As the weather outside turns frightful, something truly delightful is the movies that we watch by the fire. Cozying up by the Christmas tree, it can be challenging to sift through all the presents to figure out what you want to watch. Of course, the Christmas film industry has been inundated with Hallmark films, making it hard to see something that you can safely say that you’d never thought someone would make a movie about. To help with that very issue, here’s a few Christmas movies that you might never have thought were actually Christmas movies.
To start this list, it’s everyone’s favorite spine-curling horror, “Gremlins.” This may be a surprise, Gremlins is actually a Christmas movie. The events of the movie coincide when a young Billy Peltzer receives something called a Mogwai for Christmas. However, the creature comes with a few rules–don’t get it wet. Keep it out of bright light, and never, under any circumstances, feed it past midnight. Things get weird when Peltzer accidentally spills water on a Mogwai, and shenanigans ensue.
Now, this classic is a Christmas movie because the events of the plot revolve entirely around Christmas. If it weren’t for the classic Christmas spirit of giving, there wouldn’t be a Mogwai for Peltzer to spill water onto. After all, this is the season of gift-giving, so why not give a strangely furry (and later scaley) creature this year?
If strange creatures aren’t to your taste, how about an alternative world? In “Batman Returns,” we get to see the Penguin team up with Max Shreck in order to finally take out Batman. However, Shreck’s assistant, Selina Kyle, discovered the plan and when an attempt on her life fails she transforms into Catwoman to help Batman save the day.
This movie is rather surprisingly a Christmas movie. Why? Because it’s set entirely during the holly jolly Christmas season. Nothing shows the season of giving better than plots to take over Gotham City. With the Gotham City Christmas tree and a different outlook on the Christmas spirit, “Batman Returns” cements itself as a Christmas time favorite.
The same way that Victor Frankenstein created a monster, an unnamed scientist created Edward. Unfortunately, the scientist passes away before Edward can be finished, leaving him with something the good majority of people don’t have: scissors for hands. In “Edward Scissorhands,” we explore a social outcast making the most of his situation with kindness.
This movie is a Christmas movie, not only because the final scenes revolve around a stunning ice sculpture, but also because of the various themes of the movie. Despite being treated as a social outcast, he still finds people who care about him for who he is. For his kindness, and even throughout the ridicule he stays true to his character and is always gentle. Which works out great–imagine if he weren’t gentle with his scissorhands, now that would be a Halloween movie.
With the superfluous amount of Hallmark movies spouting the exact same plot, something that would better mark this year is something different to watch. Hopefully, this year when you cozy up next to the Christmas tree and look for something exciting to watch for the season, these surprising Christmas movies are just the gift you need.
