It was a few days before Thanksgiving when I read a fun article about offbeat Christmas movies. In years past, I have viewed and written about Christmas horror movies. I thought I would switch it up a bit. Alas, my master plan was somewhat derailed because I took ill after Thanksgiving and remained that way through most of December as well. I even had two visits to the ER and a five-day stay in a hospital. Talk about your holiday cheer!
I did manage to watch six offbeat films, one of them in a actual movie theater. With a warning that there will be spoilers, let’s get into this kooky Christmas film festival.
KRAMPUS (2015)
From the Internet Movie Database: A boy who has a bad Christmas accidentally summons a festive demon to his family home.
Old habits die hard, so, yes, the first movie is a horror-comedy from director Michael Dougherty, who co-wrote it with Todd Casey and Zach Shields. It has a pretty decent cast, including Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman & Conchata Ferrell.
Demon and monster sightings in this movie are not overwhelming, but when they happen, they are effective. The title character has a history of invading the homes of children who have lost the Christmas spirit and slaughtering their families. The boy’s grandmother was one such survivor.
This is actually a pretty scary movie with the comedic elements serving mostly to set the table for violence. But this is by no means a gore-fest. It is frightening without scattering body parts all over the place.
SPOILERS AHEAD
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Krampus wipes out the boy’s entire family. Though the boy takes back his earlier lack of Christmas spirit, he seems to be killed as well. But, then, he wakes up and everything is back to how it was before Krampus made his appearance. The movie ends with the demon looking at snow globes on a tree, snow globes which show the families he has spared from death. But I’m not convinced this is a happy ending. My take: the souls of his victims are trapped in the globes reliving their last Christmas over and over again for all eternity. Baubles to amuse Krampus.
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If you haven’t seen this movie, one of many featuring Krampus,it is definitely worth watching.
BAD SANTA (2003)
From the IMDB: A miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid.
Bad Santa is a Christmas dark comedy crime film. It was directed by Terry Zwigoff and written by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. It stars Billy Bob Thorton as the title character with Tony Cox as Marcus Skidmore (the Little Helper) and Lauren Tom as Skidmore’s equally larcenous wife. Brett Kelly is excellent as the lonely kid. Lauren Graham is a bartender with a Santa Claus fetish.
This is a crude film. Lots of drunk and sex jokes. Yet, somehow, Thorton, Cox and Kelly pull it all together and make it work. If you had told me I would enjoy this movie, I’d have thought you were nuts. But I did enjoy it, so much so that, had I not gotten sick, I would have watched Bad Santa 2.
THE REF (1994)
From the IMDB: A cat burglar is forced to take a bickering, dysfunctional family hostage on Christmas Eve.
I’m amazed I hadn’t seen this movie. I’m a big Dennis Leary fan and, here, he’s his best smart-ass self. Director Ted Demme, who had worked with Leary in the past, kept that persona up front at all times. The movie was written by Richard LeGravenese and his sister-in-law Marie Weiss.
The Ref is hilarious with relatable characters and subsequent character growth. My therapist told me it’s an annual Christmas event in her family and that some of her family keep asking her if she’s this kind of therapist. She tells them she is. You know any therapist of mine has to have a sense of humor.
RED ONE (2024)
From the IMDB: After Santa Claus is kidnapped, the North Pole's Head of Security must team up with a notorious hacker in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.
Saintly Wife Barb and I watched this at an actual movie theater, which is rare for us. The commercials had been running for a few weeks and they won us over. Though the film is garish and silly, it did make for a fun night.
Security Honcho Dwayne Johnson is his usual self, the character we’ve seen in many other films. I find the persona entertaining, though his attacks on Biden and subsequent support of Trump did diminish my regard for him personally. I don’t think I’ll ever be forgiving of anyone who voted for the felonious traitor and his equally vile Republicans sycophants.
J.K. Simmons’ portrayal of Santa was a winning take. There was typically good work from Chris Evans and Lucy Liu. Kristofer Hivju was hilarious as Krampus, Santa’s estranged brother. All in all, Red One delivered heart-warming moments along with crazy laughs. It’s one of those Christmas flicks I can see becoming an annual event.
LOVE HARD (2021)
From the IMDB: An LA girl, unlucky in love, falls for an East Coast guy on a dating app and decides to surprise him for the holidays, only to discover that she's been catfished. This lighthearted romantic comedy chronicles her attempt to reel in love.
From Wikipedia: The title is a portmanteau of Love Actually and Die Hard, the respective favorite Christmas films of the main characters.
My therapist recommended this movie when we were talking about the holidays. Yes, I have holiday-related issues, but I’ll write about them some other time.
Love Hard was a compelling romcom. Leads Nina Dobrev and Jimmy O. Yang were likeable despite her cynicism and his deception. It was easy to root for them, not that the outcome of this film was ever in doubt. There are good reasons many people find romcoms comforting. Happy endings are almost always assured. I was truly impressed by Yang. I plan to check out more of his work in the near future.
TRADING PLACES (1983)
From the IMDB: A snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.
Trading Places is the oldest film in my mini movie marathon, one I hadn’t re-watched in at least two decades. I remember it mainly for the great performances by Dan Ackroyd, Eddie Murphy, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Denholm Elliott and Jaime Lee Curtis. It’s also when I fell in love with Curtis.
The movie was directed by John Landis and written by Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod. It’s not an overwhelmingly Christmas film, though Christmas does figure into the plot. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are more essential to the story. Viewing it again, I was reminded how dark it is at times and how certain events make me uneasy.
SPOILERS AHEAD
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SPOILERS AHEAD
Dan Ackroyd’s character tries and fails to commit suicide only because of a gun that doesn’t fire. Later in the movie, he dons blackface, always a stomach churner for me. Even more so, the millionaires’ agent ends up sewn into a gorilla suit and likely sodomized by an actual gorilla. As much as I like other parts of this movie, I don’t think I’ll watch it again.
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What’s your opinion on the holiday-themed movie reviews I have been doing in the bloggy over the years? Especially in the realm of horror movies, there are multiple flicks for every holiday. And I do mean every holiday. I could even do a bunch of reviews for Presidents’ Day, though nothing is as chilling as the sad reality of Trump’s reelection.
Let me know if you’re interested in more holiday film festivals. Let me know if you want me to stick to horror movies or expand into other genres. Also, if you have suggestions for any upcoming holidays, feel free to send them along.
I’ll be back soon with more stuff.
© 2025 Tony Isabella
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