Next Christmas, break out of your holiday movie rut with these overlooked offerings

The holiday season has come and gone again, taking with it the 24-hour marathons of the same five movies that descend on family televisions like a plague of locusts every year. Maybe that’s a little hyperbolic, but every December, Elf and Christmas Vacation feel totally inescapable, to the point where I hardly even want to watch these movies that I once liked. Despite the literal centuries that people have celebrated this time of year, there’s shockingly few entries into the Christmas movie canon. It feels like every year, flipping through cable channels or scrolling streaming services results in the same handful of “Holiday Classics,” with the only alternative being Hallmark sludge or vaguely-festively-themed cooking shows. That’s not to say that there’s anything wrong with these movies, or the traditions they carry with them—I watch It’s A Wonderful Life with my family every year, and every year I cry like a baby at the end. Rather, I think it’s time that we opened our hearts and minds to some new options in the holiday movie rotation. To remedy this, I’ve gathered three titles that I believe are worthy of your consideration as new festive classics. 

Probably the most traditionally-Christmassy on this list, 2023’s The Holdovers, directed by Alexander Payne, follows three very different people stranded at a boarding school over holiday break. The Holdovers centers itself around the holiday season, certainly, but it isn’t really about Christmas. Rather, it’s about human connection and growth, how we learn from one another in often unexpected ways. It’s heartwarming without feeling overly saccharine, and I think the key to this is just how real each of the main characters feels: Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Dominic Sessa (in his first film role!) all deliver breathtaking performances that are poignant and specific without slipping into caricatures of themselves. Credit must also be given to writer David Hemingson, whose dialogue feels refreshingly genuine among the Joss-Whedon-esque communication that has become common in many mainstream movies. Hemingson handles complicated, heavy topics like mental illness and grief deftly, giving them the gravity they deserve without sacrificing the overall lighthearted tone of the movie. Speaking of, I have to mention just how funny The Holdovers is. Giamatti delivers what has become one of my favorite lines in any movie during the climax of the film, which is regrettably not fit to print in a school paper—you’ll know it when you hear it. If you’re looking for a holiday dramedy with an immaculately cozy atmosphere, it doesn’t get much better than this. 

If all that is feeling a little too feel-good for you, John Carpenter’s The Thing might be just, well, the thing. Although panned by critics upon its 1982 release, The Thing has since found a home as a cult classic among horror fans. It may not feature the festive set dressings or heartwarming plot beats typical of a Christmas movie, but between its desolately snowy backdrop and tense atmosphere, I’ve had more than a few holiday get-togethers that remind me of this movie. The constant threat of devastating Antarctic storms is also a familiar feeling for lifetime Midwesterners—remember that polar vortex a few years ago?—made double by the fear of being snowed-in with a bloodthirsty alien that may have perfectly replicated the visages of your loved ones. Okay, *I’ve* never personally experienced the “bloodthirsty alien” part, but if one of your distant cousins got really into QAnon or something, I imagine that’s a similar feeling. The point is, this movie is beloved for a reason, and if you’re not deterred by body horror, the practical effects here are fantastic. A special shoutout is also due for one of the best animal actors in any movie—Jed the wolfdog, you will always be famous.

Japanese filmmaker Satoshi Kon is most known for his surrealist animated nightmares Paprika and Perfect Blue, but he also directed the criminally underrated (and completely tonally opposite) anime movie Tokyo Godfathers. Despite what I originally thought based on the title, Tokyo Godfathers is not about the Japanese mafia. Rather, in the film, three homeless outcasts in Tokyo—Miyuki, an obstinant teenage runaway; Gin, a gruff alcoholic; and Hana, a devoutly religious transgender woman—find a baby in an alleyway on Christmas Eve. What follows is a story about love, family and coincidence that feels both fantastical and deeply real. Although Godfathers lacks the mind-bending visuals and nerve-wracking gore of Kon’s other works, the animation is still stylish and lush. It’s also one of the few Christmas movies I’ve seen that really makes the whole “reason for the season” idea hit home. As a movie that almost exclusively concerns itself with people on the fringes of society, it’s much more compassionate than your average corporate Christmas film. 

There’s countless other movies I could have included on this list – Carol, Black Christmas and Little Women are also worthy of your time, to name just a few (sorry Die Hard die-hards, maybe next year). However you chose to celebrate the holidays, I hope you had a lovely time. Next time December rolls around, consider giving one of these festive films a shot.