Maybe it’s something about getting older that makes some of us dread the holidays rather than find them exciting. Sometimes things may not have gone as planned, budgets may be tight, you may hate how commercialized it’s all become, or the thought of spending time with extended family members seemsmore like torture than fun.
If you’ve ever felt like this aroundChristmas, there’s a good chance you also suddenly find yourself with a new-found appreciation for the Grinch and all he initially stood for before he turned into a sap and became just like everyone else.
Whatever yourreasons for not loving the holidays, if you’re in an anti-Christmas mood, being bombarded with cheery, holiday-spirit-themed advertising and content, hearing Christmas songs play everywhere, and finding every channel inundated with Christmas movies, are probably making it all worse.
However, rather than stooping to become a holiday anarchist, we have a better suggestion for some dreariness to act as an antidote to all the cheeriness. Here’s a list of 10 great movies that can serve as alternatives to the insufferably sweet Christmas films most people look forward to watching around the holidays, but probably just feel like nails on a chalkboard to every Grinch out there right now.
1Jack Frost (1997)
You may be familiar with Michael Keaton’s more family-oriented version of this film, based on the mythological figure of an ice creature come to life. That movie was tragic in a sense, but ultimately featured sweet and meaningful themes. However, in the 1997 film of the same name,Jack Frost, there were no attempts to be wholesome in any way.
It tells the story of a serial killer named Jack Frost who dies in an accident. He then turns into a horrifying mutant snowman who goes on a murderous, revenge-fueled rampage.
Related:The 30 Best Silly Horror Movies to Watch with Your Friend Group
Delightfully Macabre
The wintry weather and the fact that it takes place in December are the only links to Christmas here. In every other way,Jack Frostis a sadistic roller coaster of a slasher film. As the body count starts increasing, the movie makes it clear that this isn’t filled with any sentiment, but rather, it feeds off audiences with a taste for the macabre. Sure, it was cheaply made and went direct-to-video, but that never stoppedJack Frostfrom being a fun watch or earning itself acult status among horror fans, and a sequel.
Stream Jack Frost on Prime Video
2A Christmas Horror Story (2015)
A Christmas Horror Story
An anthology horror film,A Christmas Horror Storywas featured at the Fantasia International Film Festival, where it followed up with a limited theatrical release in 2015. It contained four interwoven Christmas-themed stories that all had a dark edge. William Shatner stars as DJ Dangerous Dan, pulling a shift at his radio station on Christmas, while mysterious reports of disturbances in town keep coming through from his callers.
The Antithesis of Christmas
Despite the overt Christmas theme, the moviediabolically subverts conventional tropessimilar films are usually known for. Among the stories, it features the ghost of a girl from a convent who falls pregnant and has her pregnancy gruesomely terminated by nuns. Her rage causes her to possess a woman and then seduce a man, while killing anyone who refuses to help her. Other stories include the anti-Christmas mythological monster known as Krampus, and a story where Santa finds that all his elves and his wife have been turned into zombies.
Stream A Christmas Horror Story on AMC+
3Blue Christmas (1978)
A Japanese sci-fi movie from 1978,Blue Christmas(also known asBlood Type: Blue), tells the story of a group of people who witness UFO appearances. Mysteriously, each of them who have this encounter begin experiencing strange symptoms that cause their blood to turn blue. They’re soon stigmatized because of this and begin facing persecution.
Related:The Best Japanese Sci-Fi Movies, Ranked
The Themes Are Still Relevant
Despite the film being decades old, its themes have never lost poignancy, since the world is still plagued by problems like racism, xenophobia, and other forms of prejudice that only seem to be growing more rampant. While the name and other elements are Christmas-themed, sincethe film was Japanese, it actually has nothing to do with Christmas, and instead acts as a powerful meditation on stigmatization and the hatred that people can face for being different.
Blue Christmasis not currently available to stream or rent
4Collateral Beauty (2016)
Collateral Beauty
As nasty as the Grinch was, the reality is that he had reasons for hating Christmas. His tale has some far more poignant themes to it than people tend to think, as the holidays can bea dark and depressing timefor a myriad of personal reasons. Will Smith’sCollateral Beautywas a film that drowned itself in this theme, one categorized by depression and hopelessness. It was a fantasy that bore a thematic resemblance to Charles Dickens' classic storyA Christmas Carol.
It features a successful New York executive who suffers a terrible personal tragedy. As a result, he withdraws and becomes mired in his sense of loss. His friends are concerned and attempt to help, while he sends out messages to the universe by addressing them to Love, Time, and Death. Unexpectedly, he gets responses from them.
Confronting Grief and Darkness
As dark and even downright depressing as the film can be,Collateral Beautyalso acknowledges that the main character has more than enough reason to feel the way he does. Ultimately, the film does a superb jobof confronting griefas it guides him on a journey of learning how to live again, and it can actually be a comforting watch for anyone struggling with their own woes.
Rent Collateral Beauty on Apple TV
5The Christmas Tree (1969)
The French filmTheChristmas Treeisa movie from way back in 1969that’s about as bleak as a movie can be. It revolves around a millionaire named Laurent (William Holden) whose son Pascal is exposed to radiation and is doomed to slowly die from it. Laurent and his girlfriend try their best to fill the child’s last days with as much joy and happiness as they can, but there’s no escaping Pascal’s ultimate fate.
A Certified Tearjerker
The film was known as the saddest film from the ’60s, and certainly earned this reputation, as it never shies away from its tragic elements. It was renowned for the fact that it tackled such a heart-wrenching story, amid the backdrop of WWII and nuclear destruction no less, yet managed to do it with an almost emotionless and stoic grace.
Stream The Christmas Tree on Tubi
6Hosts (2020)
Hostswasa great Christmas-themed horrorthat creeps under the skin. It features a family who invite old friends over for a Christmas Eve dinner. However, it soon becomes apparent that the people they once knew have changed. Something demonic has replaced them and the innocent dinner party soon becomes a fight for survival instead.
Related:9 Underrated Christmas Horror Movies You Should Check Out Immediately
A Creepy and Tense Atmosphere
Rather than the same old boring Christmas films with sappy stories, this one weaves a dark atmosphere that revels in tension. Aside from the physical threats the unwanted guests bring with them, it’s the mind games they play that are more effective in making it such a scary and effective film.
Stream Hosts on Tubi
7Four Brothers (2005)
Four Brothers
Four Brothersis a film that may take place around Christmastime, but has far less to do with good will than it does with vengeance. The story commences against the backdrop of an elderly foster mother being callously murdered during a seemingly botched hold-up. This bringsher four adult foster sonsback home seeking answers.
Gritty and Well-Executed
A film by the late, great John Singleton (Boyz ‘n da Hood, Snowfall), it was filled with the kind of stylish grit that melded themes of inner city violence amid more poignant themes. The brothers themselves made for an eclectic mix of differing personalities and entertaining partners in their mission. This one also featured a great cast that included Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, and André Benjamin from Outkast.
Stream Four Brothers on Paramount+
An English-language French horror movie,Dead Endfollowsa dysfunctional family on a road tripto a gathering on Christmas Eve. They decide to take a detour through a wooded area, but soon wind up in a nightmarish situation after nearly having an accident and picking up a ghostly hitchhiker and her child. Things take a terrifying turn, and the family is soon fighting for their lives when grisly roadside accidents begin occurring.
It Creeps Under the Skin
The movie has been praised by many critics, who appreciated its twisty and unpredictable nature at times. The film starts off with a holiday spirit, and soon devolves into a frightening journey through the unknown, with the family’s dysfunction acting as a macabre psychological backdrop. As a treat for horror fans, it starsthe iconic scream queen, Lin Shaye, who’s best known for her various roles in theInsidiousfilms.
Stream Dead End on Prime Video
9Ben is Back (2018)
Ben Is Back
A fantastic film with a deeply tragic theme,Ben is Backproved once again why Julia Roberts is such a powerhouse in the acting world. She plays a mother faced with difficulty when her teenage son unexpectedly shows up on Christmas Eve. While she is happy to see him, she’s also filled with doubts, sincehe’s meant to be in rehaband claims to have been given a pass to visit home for the holidays.
Related:16 Most Devastating Films About Substance Use
Brilliant and Unnerving
The film was a frightening glimpse into the horrors of addiction and the threats it poses to sufferers and their families. Unyielding in its commitment to the theme, the film is a gripping journey that touches on a tragic truth. For many people and families who suffer because of things like addiction, depression, and other struggles, the holidays can often be a despairing time rather than a joyful one.
Often affecting loved ones as much as the addicts themselves, the movie showed what a merciless disease addiction can be while anchored by a stunning performance from Roberts.
Here’s whatChristy Lemire writing forRoger Ebert’swebsitehad to say about her in the film:
“But once again, Roberts gives a gripping performance as a mother coming to new realizations about the child she thought she finally understood. It’s like she’s seeing him completely for the first time, and it’s shattering all over again. Meanwhile, she’s trying to keep all the plates spinning for the rest of the family on this day of great expectations.”
10Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas!
Of course, no one who shares any personality traits with the Grinch can resist a holiday where his best films aren’t revisited, especially the 2000 versionDr. Seuss’How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Based on Dr. Seuss’s classic tale, it tells the story of the Grinch, a moody and isolated creature who hates Christmas and tries to sabotage it for the local town of Whoville by stealing all their presents and decorations.
It Never Gets Old
A timeless tale done wellunder Ron Howard’s direction, Jim Carrey was superb as he brought all his immense physical comedy skills to bear in the film. His antics and their dazzling execution are the highlight of the film, which is filled with great dark humor, but ultimately wholesome themes.
Even though he changes his ways and comes to see the good in Christmas at the end, it’s tons of fun watching him be his grumpy, horrible self for the majority of the film. In any case, no matter how much of a Grinch may live inside us, Christmas will always be Christmas. Maybe he was on to something, and our hearts can grow a bit larger when all is said and done — or maybe we can just put on more slasher films.
