Summary

• Unconventional Christmas movies explore complex themes while still capturing the spirit of the holidays.
• Films like Bad Santa and Gremlins challenge traditional narratives, offering fresh perspectives and meaningful commentary.
• Christmas movies across the spectrum, from dark thrillers like Black Christmas to unconventional love stories like Carol, deserve to be sought out and appreciated each year.

Despite classic Christmas movies holding traditional values close, the unconventional films of the genre deserve just as much attention during the holiday season. As it approaches, many moviegoers turn to these classics in order to get into the yuletide spirit, revisiting films that uphold cherished principles like family, friendship, and kindness. However, the Christmas movie genre encomes more than just these wholesome classics. A variety of alternative films also use the holiday season as a backdrop to tell compelling stories that challenge expectations and bring fresh perspectives. Though less familiar, these underrated tales prompt equally valuable conversations about inclusiveness, understanding, and stepping outside one’s comfort zone.

Unconventional and unusual Christmas movies introduce complex themes regarding relationships, individual growth, and the human experience that still aligns with the communal spirit of the holidays. Regardless of a film’s stance on traditions, the Christmas season represents an unparalleled opportunity in cinema to explore heartfelt stories as the magic of the holidays infuses the atmosphere on screen. Whether conveying familiar messages about togetherness or new ideas about acceptance, Christmas movies across the spectrum deserve to be sought out each year.

10 Bad Santa (2003)

A perversely clever holiday tale

Far removed from the magic of Christmas cheer, Bad Santa focuses on Willie, a vulgar, alcoholic con man who robs malls each year posing as Santa Claus. While decisively not a family-friendly alternative, Bad Santa delivers dark truths about Christmas, while occupying a provocative space in the genre. Unlike classic narratives of redemption and familial love, Bad Santa unapologetically taps into taboo topics like sex, drugs, and crime, all against the backdrop of the most wonderful time of year. While initially shocking, ultimately the story reveals glimmers of humanity in even the most deeply flawed individuals.

9 Gremlins (1984)

Mischief, mayhem and mistletoe

While some debate whether this movie is a member of the horror genre or a Christmas classic, Gremlins explores the chaos that ensues when a well-intentioned Christmas gift unleashes sinister creatures. While retaining iconic imagery like snow-covered homes and neighborhoods decking the halls, Gremlins utilizes the backdrop of Christmas to drive home meaningful commentary on the responsibilities tied to gift-giving. While the movie employs more screams than Christmas carols, the tongue-in-cheek tale delivers a unique sense of holiday wonder. Deviating from predictable platitudes on seasonal goodwill, Gremlins injects mischief and mayhem into the mix, making it an essential alternative watch this December.

8 Black Christmas (1974)

A suspenseful horror movie with a Christmas setting

A homicidal stalker terrorizes a group of sorority sisters over Christmas break in Black Christmas, severely affecting holiday tranquility as it weaponizes the season to chilling degrees. Free of Christmas cheer or redemption, the pioneering 1974 slasher film decks the sorority house in seasonal decor, an ironic backdrop for the killer's escalating violence. For horror fans wanting to mix up the Christmas movie rotation, Black Christmas brings a deliciously dark jolt of suspense to the holiday, proving that among the feel-good stories of the season, a bit of tension and suspense also provides a festive stage during the holidays.

7 Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Not all Christmas stories need a heartwarming message

Stanley Kubricks’ Eyes Wide Shut utilizes the holiday's cheer as the backdrop for a tense psychosexual thriller. The film follows a doctor plunged into obsessive desires after his wife its to nearly having an affair. Considered one of Nicole Kidman’s best movies, Eyes Wide Shut proves that a Christmas story does not need a heartwarming messaging about love and redemption in order to be a good choice for the season. Kubrick instead constructs a Christmas inspired setting that expertly conceals society's dark impulses and vices. This juxtaposition offers a unique commentary on the madness and chaos that can thrive beneath the most wonderful time of the year.

6 The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

An action-packed Christmas story

Blending yuletide cheer with brutal action, The Long Kiss Goodnight centers on a mother-turned-spy who rediscovers her assassin skills just in time to foil a Christmas terror plot. The movie parallels clashing elements, such as using “God Bless Ye Merry Gentlemen” to soundtrack an intense torture in an unsettling way. While retaining iconic holiday imagery, The Long Kiss Goodnight leverages Christmas as an amplifier for its commentary and narrative. This non-family friendly Christmas movie brings plenty of black comedy, bullets, and holiday carnage to satisfy action fans’ Christmas craving.

5 Carol (2015)

An alternative choice for lovers of Christmas-inspired romance

Considered one of romantic Christmas movies, like Love Actually or The Holiday, Carol brings poignant insight into the realities of living and loving outside heteronormativity, a radical perspective that further proves a Christmas aesthetic complements a range of stories.

4 The Night Before (2015)

A great alternative for those seeking something other than wholesome

While it’s common for Christmas movies to tell stories of bonding and connection, The Night Before takes this to another level. The film centers on three friends convening for one final Christmas Eve as bachelorhood comes to an end. Without the overwhelming heartwarming tropes, the R-rated comedy instead depicts a night of drunken debauchery with festive trimmings, juxtaposing classic themes like mistletoe with adult humor and hedonistic escapades. As the friends' wild evening highlights transition into new chapters, their journey proves holidays can serve as catalysts for both youthful fun and emotional growth. The Night Before is a raunchy and playful alternative to traditional Christmas cinema, perfect for holiday viewing.

3 The Ref (1994)

A hilariously cynical change to the Christmas genre

Family dysfunction takes center stage on Christmas Eve in the 1994 black comedy The Ref. As their miserable, constantly bickering family gathers for dinner, a married couple has to deal with an unexpected burglar taking them hostage in their home. Meanwhile, Christmas aesthetics ironically continue around them, clashing with the family misery unfolding inside. Unlike many December films trying to pull heartstrings with uplifting themes of togetherness, The Ref skips the sentimentality and feel-good redemption that is common during the holidays. Instead, it unleashes chaos by contrasting superficial Christmas cheer with the ever-escalating bitterness, tensions, and unhappiness within this family, making it a fun, contrasting alternative movie to watch.

2 Tangerine (2015)

A Christmas story focused on chosen families

The 2015 film Tangerine follows two transgender sex workers on a search for one's cheating boyfriend in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve. Rather than offering an onslaught of melodrama and emotion, the holiday backdrop highlights the leads' marginalized experiences usually obscured during the festive season. As they wander glittering shops and lonely streets, their journey reveals truths society often overlooks. Their bravery and makeshift family deliver the themes common in Christmas films, all while issuing thoughtful commentary on those left behind by the season’s cheer. An LGBTQ+ movie that changed cinema forever, Tangerine brings a surprising and touching narrative of holiday spirit blooming in diverse spaces.

1 White Reindeer (2013)

An interesting look at dealing with grief during the holiday season

After her husband's violent murder days before Christmas, one woman's grief unravels her favorite holiday in the dark comedy White Reindeer. Rather than offering clichéd redemption tropes, the film pairs cheery holiday fixation with visceral trauma. As she decorates trees and bakes obsessively while learning of betrayal, the protagonist's journey proves the Christmas season is no cure-all for deep wounds. For those wanting a change from shallow Christmas tales, White Reindeer brings an off-kilter, yet thoughtful deviation in the genre. This movie is the best Christmas story that features realistic life lessons toward catharsis, no matter how unconventional.