7 Alternative Christmas Movies to Enjoy this Year
Alternative Christmas Movies For those Who Want a Break from the Cheer.
Not everyone likes to enjoy the holiday season by watching cliched classic Christmas movies that teach us over and over that the best gifts are the ones you can’t put a bow on (tell that to my bank account). So, for all of you who don’t give a damn about being a Scrooge or Grinch this year, I decided to pull together a selection of some of the more alternative Christmas movies you can enjoy. All of the films I’ve managed to scrap together feature Christmas in some way or another but don’t expect these to be holly or jolly by any stretch of the imagination. There are a few comedies on here, a couple of horror movies, and even a superhero flick. Just because you prefer “bah humbug” to “ho ho ho” doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get a chance to enjoy these alternative Christmas movies.
Gremlins
They might be cute and adorable, but Mogwai make for terrible starter pets. That’s right, the horror-comedy Gremlins definitely counts as one of the great alternative Christmas movies of all time. The film revolves around a teenager who can’t even follow three simple rules and causes his small town to be overrun with tiny green terrors. Alright, so they’re not that tiny, but they are pretty terrifying as they go to work trying to ruin the holiday season for everyone. Fortunately, little Gizmo and his hapless owner are standing in their way and what ensues is an epic battle worthy of Christmas. If you’re looking for a fun movie that won’t try to force a lesson down your throat, this is definitely worthy of your alternative Christmas movies list.
Batman Returns
This might be a bit of a stretch, but Batman Returns totally counts belongs on this list of alternative Christmas movies. The Dark Knight has his hands full as Gotham finds itself under siege by The Penguin and Catwoman during the holiday season, kicking off the trend of Batman facing two villains per movie. The thing is that this is probably the greatest Christmas gift our hero could have ever asked for since we all know Bruce Wayne doesn’t exactly have a lot of family around for the holiday. When it comes to alternative Christmas movies, Batman Returns is one that’s all about giving… Giving Gotham’s villains one hell of a beat down! It might not be one of the best Batman movies, but it’s way better than the one with Bat-nipples in it.
Trading Places
It seems like the people who say “money doesn’t buy happiness” are the ones who have enough of it to buy everything else. Trading Places tells the tale of what happens when the 1% loses that money that “doesn’t buy happiness” and is left with nothing. Of course, this is all done to amuse the .1% that ruins him and subsequently replaces him with someone else. It might not seem like it on the surface, but Trading Places definitely counts a Christmas movie if only for the horrendous scene featuring Dan Akroyd dressed as Santa Claus. So, next time someone tries that whole “the best presents are the ones you can’t put bows on,” make sure to share this classic comedy with them.
Edward Scissorhands
Tim Burton must have a thing for alternative Christmas movies (just look at The Nightmare Before Christmas). Edward Scissorhands takes place in the mythical land of Florida where winter never comes. Now, the lack of snow might not make this seem like the perfect setting, but Burton manages to make it work. Besides, when Edward goes to town on those ice sculptures he manages to make it seem like it’s snowing, which is probably the most you can expect in Florida. While you can watch Edward Scissorhands any time of year, getting to claim it as a Christmas movie just means you pretend to have holiday spirit while still getting your weird on.
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
This comes from my own personal list of alternative Christmas movies I watch every year. The film is a twisted take on the tale of old Saint Nick from the fine folks in Finland. Ther have been more than a few Christmas horror movies over the years, but this is by far and away one of my favorites. A mining operation outside a small town accidentally uncovers a murderous version of Santa Claus that’s built up quite an appetite over the past thousand years or so. Those hoping for a white Christmas will be in for a shock as this horror movie unfolds. Personally, I love showing this to people who are expecting a nice little friendly Christmas movie. The thing is once they get over the shock of it all, everyone loves this movie.
Just Friends
Just in case nothing on this list of alternative Christmas movies caught your interests, I thought I’d round things off with an off-beat romantic comedy. To be fair Just Friends is pretty much friendzone the movie, but it still has plenty of light-hearted moments that offer up more than a few laughs. Plus, it stars Ryan Reynolds and I’ll take any opportunity I can get to enjoy one of his films. The story focuses around a guy who returns home for the holidays in hopes of winning the heart of the girl he’s loved since high school. I’ll admit that it’s kind of a sketchy premise, but it’s pretty far from your traditional Christmas flick and that makes it the perfect addition to this list.
…Iron Man 3?
According to Disney+, Iron Man 3 is a Christmas movie. The film does technically take place just before Christmas and Strak even buys his long term love interest, Pepper Potts, a Christmas gift. I’m certainly not going to fight Disney on this for two reasons: 1) Their lawyers would destroy me and 2) this is a list of ALTERNATIVE Christmas movies. In my opinion, this is about as far from a traditional Christmas movie as you can get, which more than earns it a spot here. Besides, after Endgame it might not be such a bad thing to take a little bit of time this holiday season to remember good old Mr. Stark one more time. So, if you’re looking to take a break from all those cliche holiday movies they show every year, it might not be a bad idea to dust off Iron Man 3.
There are tons of other alternative Christmas movies out there from Lethal Weapon to Eyes Wide Shut, so if there are some other great suggestions you want to throw out there, be sure to leave a comment below. As always, I’ll be updating this article as newer and weirder alternative Christmas movies come out. Until then, stay strong during the most trying time of the year for us Grinches.