Some Alternative Christmas Movies to watch this holiday season

Christmas is drawing ever closer and so Christmas films fill our screens while presents get wrapped and too many mince pies get eaten. Of course, it all depends on your viewpoint as to what makes a film a Christmas movie – We have the classics such as Miracle on 34th Street, It’s A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol and more. There are various comedy and horror movies that are all set during Christmas and have strong Christmas themes. Then there are the ones that some consider Christmas films while others don’t – Die Hard is the most obvious one (I personally think it is a great Christmas film where Bruce Willis makes a list, checks it twice, and does his best to meet up with his wife to celebrate the Holidays, but if you don’t agree then that’s fine with me), along with Lethal Weapon, Batman Returns, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and more. Then this year we have Fatman which features Mel Gibson as Santa working with the US military while Walton Goggins is a hit man tasked with taking out Santa!

However, this list of films is for some of the more alternative and obscure Christmas films that have been released over the years. Obviously, some of you will have seen all of them, others just a few, but maybe there will be one or two films here that you had not heard of and fancy checking out.

The following is in no particular order.

The Christmas Martian – Le martien de Noël

If you had an Alien landing his spaceship in Canada as being on the list then you are a winner and on a definite roll. Maybe head on over to the best Canadian online casino and see if you can be lucky there.

This 1971 film tells the story of an alien from outer space who befriends two young children when he lands in a small town in Quebec. I remember seeing it a long time ago and finding it very strange. The alien was creepy, but there was a spaceship and lots of sweets. There was something almost hypnotic about the film. I have not seen it in years, but a definite odd one to add to your Christmas list.

One Magic Christmas

Okay, this one is a Disney movie that is all about Christmas and ends up being rather depressing in places, but it has got Harry Dean Stanton playing an Angel and that has got to be worth the price of admission alone. He has to show a mother (Mary Steenburgen) the true meaning of Christmas. It’s not just presents and materialistic things, but the people she cares about.

Eyes Wide Shut

If you fancy a bit of Kubrick for Christmas there is always The Shining to watch Jack Nicholson lose his mind in the snow, but for a Kubrick directed film that is set at Christmas we have 1999’s Eyes Wide Shut. It features Tom Cruise finding out his wife, Nicole Kidman, had sexual feelings for a stranger. Tom can’t handle the truth and heads off into the night where he encounters various people, walks around an orgy and ends up back home. There are references to Christmas in almost every scene yet it never really gets mentioned except for the money side of things. Christmas is often hijacked by consumerism and it could be said Kubrick took a swipe at that side of things. You can read our Kublog by John Bleasdale that looks in the films of Kubrick in much greater detail.

Anna and the Apocalypse

A zombie Christmas musical is sure to be a hit. Anna and her school friends must fight, slash and sing their way to survival, facing the undead in a desperate race to reach their loved ones. This small indie film from 2017 has some great performances, catchy songs and quite a bit of zombie gore. It shouldn’t work, but it does and is well worth checking out.

Pottersville

This is a strange one. You will probably recognize the title from the alternate town title of Bedford Falls from It’s A Wonderful Life, but this film involves a shopkeeper played by Michael Shannon, who discovers his wife is a furry and having an affair. He gets drunk, dresses up in a gorilla costume and wanders around the town and surrounding woods. This give rise to some Bigfoot sightings which brings in the media and the public and helps bring the town back from the brink. The film is not that great, but it does have such an odd mix of things going on that it may just hit the mark for you. However, it has a great cast – Michael Shannon, Judy Greer, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, and Ian McShane.

There you have it, just a handful of movies that may become part of your Christmas tradition…or they may make you just go “what the hell is this?” and you never watch it again!

What are some of your favourite alternative Christmas movies?