As the holiday season approaches, everyone thinks about their favorite Christmas movies, including the Anti-Christmas Movie, which are a little darker than others. Here's a list of Christmas Movies for the Anti-Christmas people.
There's no doubt that Christmas traditions involve the re-visiting of holiday-themed films year after year.
Most love the black-and-white, warm, and fuzzy classics of A Christmas Carol, It's A Wonderful Life and Miracle On 34th Street. Others prefer the constant and clever laughs that merry films like A Christmas Story, Home Alone, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and Elf can deliver as well.
But I've always found that some of my favorite Christmas movies tend to walk on the wild side.
A Darker. Edgy, and Seedier Holiday Season
Dark, seedy, and edgy tend to bring the most cheer to my holiday season. Think of it as a collective line-up of anti-Christmas films, full of spirit in their own right, but not your typical picks when you think of holiday season viewing. Here are my picks that fit the bill, and a roster that makes for a unique Christmas movie marathon.
Time will tell if it can poise itself as part of the Anti-Christmas marathon, but there's nothing wrong with getting in touch with the dark side as part of your merry festivities.
What does it mean to be Anti-Christmas?
Some can have a heavy heart during the holidays, Whether it's dreading spending time with extended family, spending money on expensive unwanted gifts, or binging on extra calories and alcohol. It can also remind us of what and who is missing.
Why do some people hate Christmas movies?
The holiday's pervasiveness causes some of us to roll our eyes, and you may find yourself thinking, “I despise Christmas.” For some people, Christmas movies remind them that the holiday season can be stressful, emotionally draining, or even painful. Christmas movies can bring up bitter memories for people who have lost loved ones.
Anti-Christmas Movies
No products found.
Reindeer Games (2000)
No products found.
Bad Santa (2003)
A miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid, and the security boss discovers the plot.
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara (Actors)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Robert Brian Wilson, Linnea Quigley (Actors)
Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
No products found.
Jack Frost (1997)
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia (Actors)
Die Hard (1988)
Regarded as one of the best action films of all time, what speaks of Christmas more than a bunch of terrorists taking control of a high-rise building in sunny Los Angeles during the holidays, only to be followed up with an anniversary plot at a major airport in the sequel?
Bruce Willis' New York city cop John McClane finds himself inadvertently in the middle of two terrorist plots during the Christmas season and is forced to dispatch the bad guys with bullets and other creative techniques when no one else can.
No doubt, the original is a landmark and the sequel stretches improbability a little too far but taken together as a double-bill they provide one heck of an action-packed Christmas package full of exploding mayhem.
“Now I have a machine gun. Ho-Ho-Ho.”
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Bruce Willis, Reginald VelJohnson, Bonnie Bedelia (Actors)
Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990)
the action in Die Hard 2 takes place on Christmas Eve. McClane is waiting for his wife to land at Washington Dulles International Airport when terrorists take over the air traffic control system.
He must stop the terrorists before his wife's plane and several other incoming flights that are circling the airport run out of fuel and crash.
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Denis Leary, Judy Davis, Kevin Spacey (Actors)
The Ref (1993)
This foul-mouthed and dirty-minded comedy directed by the late Ted Demme (Blow) focuses on a volatile couple on the verge of divorce being held hostage by a professional thief in their home.
The kicker? The extended family is due to roll in for dinner and open some gifts.
Wittingly cast with the likes of Kevin Spacey and Denis Leary (two experts at polarizing dialogue), The Ref is far from your typical ‘feel-good” family Christmas film and instead explores the truly dysfunctional side with hilarious results.
Santa gets punched out and grandma gets a gag in her mouth, how better can it get? “It's Christmas, either you're good and you get presents, or you're bad and you burn in hell.”
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton (Actors)
Gremlins (1984)
If there ever was a Christmas movie that walked a fine line into horror genre territory (other than Black Christmas) then Gremlins is it. It was marketed as almost a kid's film, but pretty soon the tables got turned on viewers as little green monsters wreak havoc on a small town during the Christmas season.
Armed with a vicious sense of humor, these critters send old ladies soaring out windows, run over others with snowplows, chase you with chainsaws in department stores, and choke out unsuspecting homemakers under Christmas trees.
But they're fun while they're doing it, and therein lies the film's massive appeal. While the Gremlins are gifted at dishing out chaos, they also know how to party and celebrate the season in style! Their antics at Dory's pub and the local movie theater is the stuff of legends.
“It's supposed to be Christmas, what the hell is going on?”
No products found.
Scrooged (1988)
Funnyman Bill Murray stars in the dark-comedy take on the classic story A Christmas Carol, playing a TV executive named Frank Cross who has become disenchanted with Christmas and wants to turn his production of Carol into a morbid and sexed-up version that is over-the-top offensive.
In true Ebeneezer fashion, he gets the three ghost treatments to learn a lesson about the meaning of Christmas.
But Scrooged takes a dark, Halloween-Esque approach even among the laughs. Eyeballs appear in drinks, a corpse hangs Frank from a window, the ghost of a Christmas present kicks the crap out of him, a former employee tries to blow his head off with a shotgun, and he even experiences being burned alive.
If A Christmas Carol is the nice and shiny side of the coin, Scrooged is certainly its scratched-up counterpart.
“Well, I'm sure Charles Dickens would have wanted to see her nipples.”
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris (Actors)
The Trend Continues In A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (2011)
Christmas movies of this type are no doubt a rarity, but leave it to A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas to be 2011's holiday flick to hit rock bottom on providing the slimiest elements of sex and drugs into theaters during the season.
- 100+ Educational Netflix Titles for Homeschooling (Free Printable List!) - April 26, 2025
- What To Watch This Week - April 25, 2025
- Where to Watch The Grinch - February 3, 2025
Leave a Reply