Everyone loves Home Alone, but these Christmas classics can often be overplayed around the holiday season. The overwhelming wholesomeness of these movies might also make viewers crave something a little more thrilling, fast-paced, and violent.

The backdrop of Christmas has been used by many filmmakers to highlight some truly absurd and violent narratives. Whether it’s two private investigators trying to get to the bottom of the murder of a porn star, a married couple being stalked by a cult, or some high schoolers simply trying to score drugs for a party, there are so many intriguing Christmas movies best watched when the kids are asleep.

UPDATE: 2022/12/24 08:20 EST BY STEPHEN BARKER

2022 has seen an abundance of new Christmas movies, more than any recent year in memory, whether it's the Hallmark-like holiday flicks or legacy sequels like A Christmas Story Christmas. However, one movie has taken everybody by surprise, which is the Violent Night. The new film is an absolute hard R, as it sees Santa literally gouging out people's eyes with tree lights. And for fans looking for more of that festive violence, these films are more than satisfying.

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (2011)

Available To Stream On HBO Max

The Harold & Kumar franchise is surprisingly great at jumping between genres whilst still maintaining its trademark vulgar comedy. The first film is a road trip movie, the sequel is a heist flick, and perhaps most shockingly of all, the threequel is a Christmas movie.

The festive film is more outrageous than any that came before it, and it's the most offensive and violent too, which is saying something coming from the series that includes a film set in Guantanamo Bay. The 3D release actually used 3D more impressively than all the films that were converted to 3D in post-production at the time too. While the series is generally mean-spirited, the 2011 flick is still full of Christmas Cheer, even if Neil Patrick Harris does murder Santa.

Die Hard 2 (1990)

Available To Stream On Starz

Die Hard 2 doesn’t get enough recognition, as the third entry in the franchise is what everyone tends to talk about after the original. However, the second movie in the series is still great even if it does basically the same concept as the original film. The 1990 movie is simply based in an airport instead of a skyscraper, but there's still a lot to love.

The "coincidence" of the attack that just so happens to take place where John McClain happens to be, which is again at Christmastime, is hilarious, but it’s just as much of a thrill ride as the first.

Office Christmas Party (2016)

Available To Stream On Fubo

Though few film critics would call A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas an influential movie, it certainly paved the way for many other 2010s R-rated Christmas comedies, which hadn't previously been popular. One of the 2011 movie's offspring is Office Christmas Party, which again sees a group of slackers simply trying to have the wildest party possible, only everything keeps going totally wrong.

The film isn't going to challenge viewers, the action isn't going to blow audiences' minds, and a few of the jokes might be pulled from other, better movies, but the bombastic and ridiculous sequences are so entertaining and fun. And the characters feel like the type of employees that everyone who works in the office knows... and hates.

Happiest Season (2020)

Available To Stream On Hulu

Happiest Season can totally be watched with kids in the room, but its comedy and jokes are a lot more mature, and it covers much more mature themes compared to other Christmas romcoms. The movie follows a woman who brings her girlfriend to visit her family over the holiday season, only her family doesn't know that she's a lesbian.

The film is one of the most inventive Christmas movies and one of the few major LGBTQ+ holiday films. And though the recently released Predator prequel Prey might have taken the spotlight recently, Happiest Season is one of the best Hulu movies.

The Night Before (2015)

Available To Stream On Fubo

Superbad.

Three best friends reunite on Christmas Eve in an attempt to find the greatest party in New York possible, and it unsurprisingly leads to wild partying and a ton of cameos. With ing work from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anthony Mackie, it's a star-studded affair with plenty of shock value.

Lethal Weapon (1987)

Available To Rent On Apple TV

Lethal Weapon is the first of many Shane Black-written movies based around the holidays, as the celebrated screenwriter, who often focuses on buddy-cop crime capers, has clearly had a penchant for the season ever since the mid-80s. And the season isn't just a backdrop to the action movie, as Christmas is what makes Riggs lonelier.

But it isn't all depressing, as Riggs and Murtaugh have the best friendship found in a buddy-cop flick. Though it’s one of the 80s action movies that critics thought was average upon release, Lethal Weapon has since gone on to become a classic, and the unlikely bond between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover is what makes it one of the best R-rated Christmas movies ever.

The Nice Guys (2016)

Available To Stream On Netflix

As another Shane Black movie, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Just like the 2006 film, The Nice Guys follows two private detectives (Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe) who hate each other but are forced to work together to uncover a murder.

The movie is based in the 70s and features all the expected Shane Black tropes, and that includes being set during the holidays. The movie's plot isn't exactly driven by Christmas-related events, but the detectives' different feelings toward the season tell audiences a lot about their characters. The movie wasn’t so popular upon release, but it has since gained a huge cult following, and fans want to see The Nice Guys 2.

Bad Santa (2003)

Available To Stream On Fubo

Bad Santa is every nihilist’s favorite Christmas movie, as it follows a clinically depressed mall Santa who is an angry alcoholic (Billy Bob Thornton) and often takes his anger out on the children who sit on his lap. Thornton is perfectly cast as a conman Santa, he plans to rob a convenience store on Christmas Eve until a spanner is thrown in the works, and it’s one of the best and darkest comedies of the past 20 years.

While there are tons of Bad Santa 2 was bitterly disappointing for fans of the original.

Go (1999)

Available To Stream On Showtime

Go features several intertwining narratives, loads of pop culture references, and handfuls of drugs and violence, and it’s one of the many 90s movies that was clearly influenced by Pulp Fiction. Though the film might seem like a knock-off of the 1994 classic, it’s actually one of the few that stands on its own as a great movie.

Go follows groups of teenagers working dead-end jobs simply trying to get their hands on some pills for their days off. And it’s all based around Christmastime, though viewers might not be able to tell given that it's set in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.