Looking for some alternative Christmas films? We’ve got you covered (Picture: Everett/REX/Shutterstock)
The Christmas countdown is on with people across the world decorating their trees, wrapping presents, and cracking open the mince pies to celebrate.
One thing many of us love about the festive season is the jolly films and TV shows that hit our screens, from Elf to A Christmas Carol, The Grinch, and Black Christmas for horror fans.
We’ve had plenty of new festive flicks to enjoy this year, from Netflix’s unhinged sexy snowman film Hot Frosty to the blood-soaked Terrifier 3, and emotional animated movie That Christmas.
But not everyone likes their Yuletide watches to have their halls decked full of twinkling lights and heart-warming storylines, opting for more subtle, snow-covered choices.
Die Hard tends to be the top title in everyone’s ‘not quite a Christmas film’s list’ – and yes, it is a Christmas film.
Yet there are plenty of top titles – from historical biopics to hack-and-slash award winners – that are just as jolly as the Bruce Willis action film.
Looking for a Christmas film that isn’t quite a Christmas film? These are our top underrated gems that you can stream right now in the UK.
American Psycho
Where to watch: Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV, and the Sky Store
Christian Bale is the psychotic killer Patrick Bateman in 2000 satirical psychological horror American Psycho alongside the likes of Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Josh Lucas, Samantha Mathis, and more.
Despite watching an axe-wielding Bateman hack and slash his way through Wall Street trying to climb the social ladder, we also see the unhinged businessman celebrate the festive season.
He attends his girlfriend Evelyn’s (Reese Witherspoon) Christmas party, with her referring to him as ‘The Grinch’ when he can’t take his mind off the job even for a second – if only she knew what else was going on in his brain.
L.A. Confidential
Where to watch: Disney Plus, Prime Video, Apple TV, and the Sky Store
L.A. Confidential sees an all-star cast including Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, Guy Pearce, and Kim Basinger in a corrupt 1950s Los Angeles as three policemen investigate a series of murders.
As with American Psycho, blood and death don’t stop the Curtis Hanson flick from getting in the festive spirit with string lights adorning multiple scenes as the film is set at Christmastime.
Its comparisons to Bateman’s tale continue with L.A. Confidential also featuring a Christmas party, and not to mention, Basinger’s Lynn Bracken in an incredible fur-trimmed cloak.
The Long Kiss Goodnight
Where to watch: Apple TV and the Sky Store
Geena Davis and Samuel L Jackson make an unlikely duo in The Long Kiss Goodnight as a schoolteacher’s mysterious past comes back to haunt her as her sudden amnesia prevents her from remembering she is a highly-trained assassin.
And when is it set? You guessed it, Christmas.
There are plenty of Christmas activities throughout the film, and the soundtrack consists of festive ditties we all know and love. It also strongly focuses on family, something many holly, jolly Christmas films revolve around.
Iron Man 3
Where to watch: Disney Plus, Prime Video, Apple TV, and the Sky Store
One thing that doesn’t scream festive joy is superheroes, but Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man brings plenty of Christmas spirit in the third film of the Marvel franchise.
This dark film sees the masked Avenger battle with his internal demons as well as a menacing new foe, Mandarin.
All of the action is set during the Christmas period, with a flashback taking us to the previous New Year’s Eve for a little extra festivities.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Where to watch: Prime Video, Apple TV, and the Sky Store
Before directing Iron Man 3, Shane Black helmed another Downey Jr flick – Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
And yet again, it takes place at Christmas in Los Angeles with a petty thief posing as an actor finds himself dragged into a murder mystery thrill ride filled with plenty of laughs.
While the Christmas link in this film isn’t quite as strong as others on the list, we see Downey Jr’s Harry Lockhart make like Ebenezer Scrooge and have an epiphany of sorts, turning his life around to become a better person.
Edward Scissorhands
Where to watch: Disney Plus, Prime Video, Apple TV, and the Sky Store
Tim Burton’s A Nightmare Before Christmas may be more likely to feature in people’s festive film line-up, but Edward Scissorhands is another merry offering from his back catalogue.
Starring Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder, the film sees the self-titled synthetic man with scissors for hands trying to navigate everyday life when he is taken in by Peg, a kindly Avon lady.
The last third of the film takes place around the holidays, with a tear-jerking, snow-covered ending marking one of Edward Scissorhands’ most iconic moments.
Steel Magnolias
Where to watch: Now TV, Prime Video, Apple TV, and the Sky Store
Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Robert Harling, Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, and Olympia Dukakis appear in the iconic comedy-drama film Steel Magnolias, directed by Herbert Ross.
The film sees Daryl Hannah’s Anelle Dupuy move to a small town in Louisiana where she finds work in a local beauty salon, and forms bonds with her coworkers that will last a lifetime.
All of the sections in the film are linked to holidays, but the Christmas part is particularly special as we see the women rally around Roberts’ Shelby Latcherie as she worried her diabetes could affect her pregnancy.
The Sound of Music
Where to watch: Disney Plus, Prime Video, Apple TV, and the Sky Store
The hills are alive with the sound of Christmas in this classic musical starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer.
The Sound of Music has an even more tenuous link with Christmas than Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in that it is largely associated with the holiday due to it usually being on television across the festive period.
My Favourite Things is often among Christmas carol favourites, and it does feature a sort-of ‘naughty list’ that Santa himself would be proud of.
Eyes Wide Shut
Where to watch: Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV, and the Sky Store
If there’s one mainstay in the film world less associated with Christmas, it could be Stanley Kubrick.
The mastermind behind A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, and Full Metal Jacket released psychodrama Eyes Wide Shut in 1999 which sees Dr Bill Harford (Tom Cruise) join an underground sex group after discovering his wife Alice (Nicole Kidman) had an affair.
So how is this erotic thriller festive? It takes place squarely around the Christmas period and features its own glittering Christmas party while commenting on the modern world’s obsession with a consumerist holiday season.
Catch Me If You Can
Where to watch: Now TV, Prime Video, Apple TV, and the Sky Store
Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, and Jennifer Garner all appeared in the star-studded 2002 comedy Catch Me If You Can.
Steven Spielberg’s heist flick sees con man Frank Abagnale Jr (DiCaprio) pose as a pilot, doctor and lawyer to cash forged cheques worth millions before his 21st birthday, despite being constantly chased by FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Hanks).
Though the majority of this film isn’t set at Christmas – true also of festive classic It’s A Wonderful Life – it sees Frank Jr’s character on an emotional journey to accept his parent’s divorce, bringing his idea of ‘family’ together.
Brazil
Where to watch: Disney Plus, Plex, Prime Video, Apple TV, and the Sky Store
Can a dark, dystopian comedy ever be festive? Terry Gilliam’s masterpiece Brazil proves that yes, yes it can.
Robert De Niro, Jonathan Pryce, Kim Greist, Michael Palin, and Bob Hoskin star in the absurdist sci-fi which follows Sam Lowry (Pryce), a clerk in the ministry department tasked with correcting an administrative error – and becoming an enemy of the state in the process.
Another classic set at Christmas, the iconography of Christmas trees and jolly carols is integral to drive home the detachment of the characters and the world they’re living in.
12 Monkeys
Available to stream on BBC iPlayer
Another Gilliam classic is the science fiction thriller 12 Monkeys, starring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt.
Set in a future world devastated by disease, convict James Cole (Willis) is promised his freedom if he travels back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.
It features not QUITE the festive airport scene you would expect – with less embracing and more bloody mayhem – but it does place one of the film’s most iconic moments squarely at Christmas time.
Spencer
Where to watch: Prime Video, Apple TV, and the Sky Store
Twilight’s Kristen Stewart took on the challenging role of Diana, Princess of Wales in Steven Knight’s 2021 psychological drama Spencer.
The award-winning film is set over the Christmas period as Diana suffers an existential crisis while considering divorcing her husband Prince Charles (Jack Farthing) and leaving the Royal Family.
The gripping thriller is very obviously firmly rooted in Christmas, not only in its setting but as it tackles uncomfortable, life-altering family situations that many of us may experience when relatives are thrown together to celebrate.
The Apartment
Where to watch: Prime Video, Apple TV, and the Sky Store
Shirley MacLaine appears once again on this list as she stars in Billy Wilder’s 1960s romantic-comedy drama The Apartment alongside Jack Lemmon.
The film follows insurance clerk C. C. Baxter (Lemmon) who lets his senior coworkers use his apartment to conduct extramarital affairs and is pulled into a romance of his own with elevator operator Fran Kubelik (MacLaine).
Complete with a festive and booze-fuelled office party, The Apartment shows us the true meaning of Christmas – togetherness, and the promise of a fresh new start as the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve.
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