With Christmas around the corner, a lot of heartwarming Christmas movies and classic feel-good flicks are bound to flood your suggestion lists. But if you’re not into movies associated with fuzzy and warm feelings and would prefer darker themes for the holidays, here are five dark Christmas movies you can watch on Christmas eve.
Silent Night
The British apocalyptic black comedy Silent Night, directed by Camille Griffin and released on December 3, features a dynamic ensemble in stars Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Roman Griffin Davis from Jojo Rabbit, Annabelle Wallis, Lily-Rose Depp, Sope Dirisu, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste. The movie is Camille Griffins’ first feature film, which they started filming at the beginning of 2020. Silent Night focuses on a group of friends and their families celebrating their last Christmas eve together on Earth as the world crumbles because a toxic cloud storm resulting from climate change is causing painful death to everyone that crosses its path. In an interview with EW, Knightley talks about how the movie is “every parent’s worse nightmare.” She also shared how she found the script funny during the first reading when she was still pregnant and how it changed the second time around, saying, “When we came to do it when my kid was about 5 months old, I read it again like, ‘This is not funny at all! This is the opposite of funny, what the f— was I thinking!?’ It speaks to this weird maternal psyche where you’ve got the fluffy love of bringing life into the world, but in doing that you’re made unbelievably aware of the fragility of life and that death is absolutely side-by-side with life…. It’s rarely explored on film.” The movie garnered mixed reviews since its release, but it’s still a must-watch if you’re looking into something dark for the holidays. “It’s an eerie movie that emphasizes the ways in which children are vulnerable to adults’ decisions, and how the wealthy skirt responsibility and protect their own,” as New York Times described the film. In RogerEbert.com’s review, Christy Lemire says, “Relatable humor comes from the awkwardness of these people trying to make small talk although they only see each other once a year, and these early scenes in which “Silent Night” plays like an agreeable, light farce—albeit with an undercurrent of menace—are the film’s strongest.”
Krampus
In this horror-comedy Christmas movie directed by Michael Dougherty, who gave us the cult Halloween film Trick ‘r Treat, a demonic Christmas creature known as the Krampus is out to punish people who have lost their Christmas spirit. Krampus is based on the folklore of a legendary figure known in parts of Germany and Austria who punishes naughty children. The movie tells the story of a dysfunctional family celebrating the holidays and stars Adam Scott and Toni Collette as parents of a child who has lost his Christmas spirit, played by Emjay Anthony from the film Chef. Krampus also stars Allison Tolman, David Koechner, Conchata Ferrell, Krista Sadler, and Stefania LaVie Owen. Variety shared a review of the film, saying, “Krampus stays well within the relatively bloodless confines of PG-13 horror, but it’s precisely the opposite of family-friendly. The faux-reassuring final scenes may have you misting up as readily as “A Christmas Carol” or even “Home Alone.”
The Nightmare Before Christmas
This animated classic merges Halloween with Christmas. Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, directed by Henry Selick, tells the story of Jack Skellington from Halloween Town who stumbles upon a portal to Christmas Town and decides to put his personal Halloween touch in celebrating Christmas. American composer, singer, and songwriter Danny Elfman wrote the film score and provided the singing voice of Jack. The voice cast also includes Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara, William Hickey, Ken Page, and Glenn Shadix. Elfman has provided the musical score for several Tim Burton movies such as Batman, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Edward Scissorhands. Rolling Stone’s review of the film describes how The Nightmare Before Christmas “celebrates the joy of a good scare; it also deals with the repercussions of being misunderstood. There’s not a trace of podlike conformity in Burton’s vision, Elfman’s score, or Caroline Thompson’s script.”
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
Another folklore-related movie to watch is the Finnish movie Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale. This “darkly humorous Finnish horror flick,” as described by The Guardian, won first prize in the Sitges Fantastic film festival and Wales’s Abertoir Horror festival. The film was written and directed by Jalmari Helander and was based on an idea he created with his brother Juuso Helander, which led to two short films Rare Exports Inc. (2003) and its 2005 sequel Rare Exports: The Official Safety Instructions. The shorts tell the story of a company that hunts wild Santa Clauses and trains and exports them to different parts of the world. The Helander Brothers “are like the brothers Grimm meeting the brothers Coen” as described by The Sydney Morning Herald. New York Times published a review of the film, saying, “Kids will love the diminutive, motherless hero and a plot that’s completely bonkers; adults will enjoy the exuberantly pagan images and deadpan humor. Tots, on the other hand, will probably never sit on Santa’s lap again.”
It’s A Wonderful Life
The classic 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life, although mostly heartwarming, deals with a lot of dark and serious themes. A review by Vox describes the dark side of the classic film, saying, “It’s almost a cliché to note that It’s a Wonderful Life is a darker film than its feel-good reputation might suggest. It is, after all, a movie about a man who puts his dreams on hold, again and again, for the betterment of his community.” This Christmas classic, directed by Frank Capra, has been recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 best American films ever made, and most inspirational Americal Film of all Time. The movie was also nominated for five Academy Awards. The movie might share a lot of similarities with Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol because the film was loosely based on the novel. The movie tells the story of a frustrated businessman, George Bailey, played by James Stewart, who contemplates suicide and is sent an angel from heaven, played by Henry Travers, to help him reflect on his life and find meaning. In Roger Ebert‘s review, he shares, “It’s a Wonderful Life is not just a heart-warming “message picture.” The conclusion of the film makes such an impact that some of the earlier scenes may be overlooked.”Adam Scott
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