJ likely doesn’t take on the Tony Stark persona. I wish better could be said of Kilmer, as his health has prevented him from taking on larger roles, but the two have irreplaceable chemistry at this place in time.
Of course, the setting isn’t entirely required but the holiday air adds a stark atmosphere to L.A., slowing down the world to keep up with the rapid-fire wordplay from our snarky leads. No one is particularly in the holiday spirit here, but it certainly puts me in one.
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