A Very Grinch Christmas
December is coming what means soon the whole world will celebrate Christmas and New Year. It’s a season of hot chocolate, magic and heartwarming stories. But what to do if typical Christmassy plots are a little long in the tooth and you want something more extraordinary and non-traditional? Special for Grinches among our readers we made this list of unorthodox Christmas and New Year movies.
Die Hard, 1988
“Now I have a machine gun. HO-HO-HO!”
IMDb ranking: 8.2
Genres: action, thriller, crime
Certificate: 16+
John McClane, a cop from New York, comes to Los Angeles to celebrate Christmas together with his children and wife. Things haven’t been good recently between them. He attends a corporate event at Nakatomi Plaza organized by his wife’s employer. The party is foiled by a group of terrorists, who take them hostage. Now McClane has to save not only his marriage but also people, for whom he became the last hope.
Groundhog Day, 1993
“Don't you have some kind of a line that you keep open for emergencies or for celebrities? I'm both. I'm a celebrity in an emergency.”
IMDb ranking: 8.0
Genres: melodrama, comedy, fantasy
Certificate: 12+
Every year Phil Connors, a weatherman, comes to a small town to shoot a short newscast about the Groundhog Day. He thinks his life can’t be more predictable than it already is but how wrong is he about it! Phil gets into a time loop and finds himself living the same day over and over again. The only thing he wishes right now — is to escape that time trap.
Gremlins, 1984
“You say you hate Washington's Birthday or Thanksgiving and nobody cares, but you say you hate Christmas and people treat you like you're a leper.”
IMDb ranking: 7.3
Genres: horror, comedy, fantasy
Certificate: 16+
Bill Peltzer received an unusual creature called “Mogwai” as a present. There are only three rules you should follow while taking care of it: no bright light, no water and no food after midnight. Accidentally Bill violated all three of them.
Trading Places, 1983
“You know, it occurs to me that the best way you hurt rich people is by turning them into poor people.”
IMDb ranking: 7.5
Genres: comedy
Certificate: 16+
What’s the complicated thing behind the running a big company? Absolutely nothing! — think two brokers and make an extraordinary bet with a top manager of the biggest company on Wall Street. He will trade places with a street fraud and they will see if this scheme would work. No one from them has any idea to what result that experiment would lead.
Bad Santa, 2003
“I am living f*cking proof that there ain't no Santa Claus!”
IMDb ranking: 7.0
Genres: drama, comedy, crime
Certificate: 16+
Every year Willie and his partner work part time in a supermarket dressed as Santa and one of his Elves accordingly. And at night Willie turns into…no, not into Santa himself, but into a robber, who empties cash desks at stores. So, Willie is an experienced burglar, a drunkard and womanizer. But there is one boy, who believes in him.
The Long Kiss Goodnight, 1996
“Life is pain. Get used to it.”
IMDb ranking: 6.8
Genres: action, thriller, crime
Certificate: 16+
Samantha Caine works as a school teacher and lives in the suburbs together with her daughter. Because of unknown accident she lost her memory eight years ago. But soon her mysterious past will remind about itself.
Black Christmas, 2006
“F*ck you, Santa Clause!”
IMDb ranking: 4.6
Genres: horror, thriller
Certificate: 16+
Christmas Eve. A maniac dressed as Santa Clause escaped from a psychiatric hospital. He wants to return back to the house he lived in as a child and which is the Delta Alpha Kappa sorority house for girls now.
Office Christmas Party, 2016
“I've got a black belt in partying.”
IMDb ranking: 5.8
Genres: comedy
Certificate: 18+
Carol and Clay are siblings, who are running different branches of the same company. Carol is unhappy with her brother’s work and plans to close his department after the New Year. To attract a major customer and save by that his post, Clay decides to organize a huge Christmas office party, which gets out of hand really fast.
Krampus, 2015
“It's Christmas. Nothing bad is going to happen on Christmas!”
IMDb ranking: 6.2
Genres: drama, comedy, horror, fantasy
Certificate: 16+
Rowdy, constantly arguing with each other members of a large family get together for celebrating Christmas. Young Max is upset by not very festive mood of his relatives and angrily tears apart his letter to Santa. He has no idea that because of his actions, instead of kind old man a completely different creature will visit his family this year.
The Night Before, 2015
“She Home Alone'd me!”
IMDb ranking: 6.4
Genres: comedy, adventure, fantasy
Certificate: 16+
Ethan, Isaac and Chris are childhood friends. Every year they celebrate Christmas together chilling as if it’s their last day on Earth. One day “the last day” really happens — they are grown-ups now and want to have a final Christmas party to remember for the rest of their lives.
Batman Returns, 1992
“— Mistletoe can be deadly if you eat it.
— But a kiss can be even deadlier if you mean it.”
IMDb ranking: 7.0
Genres: action, sci-fi
Certificate: 12+
New danger threatens Gotham. The Penguin, who wants to become a major and mysterious Catwoman began a struggle for power. Only Batman — a dark hero can stop them.
Iron Man 3, 2013
“Here's a little Holiday greeting I've been wanting to send to the Mandarin. I just didn't know how to phrase it until now. My name is Tony Stark and I'm not afraid of you.”
IMDb ranking: 7.2
Genres: action, adventure, sci-fi
Certificate: 12+
It has been half a year since the last attack on New York and Tony Stark is now trying to get his life together: keeps going his relationship with the woman he loves and creates more suits of armor in case of a new danger. At this time an international terrorist who calls himself the Mandarin starts to develop his operations and sets off several explosions in big cities of US. Stark challenges the Mandarin.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, 2005
“— It's Christmas, where's my present, Slick?
— Your present is you're not in jail.”
IMDb ranking: 7.5
Genres: action, comedy, thriller, crime
Certificate: 16+
A petty thief pretends to be an actor on a movie set to escape from the police. He gets into the swing of things among which are a murder, an investigation and a school love.
Better Off Dead, 1985
“She only speaks French, Roy. She doesn't speak imbecile.”
IMDb ranking: 7.1
Genres: melodrama, comedy
Certificate: 12+
His girlfriend ditched Lane for an arrogant ski team leader. Lane thinks that the best solution of this humiliating situation is to commit a suicide. But all his clumsy attempts fail in the most ridiculous way.
Just Friends, 2005
“I would rather have you in my life as a friend than not at all.”
IMDb ranking: 6.2
Genres: melodrama, comedy
Certificate: 16+
As it by chance, Chris has to spend Christmas holidays in his hometown in New Jersey. There he meets his nightmare — Jamie, his school crush, he used to be friends with. Back then Chris already tried to confess to her but failed. Now he has a chance to win her heart. But this time he has got a competition.
Twelve Monkeys, 1995
“There's no right, there's no wrong, there's only popular opinion.”
IMDb ranking: 8.0
Genres: thriller, mystery, sci-fi
Certificate: 16+
The year 2035. The humankind is almost completely destroyed by a mysterious virus, the rest of the survivors are hiding under the ground. James Cole, a criminal, time travels to the past to prevent the spread of the virus.
Once upon a Deadpool, 2018
“Once Upon a time there were a boy called Deadpool, who starred in unexpectedly successful movie. And for the industry that loves to exploit well promoted brands that meant only one thing: an immediate release of a sequel!”
IMDb ranking: 7.7
Genres: comedy, action, sci-fi
Certificate: 16+
Okay, kids, prepare to hear a story. Gather around and listen to the blood fairy tale for grown-ups that Santa-Deadpool gonna tell you. It’s a tale about revenge, aliens from the future, mutants and troubled teens.
In Bruges, 2007
“Ken, I grew up in Dublin. I love Dublin. If I grew up on a farm, and was retarded, Bruges might impress me but I didn't, so it doesn't.”
IMDb ranking: 7.9
Genres: drama, comedy, thriller, crime
Certificate: 18+
Ken and Ray are Irish hitmen. They screwed up the last “job” in London and arrived in a small Belgian town called Bruges to ride out the storm. While Ray enjoys cultural life of the town and goes to museums and excursions, Ken is slowly dying of boredom. Harry, their boss with strict principles, gives Ray some specific instructions.
Rise Of The Guardians, 2012
“— Are you telling me you stop believing in the moon when the sun comes up?
— No.”
IMDb ranking: 7.3
Genres: action, comedy, fantasy, animation
Certificate: 0+
Pitch, an evil spirit known among children as Boogeyman wants to get one of the most precious things in the world — children’s dreams. Now the Sandman, the Tooth Fairy, the Eastern Bunny, the North and a mischievous spirit called Jack Frost team up to stop him.
Fatman, 2020
“— I've come for your head, Fat Man!
— You think you're the first? You think I got this job because I'm fat and jolly?”
IMDb ranking: 7.5
Genres: comedy, action, thriller, fantasy
Certificate: 18+
Billy is 12, he is rich and spoiled. As the other children, who behaved badly, he receives a coal as a Christmas present from Santa. Billy is so mad that he hires a hitman to kill the good wizard bringing presents for children. But he couldn’t imagine that in fact this killer is not the first one, who tries to get rid of Santa.
Jingle All the Way, 1996
“You got the cash, we got the doll.”
IMDb ranking: 5.6
Genres: comedy, adventure, family
Certificate: 6+
Howard Langston is always busy with work and every time is late for family celebrations. One day he misses a karate competition his son is taking part in. So to make up for it, Howard promises he’ll get a Turbo Man action toy for Christmas. Unfortunately, he recalls his promise too late again — on the Christmas Eve when stores are full of desperate buyers like him, who don’t want to give up the last toys to Howard.
Santa’s Slay, 2005
“Christmas is over when I say it's over!”
IMDb ranking: 5.3
Genres: horror, comedy, fantasy
Certificate: 18+
Thousand years ago an evil demon called Santa lost a bet to an angel. All these years he had to bring presents and joy for Christmas. But here comes the day when the bet is over and Santa is ready to show his true face to the world.
The Gingerdead Man, 2005
“Save room for dessert cause I'm coming after you.”
IMDb ranking: 3.4
Genres: horror, comedy, fantasy
Certificate: 16+
A gingerbread man, a yummy Christmas decoration, is alive now because a spirit of an executed criminal possesses it. The only thing he wants now is to throw “sweet life” the girl, whose fault is that he ended up sitting on the electric chair.
Better Watch Out, 2016
“Now don't stay up late and watch scary movies, okay? It'll give you nightmares again.”
IMDb ranking: 6.5
Genres: thriller, comedy
Certificate: 18+
Luke is an ordinary boy, who has a crush on his babysitter Ashley. Luke’s parents are leaving for a holiday party and asking Ashley to look after their son. A quite evening turns into a nightmare when Ashley and Luke realize someone closely observes the house waiting for a perfect moment to attack.
Anna and the Apocalypse, 2017
“— Oh no.
— What?
— Justin Bieber is a zombie!”
IMDb ranking: 6.0
Genres: horror, comedy, fantasy, musical
Certificate: 16+
It’s a Christmas Eve in a small town in Scotland. While other high school students are preparing for the party Anna is arguing with her father, with whom she has different views about the future. Deep in their concerns, they do not notice a zombie-apocalypse begins.
The Children, 2018
“Daddy's very angry!”
IMDb ranking: 6.0
Genres: horror, thriller, mystery
Certificate: 16+
Two families are going on a trip to celebrate Christmas in a lovely little corner of solitude — a tiny house in the forest. But children are infected with a mysterious virus that awakes unbelievable cruelty in them.
A Christmas Horror Story, 2015
“I said I don't want a goddamn cookie!”
IMDb ranking: 5.7
Genres: horror, mystery, fantasy
Certificate: 18+
An anthology movie, which includes four horror stories, happened on Christmas. First one is about high school students investigating a mysterious murder, in the second one a married couple tries to find the reason, why their younger son acts very strangely after their trip to the forest for an X-mas tree, third is about a family chased by Krampus and in the last one Santa is fighting against zombie-elves in the North Pole.
Lethal Weapon, 1987
“I'm too old for this shit!”
IMDb ranking: 7.6
Genres: action, thriller, crime
Certificate: 16+
Martin Riggs is a brave cop from Los Angeles, who doesn’t care about consequences. Roger Murtaugh is a police officer too, but more experienced and cautious. Together they should investigate a suspicious case about suicide of a young girl.
White Christmas (Black Mirror), 2014
“It wasn't really real, so it wasn't really barbaric.”
IMDb ranking: 9.1
Genres: drama, sci-fi
Certificate: 18+
It’s an anthology TV series showing how technologies could influence our lives, not only helping but also making it much more difficult.
White Christmas is a special, which was aired between second and third seasons. Joe and Matt have already been working on a remote North outpost for 5 years. Matt tells the story about how he got to that station trying to make the partner talk.
Shazam!, 2019
“Here's a thing about power. What good is power if you got nobody to share it with?”
IMDb ranking: 7.1
Genres: action, comedy, fantasy
Certificate: 12+
Billy Batson is fourteen and he is searching for his parents, who abandoned him when he was a kid while he lives in a family with other five adopted children. One day he gets in a parallel world, where a mighty wizard grants him with magical powers. Now Billy should face the evil released by some guy called Thaddeus Sivana.
The Ref, 1994
“Great, I hijacked my f*cking parents.”
IMDb ranking: 6.9
Genres: drama, comedy, crime
Certificate: 12+
What is worse, being caught by police or being among constantly arguing people? A cat burglar named Gus can’t give you a definite answer. He was unlucky to get hostage the noisiest people ever — or is it he, who is the hostage of this dysfunctional family now?
Taxi 3, 2003
“— Do you know how to ski?
— No, I know how to drive.”
IMDb ranking: 5.8
Genres: comedy, action
Certificate: 16+
A group of criminals dressed as Santa Clauses is terrorizing Marcel on Christmas Eve. Police commander develops a genius plan under a code name “Snowman” to capture them. Police officer Emilien decides to get some help with this case from his long acquaintance taxi driver Daniel.
We hope that some films from our unorthodox Christmas list will melt your heart. Or at least would add some joy to your evening paired with hot chocolate and cozy blanket.
Merry Christmas, you filthy animal! And Happy New Year!
