Anti-Christmas
Movies taking place at Christmas that are guaranteed not to leave you jolly.
These are sorted by genre; Drama, Action/Thriller, Crime/Mystery/Noir, Comedy, Horror, TV
I'm not counting movies where only a scene or two or only an early segment of the film take place around the Holidays. It has to be at least a good chunk of the movie and/or the big climax.
These are sorted by genre; Drama, Action/Thriller, Crime/Mystery/Noir, Comedy, Horror, TV
I'm not counting movies where only a scene or two or only an early segment of the film take place around the Holidays. It has to be at least a good chunk of the movie and/or the big climax.
List activity
2.9K views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
64 titles
- DirectorAnthony HarveyStarsPeter O'TooleKatharine HepburnAnthony Hopkins1183 A.D.: King Henry II's three sons all want to inherit the throne, but he won't commit to a choice. When he allows his imprisoned wife Eleanor of Aquitaine out for a Christmas visit, they all variously plot to force him into a decision.
What shall we hang, the holly or each other?
Henry examines his wrapped present:It's heavy... Oh Eleanor, you've brought me my tombstone! You spoil me!
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJonathan PryceKim GreistRobert De NiroA bureaucrat in a dystopic society becomes an enemy of the state as he pursues the woman of his dreams.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsBertil GuvePernilla AllwinKristina AdolphsonTwo young Swedish children in the 1900s experience the many comedies and tragedies of their lively and affectionate theatrical family, the Ekdahls.
- DirectorSean BakerStarsKitana Kiki RodriguezMya TaylorKarren KaragulianA hooker tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart.
- DirectorRobert RedfordStarsDonald SutherlandMary Tyler MooreJudd HirschThe accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father and the guilt-ridden younger son.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsJack LemmonShirley MacLaineFred MacMurrayA Manhattan insurance clerk tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue.While the ending is happy and heartwarming (...spoilers, I guess), the sequence taking place at Christmas is anything but.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsJack NicholsonLouise FletcherMichael BerrymanIn the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsJean-Pierre LéaudAlbert RémyClaire MaurierA young boy, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime.
- DirectorÉric RohmerStarsJean-Louis TrintignantFrançoise FabianMarie-Christine BarraultA devout Catholic man's rigid principles are challenged during a one-night stay with Maud, a divorced woman with an outsize personality.
- DirectorAndré TéchinéStarsCatherine DeneuveDaniel AuteuilMarthe VillalongaOld woman Berthe leaves her house to live in her daugter Emilie's one. Emilie and her brother Antoine have fallen out three years ago and have not seen each other since, but Emilie invites him for Christmas. Memories will come up, and will be depicted both Berthe's destiny and the strange relationship between Emilie and Antoine.
- DirectorPeter HedgesStarsJulia RobertsLucas HedgesCourtney B. VanceA drug addicted teenage boy shows up unexpectedly at his family's home on Christmas Eve.%82 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsTom CruiseNicole KidmanTodd FieldA Manhattan doctor embarks on a bizarre, night-long odyssey after his wife's admission of unfulfilled longing.
- DirectorTed KotcheffStarsDonald PleasenceGary BondChips RaffertyAfter a bad gambling bet, a schoolteacher is marooned in a town full of crazy, drunk, violent men who threaten to make him just as crazy, drunk, and violent.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsBruce WillisAlan RickmanBonnie BedeliaA New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsMel GibsonDanny GloverGary BuseyTwo newly paired cops who are complete opposites must put aside their differences in order to catch a gang of drug smugglers.The first of several movies written by Shane Black that are scattered throughout this list.
- DirectorRenny HarlinStarsGeena DavisSamuel L. JacksonYvonne ZimaSamantha Caine lives in a small town with her daughter. Eight years ago she emerged, two months pregnant, from a nearby river with no memory of her past or who she is. However, she's getting closer to finding out about her past.Shane Black
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsMichael KeatonDanny DeVitoMichelle PfeifferWhile Batman deals with a deformed man calling himself the Penguin wreaking havoc across Gotham with the help of a cruel businessman, a female employee of the latter becomes the Catwoman with her own vendetta.
- DirectorMartin McDonaghStarsColin FarrellBrendan GleesonCiarán HindsAfter a job gone wrong, hitman Ray and his partner await orders from their ruthless boss in Bruges, Belgium, the last place in the world Ray wants to be.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsRobert RedfordFaye DunawayCliff RobertsonA bookish CIA researcher in Manhattan finds all his co-workers dead, and must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can really trust.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenDon TaylorOtto PremingerAfter two Americans are killed while escaping from a German P.O.W. camp in World War II, the barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsRichard BurtonRoger MooreRichard HarrisA British banker hires a group of British mercenaries to rescue a deposed African President from the hands of a corrupt African dictator.
- DirectorPeter R. HuntStarsGeorge LazenbyDiana RiggTelly SavalasBritish agent James Bond goes undercover to pursue the villainous Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who is planning to hold the world to ransom.
- DirectorAllen BaronStarsAllen BaronMolly McCarthyLarry TuckerA hired killer from Cleveland has a job to do on a second-string mob boss in New York, but a special girl from his past and a gun dealer with pet rats get in his way.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyMaureen O'SullivanFormer detective Nick Charles and his wealthy wife Nora investigate a murder case, mostly for the fun of it.
- DirectorRobert MontgomeryStarsRobert MontgomeryAudrey TotterLloyd NolanThe lady editor of a crime magazine hires Phillip Marlowe to find the wife of her boss. The private detective soon finds himself involved in murder.
- DirectorShane BlackStarsRobert Downey Jr.Val KilmerMichelle MonaghanAfter being mistaken for an actor, a New York thief is sent to Hollywood to train under a private eye for a potential movie role, but the duo are thrown together with a struggling actress into a murder mystery.Shane Black
- DirectorHarold RamisStarsJohn CusackBilly Bob ThorntonConnie NielsenA shady lawyer attempts a Christmas Eve crime, hoping to swindle the local mob out of some money. But his partner, a strip club owner, might have different plans for the cash.It's a perfectly fine bleak Film Noir. The problem is that it was marketed to the masses as a wacky comedy (every humorous moment from the movie is in the trailer).
- DirectorQuentin LawrenceStarsPeter CushingAndré MorellRichard VernonA charming but ruthless criminal holds the family of a bank manager hostage as part of a cold-blooded plan to steal 97,000 pounds.
- DirectorTerry JonesStarsGraham ChapmanJohn CleeseMichael PalinBorn on the original Christmas in the stable next door to Jesus Christ, Brian of Nazareth spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.
- DirectorTed DemmeStarsDenis LearyJudy DavisKevin SpaceyA cat burglar is forced to take a bickering, dysfunctional family hostage on Christmas Eve.It's like Christmas Vacation and American Beauty had a baby.
Not a perfect movie. It's biggest flaw is a subplot that, thanks to a last minute change to the film's ending, seems to be simply forgotten half way through (and thus probably should've been edited out entirely). - DirectorBob ClarkStarsOlivia HusseyKeir DulleaMargot KidderDuring their Christmas break, a group of sorority girls are stalked by a stranger.A great film and the originator of the slasher genre (though I suppose that's not really something to be proud of).
Yes, there are plenty of Christmas-themed horror movies out there. I'm only putting good ones on MY list. Deal with it! - DirectorChris PeckoverStarsOlivia DeJongeLevi MillerEd OxenbouldOn a quiet suburban street, a babysitter must defend a twelve-year-old boy from intruders, only to discover it's far from a normal home invasion.DON'T WATCH ANY PREVIEWS. DON'T READ ANY DESCRIPTION LONGER THAN ONE SENTENCE. THEY GIVE TOO MUCH AWAY.
Just look at the Rotten Tomatoes score and jump the f@(k in!
%91 on Rotten Tomatoes
My biggest complaint; the movie our protagonists were watching should've been Black Christmas. 'The calls are coming from inside the house' would've been great foreshadowing! - DirectorMichael DoughertyStarsAdam ScottToni ColletteDavid KoechnerA boy who has a bad Christmas accidentally summons a festive demon to his family home.
- DirectorPaco PlazaGeorge A. RomeroStarsMaru ValdivielsoChristian CasasRoger BabiàIn 1985, in a coastal town, the friends Koldo, Peti, Tito, Eugenio and Moni stumble with a woman dressed like Santa Claus trapped in a hole in the woods. While the boys go to the police station to ask for help, the others find a rope to take the woman out of the hole. However, the boys find in the police station that the woman is the dangerous thief Rebeca Expósito, who has just stolen two million pesetas from a bank and is wanted. The group decides to leave the woman in the hole without any food to force her to give the robbed money to them. Meanwhile, Peti and Eugenio that are fans of the movie "Zombie Invasion", decide to make a voodoo ceremony with Rebecca to transform her into a zombie. When Rebecca escapes from her imprisonment, she uses an axe to chase the evil boys.Culminates with an axe-wielding criminal in a Santa suit chasing a gang of kids through an abandoned amusement park at night! ...Why are you still sitting there?
- DirectorLewis JacksonStarsBrandon MaggartJeffrey DeMunnDianne HullA toy factory worker, mentally scarred as a child upon learning Santa Claus is not real, suffers a nervous breakdown after being belittled at work, and embarks on a Yuletide killing spree.80% on Rotten Tomatoes
Please go look at the film's Wikipedia and Rotten Tomatoes pages to see some professional reviews.
I guess I can understand why (sneer) IMDb voters gave this movie such a low score. They were drawn in by a premise and a poster that seem to promise a gory holiday romp, and instead were treated to a slow-moving psychodrama about a stunted, naive man being gradually pushed to his breaking point, then stripped of his ideals and illusions. They didn't appreciate the sad tone, skilled writing and direction (at least for a low budget horror movie), or the Psycho-esque suspense, wherein a murderer encounters obstacles which make law-abiding audience members worry for his safety and his success.
Light-years better than Silent Night, Deadly Night. - DirectorJalmari HelanderStarsJorma TommilaOnni TommilaPeeter JakobiIn the depths of the Korvatunturi mountains, 486 meters deep, lies the closest ever guarded secret of Christmas. The time has come to dig it up. This Christmas everyone will believe in Santa Claus.
- DirectorRené ManzorStarsBrigitte FosseyLouis DucreuxPatrick FloersheimOn Christmas Eve, a resourceful young boy has to defend himself and his grandfather from a killer dressed as Santa Claus.
- DirectorSeverin FialaVeronika FranzStarsRiley KeoughJaeden MartellLia McHughA soon-to-be stepmom is snowed in with her fiancé's two children at a remote holiday village. Just as relations begin to thaw between the trio, some strange and frightening events take place.75% on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorFranck KhalfounStarsRachel NicholsWes BentleySimon ReynoldsA businesswoman is pursued by a psychopath after being locked in a parking garage on Christmas Eve.Don't ask me why it has a %35 on Rotten Tomatoes or 37 on Metacritic, I think it's a perfectly decent kidnapped by delusional loner/escape/cat-and-mouse game/ suspense movie. Like a violent lowbrow Misery or 10 Cloverfield Lane.
Roger Ebert gave it 3 of 4 stars - DirectorGrant HarveySteven HobanBrett SullivanStarsWilliam ShatnerGeorge BuzaRob ArcherInterwoven stories that take place on Christmas Eve, as told by one festive radio host: A family brings home more than a Christmas tree, a student documentary becomes a living nightmare, a Christmas spirit terrorizes, Santa slays evil.The stories vary wildly in both quality and tone. It's no Trick 'r Treat.
It has a %78 on Rotten Tomatoes (but I think that's being a bit generous) - DirectorCurtis HarringtonStarsShelley WintersMark LesterChloe FranksA demented widow lures unsuspecting children into her mansion in a bizarre "Hansel and Gretel" twist.
- DirectorTom ShanklandStarsEva BirthistleStephen Campbell MooreJeremy SheffieldA relaxing Christmas vacation turns into a terrifying fight for survival as the children begin to turn on their parents.%73 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorJean-Baptiste AndreaFabrice CanepaStarsRay WiseLin ShayeMick CainChristmas Eve. On his way to his in-laws with his family, Frank Harrington decides to try a shortcut, for the first time in 20 years. It turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life.
- DirectorGregory JacobsStarsEmily BluntAshton HolmesMartin DonovanTwo college students share a ride home for the holidays, but when they break down on a deserted stretch of road, they are preyed upon by the ghosts of people who have died there.
- DirectorFabrice du WelzStarsLaurent LucasBrigitte LahaieGigi CoursignyMarc, a traveling entertainer, is on his way home for Christmas when his van breaks down in the middle of a jerkwater town with some strange inhabitants....Yowza. ...Yow. Za.
- DirectorAlexandre BustilloJulien MauryStarsAlysson ParadisJean-Baptiste TabourinClaude LuléFour months after the death of her husband, a woman on the brink of motherhood is tormented in her home by a strange woman who wants her unborn baby.All the Yowzas. All of them. In the world.
After watching this I swore to never watch another French Horror movie again. I did, of course. - DirectorTheodore GershunyStarsPatrick O'NealJames PattersonMary WoronovA man inherits a mansion which once was a mental home. He visits the place and begins to investigate some crimes that happened in old times, scaring the people living in the region.It's true, it ain't Shakespeare. But any patient fans of spooky mysteries should get some enjoyment out of this atmospheric proto-slasher.
- DirectorÁlex de la IglesiaStarsÁlex AnguloArmando De RazzaSantiago SeguraBent on committing as many sins as possible to avert the birth of the beast, a Catholic priest teams up with a Black Metal aficionado and an Italian connoisseur of the occult. Now, he must become an unrelenting sinner. Is there still hope?Wacky horror-comedy
- DirectorJoe DanteStarsZach GalliganPhoebe CatesHoyt AxtonA young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.
- DirectorJason EisenerStarsJonathan TorrensSarah DunsworthMaris MorganChristmas trees ripped out of their forest plan revenge against people enjoying the holidays.It reminds you why the short film is still a vital necessary. I can just imagine the kind of cheap, stupid, schlock we'd get if they'd tried to stretch this to feature length.
- DirectorJohn Llewellyn MoxeyStarsSally FieldJill HaworthJulie HarrisAn ailing man summons his four daughters home for Christmas and asks them to kill his new wife, who he suspects is poisoning him.'Black Christmas' meets 'And Then There Were None' meets Aaron Spelling. I like it.
To the best of my knowledge, this 1972 tv movie is in the public domain. Therefore, I see no problem with sharing this youtube link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I70yFonCOQ - DirectorEdward BennettStarsDavid SuchetPhilip JacksonVernon DobtcheffThe tyrannical patriarch of a dysfunctional but wealthy family summons his adult children for a Christmas reunion, but prior to the holiday his throat is slashed apparently by one of them.
- DirectorRenny RyeStarsJohn NettlesJohn HopkinsJane WymarkNine years after Ferdy Villers killed himself, his family reunites for Christmas, unaware that someone is out for revenge.
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiStarsDaniel OlbrychskiMaria PakulnisJoanna SzczepkowskaOn Christmas Eve, a taxi driver's ex-lover asks him for help to look for her missing husband.
- DirectorChris CarterStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonLily TomlinOn Christmas Eve, Mulder and Scully find themselves trapped in a haunted house with two ghosts who are determined to prove just how lonely the holiday can be.
- 1989–199622mNot Rated7.7 (2.2K)TV EpisodeDirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsJohn KassirMary Ellen TrainorLarry DrakeA greedy woman makes the mistake of murdering her husband while an escaped mental patient dressed in a Santa Claus outfit is on the loose.Based on a story appearing in The Vault of Horror #35 from 1954. The story was also adapted as a segment for the 1972 Tales from the Crypt movie starring Joan Collins. Big star power or not, this is the better version.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis, who would later frighten us at Christmas with dead-eyed, soulless CGI abominations in Polar Express and Christmas Carol 2009. - DirectorDavid SteinbergStarsLarry DavidJeff GarlinCheryl HinesOn Dec. 23, Larry eats some cookies in the kitchen. Turns out those cookies were a nativity scene that Cheryl's religious sister made. Since it's Christmas Eve, too late to get a replacement. Larry finds a live Nativity at a local church.
- DirectorTrey ParkerStarsTrey ParkerMatt StoneDante AlexanderStan helps a group of woodland critters by killing a mountain lion, only to discover that he's helping them give birth to the Antichrist.South Park has done several Xmas episodes, most still celebrate the holiday, talking poo or not.
This one addresses the cloying cutesy-ness and forced sentimentality of TV Christmas specials and (halfway through the episode) really turns the concept on its head. - DirectorJohn RicePete MichelsStarsJustin RoilandChris ParnellSpencer GrammerIt's Christmas. Rick shrinks Morty, injecting him into a homeless man to save Anatomy Park. Jerry tries to have a Christmas free of electronic devices, but regrets his decision when his parents introduce him to their new friend.
- DirectorAdam ReedMatt ThompsonStarsErik EstradaHarry GozEllis HenicanCapt. Murphy's attempts at a happy Alvistide go awry thanks to non-Alvian crew members, an uncooperative electrician, and Alvis himself "crapping the buffet."
- DirectorAnthony BellBob HathcockLesean ThomasStarsRegina KingJohn WitherspoonCedric YarbroughHuey's teacher gives him full creative control over the schools Christmas play.
- DirectorTim WilkimeStarsAdwin BrownAdam ConoverSasha A. AliHo ho...huh?! Adam teaches his sister that the real St. Nick story is a lot creepier than she thought, and modern Santa was created by commercialism only a century ago. Adam also reveals how gift-giving actually hurts the economy.
- DirectorJim MallonStarsTrace BeaulieuMichael J. NelsonJim MallonMike and the bots watch Santa Claus mess around with a devil while trying to deliver gifts and then sing politically correct holiday songs.
- DirectorTim FordStoney SharpStarsTrace BeaulieuFrank ConniffJoel HodgsonThe children of Mars are in a funk, so Martian King Kimar comes up with a solution: kidnap Santa Claus and bring him to their planet. Poorly conceived, sloppily made, and unfailingly bizarre, this is the ultimate Christmas movie-riffing classic, which is why Cinematic Titanic chose to revisit, re-riff, and release this holiday hamfest with all new jokes. Merry Crap-mas!Much better than the Santa Claus Conquers the Martians Mystery Science Theater episode (made during the shows iffy early years).
The talented MST veterans at Rifftrax.com have also taken cracks at both Santa Claus and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. As well as the immortal classics Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny, The Magic Christmas Tree, I believe in Santa Claus, Jack Frost '97, and the Star Wars Holiday Special. They've also riffed numerous Christmas cartoons and short educational films. Unfortunately, since there are no listings for web content on IMDb, I couldn't add them to this list.
Check out the Christmas page on the Rifftrax site and watch some previews
http://www.rifftrax.com/collection/christmas