The holidays are arguably the best time of the year: home with the family, good food, quality time with loved ones. It’s also an extremely hectic time: distant relatives asking way too many personal questions and having to go to the mall with hundreds of people. Some people aren’t fans of the holidays; maybe they have no one to spend it with, or perhaps they aren’t fans of the ”cheerful” atmosphere.
While the holidays can bring a lot of joy and happiness, they can also bring out hatred of Christmas. There are ‘grinches’ in everybody’s life; maybe they prefer holidays and movies about Halloween. For those who aren’t fans of classic Christmas movies, these anti-Christmas movies are guaranteed to appease those you love. There’s a mix of horror, comedy, and drama, something for everyone.
The Gingerdead Man (2005)
There is nothing like a killer Gingerbread man. This Charles Band (Puppet Master, Demonic Toys) 2005 horror-comedy is about a witch who brings her serial killer son (Gary Busey) back to life. Instead of putting his soul into a doll similar to Child's Play, it’s a gigantic killer gingerbread man who goes by the name of the gingerdeadman. He has a critical mission at hand: killing the girl who had him executed.
It’s a low-budget film that is so easy to bash, but the premise is hilarious, and it is guaranteed to make any Christmas haters laugh. Charles Band has a thing for bringing inanimate killer objects back to life; for those who haven’t seen Evil Bong, a must-see, and The Gingerdead Man is no exception. Gary Busey shines through as a psychopathic killer, and he has some pretty hysterical one-liners as a gigantic 10-foot gingerbread man.
When interviewed with PopHorror.com, Charles Band stated that he offered Busey $25,000 to star in the film, assuming he would say no; but lucky for the audience, he accepted. There are four movies in this franchise somehow, with even the last one being Gingerdead Man vs. Evil Bong, no this is not a joke, but only the first one is worth a watch.
Black Christmas (1974)
Whereas A Christmas Story (1983) is probably one of the quintessential holiday movies, Black Christmas, from the same director, Bob Clark, is not. This horror film is the complete opposite but is even more enjoyable. Over winter break, sorority sisters Jess (Olivia Hussey), Barb (Margot Kidder), and numerous other girls in the house begin to receive creepy anonymous phone calls. At first, taking it as a joke, Barb laughs at the caller until he gets scarier and even more threatening. When one of the sorority girls, Claire (Lynne Griffin), disappears, and more girls around the town begin to get murdered, it is evident that a serial killer is on the loose; is it the anonymous caller?
Not only is Black Christmas considered to be one of the earliest slasher films, but it also can equally be considered an Anti-Christmas film and a Halloween film: perfect for those who don’t want another overly-cheerful holiday movie. There are gruesome kills, prank calls, patient camera moves, and even a swearing Santa. Black Christmas is the ultimate Holiday movie for those who prefer watching murders to another cheesy Christmas movie.
Bad Santa (2003)
Terry Zwigoff’s 2003 dark comedy Bad Santa is basically about a human grinch. In this film, the depressed alcoholic and crooked Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton) and his partner (Tony Cox) join together every holiday season to rip off shopping outlets. Willie dresses up as Santa Clause, whereas his partner is an Elf. When mall security Gin (Bernie Mac) becomes suspicious of Willie, he befriends a young and lonely boy (Brett Kelly) to appear “kinder.”
To his and everyone else’s surprise, he begins to form a real connection with the boy, and he slowly becomes an actual sweeter person. Bad Santa is one of the funniest Christmas movies out there; it subverts the traditional holiday theme but is also accompanied by a beautiful holiday soundtrack. It’s a dark comedy that is predictable but manages to stray from the usual family films during this time of the year.
Scrooged (1988)
Richard Donner’s (The Goonies) holiday comedy Scrooged is a modern adaption of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol, yet this is a much more cynical version. The film stars Bill Murray as a successful but very cold TV executive named Frank Cross, who despises the festive season. His mean and depressed nature quickly drives away everyone he loves, including the love of his life Claire (Karen Ellen).
Cross finally gets a taste of his own medicine when he fires a staff member named Elliot (Bobcat Goldthwait) on Christmas Eve. Frank is haunted by many ghosts when he is alone in the office on Christmas Eve. These spirits bring him into his psyche and the wrongdoings of his past. Scrooged is a zany oddity with a unique mix of drama and comedy.