Ho, ho, ho! Ready for some holiday cinema, but you’re not quite in the mood for those Christmas classics that are all about cheer and goodwill toward all? Well, we’ve got a list for you, then.
We all know that Shane Black writes Christmas into all his films. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is incredible, and so is Lethal Weapon. But we’re going to steer clear of those old standbys, including the much-loved Die Hard, because those movies always appear on a list like this. We wanted to pick a few that you might not have reached for in the past few years.
So join us on a journey through several genres to fill out your movie watchlist this month, and let us know any of your favorites that we missed.
Batman Returns
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Starting with one, I know, is pretty obvious. But I couldn’t leave it out!
From the opening shots, Batman Returns is a cold, wintry film with a tinge of Tim Burton weirdness, starting with the tragic abandonment of the Penguin.
In the film, Batman faces off against the Penguin and Catwoman while Gotham prepares for the holidays, with the Penguin plotting to kidnap and murder all of Gotham’s firstborn sons during a Christmas tree lighting ceremony. Just look at those sets for downtown Gotham, those colossal Art Deco statues! Gorgeous.
Burton doubled down on darkness with this sequel, creating a gothic nightmare set during the most wonderful time of the year. (McDonald’s famously asked Burton what “that black stuff coming out of the Penguin’s mouth” was because they couldn’t sell Happy Meals with it.)
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Need a horror film to watch during the holidays that doesn’t feel too obvious (although Black Christmas is always a good choice)?
New York’s uptight Patrick Bateman is a wealthy investment banker who may or may not be a serial killer, depending on how you interpret the film’s famously ambiguous ending.
The movie takes place during the late 1980s, and Christmas decorations appear throughout. There are office parties, seasonal excess, and Bateman in reindeer antlers. As director Mary Harron noted, the film examines a predatory society, and Christmas becomes another arena for status competition.
Carol
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Here’s one if you’re in the mood for a somber holiday and a tragic romance.
Therese and Carol begin a forbidden romance in 1952. The film’s most pivotal scenes unfold during the Christmas season, with department store decorations, pops of red, glimmers of string lights, and snowy exteriors.
Shot on Super 16mm by DP Ed Lachman, the film uses the holiday setting to heighten the emotional stakes. Carol must choose between the relationship and custody of her daughter, all while everyone around them celebrates in ignorance.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
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If you want an action film that isn’t one of those aforementioned ones everybody always mentions, try James Bond instead.
George Lazenby’s only turn as James Bond finds the famous spy infiltrating Blofeld’s mountaintop research facility in the Swiss Alps, where the villain plans to unleash terror on the world, per usual. The film climaxes on Christmas Eve, with Bond racing to stop Blofeld’s plot before the holidays.
The film famously ends with Bond’s wedding and immediate tragedy (his bride is murdered by Blofeld moments after the ceremony). Espionage with eggnog, what more could you want?
The Hateful Eight
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How about a Western that’s as cold as ice? This one came on on Dec. 25, 2015, and has several surreptitious nods to the holiday. For instance, Demián Bichir’s character plays “Silent Night” on the piano at one point.
Eight strangers hole up in a cabin during a Wyoming blizzard in the years following the Civil War, and paranoia turns deadly. Lots of people love to put this one on as a cozy, snowbound watch, violence notwithstanding. There’s something about watching people trapped together during a winter storm that just feels like Christmas, even when they’re all murdering each other.
Quentin Tarantino shot this entire film in Ultra Panavision 70mm, reviving a format last used in 1966.
The Thin Man
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I was fairly obsessed with The Thin Man movies growing up. I just love these surly alcoholics.
Nick and Nora Charles, a wealthy couple who solve murders for fun, investigate the disappearance of an inventor on Christmas Eve in New York City. The entire film takes place during the holiday season, with the Charleses’ Christmas party serving as the setting for the final reveal.
This 1934 classic helped establish the template for Hollywood’s Golden Age detective films, pairing murder mystery with sophisticated banter and a surplus of martinis. The Charleses have fun with the holiday and the crime, so nothing ever gets too serious.
Little Women (1994)
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For me, it has to be the ’90s version and that incredible Thomas Newman score and Winona Ryder as Jo. Just look at how those cold exteriors contrast with the warmth of the March home. Look at it!
Four sisters in Civil War-era Massachusetts navigate growing up, with Jo March dreaming of becoming a writer while her sisters pursue their own paths. The 1994 version opens during Christmas, with the March family gathering for the holidays despite wartime hardship.
Greta Gerwig’s 2019 adaptation gets more attention these days, but Gillian Armstrong’s telling remains definitive for many viewers, me included, and its Christmas framing gives the story warmth even during its most difficult moments.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
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Why not add some Fincher to your holiday plans? This one is famous for its frigid Nordic setting.
Journalist Mikael Blomkvist investigates a decades-old disappearance on a remote Swedish island with the help of hacker Lisbeth Salander, uncovering a family’s horrifying secrets. When it came out back in 2011, Sony and many outlets marketed it as “the feel-bad movie of Christmas.” The adaptation takes place during a brutal Swedish winter, and the film’s timeline spans from autumn through the Christmas season (with Lisbeth even planning to give Blomkvist a present).
DP Jeff Cronenweth shot the film on RED cameras in Sweden during sub-zero temperatures.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
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This one came out in December 2005, so it’s inextricably linked to the holidays in my view. This was also the first (I believe) digital screening I ever saw at the Union Square Regal. What a time.
Four siblings discover a magical wardrobe leading to Narnia, a frozen land ruled by the White Witch, who has cursed the kingdom so that it’s “always winter and never Christmas.” The entire film takes place on a perpetual Christmas Eve, with snow everywhere, but no actual holiday.
When Father Christmas finally appears to give the children their weapons and tools, it signals that the Witch’s power is breaking. Book author C.S. Lewis built clarity into his writing. That extends to his use of Christmas as a symbol of hope returning to a frozen world.
Hook
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Peter Pan has grown up into Peter Banning, a corporate lawyer who’s forgotten his past, until Captain Hook kidnaps his children and drags him back to Neverland.
The film opens during Christmas, with Peter missing his son’s baseball game because of work, then scrambling to make it to his daughter’s Christmas pageant. When the family arrives in a snowy London, the house is bedecked in holiday decor.
The rest of the film is admittedly less Christmas-y, but it’s actually an amazing contrast for the rest of the adventure, which takes place in the balmy tropical Neverland, making it feel even more magical. Peter’s eventual transformation back into Pan feels like he’s reclaiming the Christmas spirit in the end.
Spielberg is known as the master of wonderment, and Hook is a great example.
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