Take a walk on the wild side of Christmas movies with a selection of seasonal films that you may have overlooked.
Christmas movies are ten-a-penny these days, so much so that they even warrant their own TV channels. But what of the festive films that slip through the cracks? We all know the classic Christmas films – or do we? Some movies, either because they have never really been hyped as Christmas films or are simply obscure titles to begin with, have been overlooked when it comes to compiling lists for festive viewing. It’s time to (belatedly) sing the praises of an alternative collection of Christmas classics, to celebrate or critique the season and to suggest a change of pace for the films that your family might suggest during those long holiday get-togethers. If you are tired of offering Don’t Open Till Christmas as an alternative to some twee Hallmark romantic twaddle, these might be a fresh of breath air all around.
So what are the rules for inclusion here? Well, the main one is that Christmas plays some part in the narrative but is not the main aspect of the story. Christmas must not be mentioned in the title or emphasised in the promotion. That isn’t to say that Christmas and its imagery – Santa, Christmas trees, decorations, family get-togethers and the like – can’t play an important part in proceedings. Simply that they are not the entire point of the film.
The other rule is that the films are worth watching. We could probably expand this list to a good few hundred movies simply by including every film that has either the main story or incidental scenes taking place at Christmas, but it would be especially Scrooge-like of me to suggest anyone sat down to watch Jaws – The Revenge as an alternative Christmas treat. Christmas can be difficult enough as it is without added awfulness like that.
This is, of course, a personal selection – so don’t grumble if your personal favourite is not included. I’m happy to throw this idea open for other people to put their own lists together. Missing are those films that would be a shoo-in for this list had they not already been absorbed into the Christmas movie canon – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Gremlins and so on.
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Beyond Tomorrow
A sentimental tale that sits somewhere between A Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life, without the qualities of either but charming in its own way – the ghosts of three wealthy industrialists return at Christmas to help a romantic young couple. It’s twee and lightweight, but entertaining enough.
Blast of Silence
The classic indie neo-noir seems as startlingly original now as it was back in 1961, a collision of American crime drama and the European New Wave cinema. Set over Christmas week, it has a festive backdrop that is never emphasised but is always around as a counterpoint to the gritty violence of the story.
Bloodbeat
One of the oddball films that slipped out unannounced – apart from the full-page video mag ads – on VHS in the early 1980s and pointed towards a new direction for the slasher film (think also: The Slayer). This sees a family Christmas gathering in Wisconsin interrupted by the spirit of a Samurai warrior. It’s a collision of dream-like surrealism, graphic violence and a unique approach to the art of filmmaking that will not be for everyone, but if you are inclined towards to the eccentricities of outsider cinema, this will be a festive treat for you.
The Brain
The 1988 movie The Brain came and went without anyone really noticing at the time, seeming to be another in the glut of throwaway horror movies of the time. Looking back, it’s a fascinating piece, consciously throwing back to the 1950s in its look and feel. No wonder it has built a cult following over the years and no wonder that it is still dismissed by people who love the more generic genre films of the period. Everything takes place at Christmas but no one references it, which gives the film a curious atmosphere in itself.
Cash on Demand
Hammer’s wonderfully cynical bank heist film takes place just before Christmas and plays like a warped, non-supernatural version of A Christmas Carol, with Andre Morrell’s bank robber acting as the conscience of cold-hearted manager Peter Cushing. Looking at the film this way, it makes what might otherwise seem a cop-out ending more acceptable. This is a tight, tense little film that might make a good alternative to the various Scrooge reboots that we usually see on TV.
The Day Mars Invaded Earth
This odd tale of Martian body-snatchers and invaders is one of the more interesting science fiction films of the 1950s, and it is during a Cristmas family gathering that we first get a sense of disconnection from the lead characters and the idea that some of the people that we are seeing are not who they appear to be. For anyone who has had awkward Christmas family gatherings, this might feel all too familiar. As such, it’s a better representation of festive discomfort than you’ll see in most heavy dramas set in at Christmas.
Dead of Night
The 1945 Ealing portmanteau horror film has a sort of ‘Christmas ghost story’ vibe running through it anyway, but also contains one story actually set at Christmas. It’s perhaps the lamest of all the film’s stories, a frightfully posh and boring tale of a child ghost – but it at least gives a genuine seasonal sense to the film.
Dead of Night: The Exorcism
The most famous episode of the 1972 BBC TV series, and one of the few that survives. A group of annoying middle-class liberals gather together for a Christmas dinner, only for a literal return of the repressed, as the spirits of the dead return to test their Guardian-reader sense of moral superiority. It’s rather brilliant, if somewhat bleak and heavy-handed.
Deep Red
Dario Argento’s seminal giallo doesn’t take place at Christmas… but the story is driven by events that do, a childhood murder that is telegraphed at the beginning and referenced in flashback. The result is that there is a strange connection to the festive season, even though it is never focused on.
The Devil-Doll
Tod Browning’s fantasy of a mad scientist shrinking people – a popular theme in movies ever since – is a surprisingly good-natured horror movie, with Lionel Barrymore impressive as a more sympathetic than usual ‘villain’. It all takes place at Christmas, which is only mentioned in terms of rampant commercialism – showing that nothing is new. It’s an oddly sweet film with a solid message at its heart, and might just be the festive film you need.
Female Trouble
The fall from grace and into a life of depravity for Dawn Davenport begins when she doesn’t get the cha-cha heels that she had been so looking forward to on Christmas Day. Trashing her presents, toppling the Christmas tree and fleeing her home, Dawn is soon on a road to nowhere. Arguably John Waters‘ masterpiece, Female Trouble is a sobering warning to all parents – don’t try to fob your kids off with substandard gifts.
Inside
One of the iconic films of New French Horror, Inside makes surprisingly little of the fact that it takes place on Christmas Eve. Because of that, no one seems to list this alongside the likes of Silent Night, Deadly Night or Black Christmas – but it is absolutely up there as a festive fear treat.
Lady in the Lake
The innovative/gimmicky first-person noir, based on Raymond Channdler’s story, takes place over Christmas and while the season is not heavily referenced, it’s always present. The film itself is worthy of rediscovery – critics still tend to focus on the novelty more than the film itself.
The Legend of Hell House
The Legend of Hell House begins on December 17th, so all the nightmarish moments in Richard Matheson’s haunted-house drama take place in the run-up to Christmas. Oh, what some people will do to avoid Christmas shopping.
Maniac
William Lustig’s controversial, gore-drenched psycho shocker remains a deeply misunderstood movie, damned to be lumped in with the slasher films that it appeared n the midst of but actually has little in common with. Perhaps it is understandable that most viewers tend to miss the fact that it is set at Christmas, even though the visual clues are scattered throughout.
Night of the Comet
The ‘night of the comet’ occurs eleven days before Christmas. We can arguably look at much of the film as a giant festive shopping spree by teenage girls with no credit limit. Read more about our thoughts here.
Night Train Murders
Aldo Lado‘s knock-off of Last House on the Left takes place at Christmas, with the two doomed girls falling foul of a gang of thugs during a train trip home for the holidays. The season is not the major selling point of the film but is an important part of the story and makes everything feel all the more grim and nasty. This is an unexpectedly brilliant and disturbing film that is as far from ‘feel good’ as you could imagine.
Night Visitors
Have you seen Night Visitors? Probably not, given that it has wallowed in obscurity almost since the day it was made – a UK VHS is pretty much the only source for any copy that you might come across. Why this oddball home invasion movie, set on Christmas Eve, has sunk into obscurity is uncertain – but David Fulk’s movie is a real curio, too nasty in spirit for most and with an eccentric nihilism that is not for everyone. The film sets the scene for Funny Games some years later and is ripe for rediscovery by one of the more adventurous Blu-ray labels.
Paris Pick-Up
A French noir from 1962 that takes place at Christmas and follows the classic narrative of a man fresh from prison who meets a woman in a bar and soon finds himself having to deal with the problem of her dead husband – how to dispose of the body and what to do when everyone is double-crossing you and each other. Everything takes place on one night and the tension is palpable.
The Poseidon Adventure
Technically a New Year movie – the film’s main action takes place during New Year’s Eve celebrations – but let’s not quibble. This ground-breaking movie set the template for the disaster movie boom of the 1970s (big stars, epic set pieces, a body-count narrative) and does it all with panache. The films that followed were on a more epic scale but were less effective – this remains the high point of the genre.
Pranks
Slasher films have taken place on every public holiday imaginable, but by the time Pranks (aka The Dorm That Dripped Blood) emerged, Christmas was already too exhausted for anyone to make a big deal over it. Add to that the indie film’s long wait for distribution and unseasonal release and it’s no surprise that the festive setting was barely mentioned. Pranks is a film that has built an audience over the years after being initially dismissed and is now recognised as one of the more innovative slasher movies of the early 1980s.
Rabid
The Christmas period is the setting for David Cronenberg’s 1977 viral shocker, though it is barely mentioned. All the more shocking, then, to see Santa machine-gunned down in the shopping mall as things spiral out of control.
Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Carbuncle
The Blue Carbuncle is not the most complex or exciting of Sherlock Holmes stories, which is probably why it hasn’t been filmed that often. The 1968 BBC series starring Peter Cushing had a fascination with lesser-known Holmes stories and this tale of a stolen jewel, a missing goose and Holmes’ Christmas break is an entertainingly lightweight affair, ideal for relaxing festive viewing.
Terror on the 40th Floor
Now, I haven’t seen this film in a very long time and there is every chance that it remains as awful as I remember, in which case I apologise. But many of the TV movies of the era have aged rather well and this Towering Inferno knock-off, taking place on Christmas Eve, might be one of them. It seems worth taking a chance on.
The Thin Man
It’s hard to imagine that people are still unaware that The Thin Man is essentially a Christmas movie, but that seems to be the case. The iconic comedic couple crime mystery, the film is awash with festive cheer. Not a film to drink along to, but the ideal movie to ease your way out of the Christmas celebrations with.
Wake in Fright
The Australian Christmas is not one of snow and tinsel, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that people don’t generally think of Wake in Fright as a Christmas film. But it takes place during the festive break. And you thought that your Christmas was a drunken nightmare…
When Darkness Falls
A 1960 dark crime thriller from Sweden that begins with a murder on Christmas Eve. This detective story was followed by a summer-set sequel, but the chilly nights of a Scandinavian winter are where murder mysteries work most effectively, and this is well worth seeking out.
Who Slew Auntie Roo?
This rather mad British horror film, directed by Curtis Harrington, has fairy tale nightmares at its heart but with Christmas as its time period, with Shelley Winters as the woman who throws a Christmas party each year for the best-behaved children at the local orphanage. Is she a sinister child killer – or about to be the victim of sinister children? This is a warped little reboot of Hansel and Gretel via Oliver Twist, and has a grottily authentic Victorian Christmas feel throughout.
The Wild Affair
John Krish’s swinging comedy about a shop girl who is desperate for a fling before getting married, and the work Christmas party that seems to offer all the temptations imaginable, is very much of its time – and all the better for it. Nancy Kwan, with her cooler-than-cool Vidal Sassoon haircut and hip fashions, is fun and sexy, and the whole movie has a wild sense of abandonment that is quite infectious. If only office parties really were like this.
DAVID FLINT
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