Pec-YULE-iar Pictures
Some non-traditional picks for the holiday season, some more obvious than others.
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- DirectorBob ClarkStarsOlivia HusseyKeir DulleaMargot KidderDuring their Christmas break, a group of sorority girls are stalked by a stranger.My favorite early slasher, and still one of the best ever. Winter break is about to begin and the last few stragglers of a sorority are just wrapping things up and having a small party before going home for the holidays. Then the obscene phone calls start, then a girl never shows to be picked up, then a local missing teen is found dead by a search party, then it’s run run Rudolph cause you’re gonna get stabbed by a weirdo. But who is the weirdo??? Christmas lights aplenty, looking like they’re shot through Vaseline, a frozen wintry college setting, great characters, and a creepy vibe make for a 10/10 holiday movie. Pull up a scary ass rocking chair and toss a plastic bag over your head, it’s fun one.
- DirectorHarold RamisStarsJohn CusackBilly Bob ThorntonConnie NielsenA shady lawyer attempts a Christmas Eve crime, hoping to swindle the local mob out of some money. But his partner, a strip club owner, might have different plans for the cash.Darkly comic, neo-noir, crime thriller. On an icy Christmas Eve, two men (John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton) sneak $2 million away from the Kansas City Mob. As the night goes on, questions are asked, crosses are doubled, and Oliver Platt nearly steals the show with his scenes alone. Directed by the late, great Harold Ramis. Some great dialogue as well:
“He actually threatened to shoot Gladys if I didn’t tell him where the money was. But I think he was counting on a level of commitment and affection between her and me that just simply wasn’t there.” - DirectorMartin McDonaghStarsColin FarrellBrendan GleesonCiarán HindsAfter a job gone wrong, hitman Ray and his partner await orders from their ruthless boss in Bruges, Belgium, the last place in the world Ray wants to be.Two hitmen are sent to Bruges, Belgium after botching a job in London. They pass time waiting for their boss's orders wandering the chilly Christmastime streets of the medieval city until they get some very bad news. A dark comedy crime film, starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson in career-best roles, an amazing musical score, gorgeous cinematography, and the best put-downs of all time (“YOU’RE an inanimate fvcking object!”). Not for everyone, but this is as close-to-perfect as it gets, holiday season or not.
- DirectorJoe DanteStarsZach GalliganPhoebe CatesHoyt AxtonA young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.If you love baby Yoda, oh boy you’re gonna love Gizmo the Mogwai. This is a movie so built-in to our current pop culture lexicon, it’s often not really remembered as a Christmas movie despite how upfront that aspect of the film is (it was theatrically released in summer- July 1984 so maybe that has something to do with it). A failed inventor father buys his young adult son a new pet for Christmas from a little boy. The new pet has rules, important ones, and soon those rules are broken by accident and all hell breaks loose. The creature multiplies and the new ones are definitely on the naughty list! A fun, scary, festive holiday classic! Sharp eyes will catch Mike from Breaking Bad in a small role as one of the local policemen who don’t believe in the beasties. Also stars Fast Times at Ridgemont High alum Judge Reinhold and Phoebe Cates, although the only thing Ms. Cates “reveals” in this movie is that Santa isn’t real so enjoy that.
- DirectorLewis JacksonStarsBrandon MaggartJeffrey DeMunnDianne HullA toy factory worker, mentally scarred as a child upon learning Santa Claus is not real, suffers a nervous breakdown after being belittled at work, and embarks on a Yuletide killing spree.
- DirectorTed DemmeStarsDenis LearyJudy DavisKevin SpaceyA cat burglar is forced to take a bickering, dysfunctional family hostage on Christmas Eve.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsNaomi WattsViggo MortensenArmin Mueller-StahlA teenager who dies during childbirth leaves clues in her journal that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.A nurse is drawn into a web of deceit and violence when a young teen dies giving birth and she finds the girl's journal. Her investigation leads to a Russian crime family's enforcer as he patrols the frigid London streets at Christmas time and starts to gain an interest in her mission. What says “happy holidays!” more than a nude, blood-soaked bathhouse brawl involving a linoleum knife!
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsBill MurrayDan AykroydSigourney WeaverThe discovery of a massive river of ectoplasm and a resurgence of spectral activity allows the staff of Ghostbusters to revive the business.The boys are brought out of semi-retirement when a cursed painting of a powerful and tyrannical magician from the 16th century feeds off the negative vibes of New York City and possesses the art museum’s curator to steal Sigourney Weaver’s baby in order to be born anew and rule the world on New Year’s Eve! *deep inhale* I really like this one! Not as good or coherent as the first but as franchise fan, there’s not much to hate here. Chilly New York, holiday decor, Auld Lang Syne, baby kidnappings: pretty much all the ingredients for a NYE classic.
- DirectorDaryl DukeCurtis HansonStarsElliott GouldChristopher PlummerSusannah YorkA timid bank teller anticipates a bank robbery and steals the money himself before the crook arrives. When the sadistic crook realizes he's been fooled, he tracks down the teller and engages him in a cat-and-mouse chase for the cash.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsMichael KeatonDanny DeVitoMichelle PfeifferWhile Batman deals with a deformed man calling himself the Penguin wreaking havoc across Gotham with the help of a cruel businessman, a female employee of the latter becomes the Catwoman with her own vendetta.Batman (played by Beetlejuice) has his plate full when a freakish man known only as Danny DeVito, oh I mean, “The Penguin” begins to terrorize Gotham, all the while a secretary who looks exactly like Michelle Pfeiffer exacts a plan of vengeance, absolutely slaying Catwoman week on Project Runway. Theeeeeeeen you have Christopher Walken running around with Einstein hair trying to pull off some nefarious BS about holding the city’s power supply ransom for these folks to deal with. On top of that, it's Christmas and Alfred is really hard to buy for!
- 1989–199622mNot Rated7.7 (2.2K)TV EpisodeDirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsJohn KassirMary Ellen TrainorLarry DrakeA greedy woman makes the mistake of murdering her husband while an escaped mental patient dressed in a Santa Claus outfit is on the loose.Unforeseen hurdles arise when a wife decks the hall out of her husband on Christmas Eve. In classic TFTC fashion, Santa has other plans for this family. One of the best episodes overall, but especially good during the holidays. Plenty of snow, Christmas music, and holiday decor to put some Ho-Ho-Horror in your holiday. Nerd facts: shot by Dean Cundy (Jurassic Park, most of the good John Carpenter movies) written by Fred Dekker (Night of the Creeps, The Monster Squad) and directed by Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Death Becomes Her)
- DirectorAlexandre BustilloJulien MauryStarsAlysson ParadisJean-Baptiste TabourinClaude LuléFour months after the death of her husband, a woman on the brink of motherhood is tormented in her home by a strange woman who wants her unborn baby.Oooooh boy! Let's get the big ol' edgelord choice out of the way! It's Christmastime and for a pregnant widow, it is absolutely NOT the most wonderful time of the year! "Whose Child is This?" That's what I'm saying! A movie so violent, so gory, so wild, so... French, that it borders comical. Too many triggers to warn about so watch at your own risk. Perfect movie to throw on at a family gathering provided said family is of Addams or Munster descent.
- DirectorJean-Baptiste AndreaFabrice CanepaStarsRay WiseLin ShayeMick CainChristmas Eve. On his way to his in-laws with his family, Frank Harrington decides to try a shortcut, for the first time in 20 years. It turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life.When your parents are Lin Shaye and Ray Wise, things are just obviously gonna get weird. A family goes on a road trip to grandma’s house on Christmas Eve, and Laura Palmer’s dad decides to take a shortcut for the first time in 20 years. When the road never seems to end and a strange woman begins picking them off one by one, they’re left to find a way out of this situation or they’ll simply never make it to present time. It’s like Rod Serling for people who also want some weird melodrama, near-Lynchian strangeness, and gore sprinkled in with their existential nightmares. Every five minutes there’s another what-the-heck, monkey wrench choice tossed in there that’ll definitely have you chuckling so long as you chug enough egg nog. A very odd movie that has an almost made-for-TV look despite the gore and language. Great movie? Absolutely not. But a perfect one to make your in-laws or close friends question your merit as a person.
- DirectorFranck KhalfounStarsRachel NicholsWes BentleySimon ReynoldsA businesswoman is pursued by a psychopath after being locked in a parking garage on Christmas Eve.After staying late on Christmas Eve, a young woman is trapped by someone in the parking garage of her work.
- DirectorRoger SpottiswoodeStarsBen JohnsonJamie Lee CurtisHart BochnerThree years after a prank went terribly awry, the six college students responsible are targeted by a masked killer at a New Year's Eve party aboard a moving train.NYE
- DirectorFabrice du WelzStarsLaurent LucasBrigitte LahaieGigi CoursignyMarc, a traveling entertainer, is on his way home for Christmas when his van breaks down in the middle of a jerkwater town with some strange inhabitants.
- DirectorStephen CarpenterJeffrey ObrowStarsLaurie LapinskiStephen SachsDavid SnowFour college students are stalked by an unknown assailant while staying on campus over the Christmas holidays to help clear out a dormitory which is to be demolished.
- DirectorJohn Llewellyn MoxeyStarsSally FieldJill HaworthJulie HarrisAn ailing man summons his four daughters home for Christmas and asks them to kill his new wife, who he suspects is poisoning him.
- DirectorCurtis HarringtonStarsShelley WintersMark LesterChloe FranksA demented widow lures unsuspecting children into her mansion in a bizarre "Hansel and Gretel" twist.
- DirectorAldo LadoStarsFlavio BucciMacha MérilGianfranco De GrassiA pair of psychotic hoodlums and an equally demented nymphomaniac woman terrorize two young girls on a train trip from Germany to Italy.
- DirectorFabrice-Ange ZaphiratosStarsHelen BentonTerry BrownDana DayA young woman accompanies her boyfriend to his family's rural Wisconsin home for Christmas, where the spirit of a Japanese samurai begins wreaking havoc on them.
- DirectorÁlex de la IglesiaStarsÁlex AnguloArmando De RazzaSantiago SeguraBent on committing as many sins as possible to avert the birth of the beast, a Catholic priest teams up with a Black Metal aficionado and an Italian connoisseur of the occult. Now, he must become an unrelenting sinner. Is there still hope?A catholic priest believes the antichrist will be born on Christmas Day and enlists a black metal enthusiast and an occult expert in order to commit as many sins as possible to avert armageddon.
- DirectorEshom NelmsIan NelmsStarsMel GibsonWalton GogginsMarianne Jean-BaptisteA rowdy, unorthodox Santa Claus is fighting to save his declining business. Meanwhile, Billy, a neglected and precocious 12 year old, hires a hit man to kill Santa after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking.
- DirectorCharles E. Sellier Jr.StarsLilyan ChauvinGilmer McCormickToni NeroLittle Billy witnesses his parents getting killed by Santa after being warned by his senile grandpa that Santa punishes those who are naughty. Now Billy is 18 and out of the orphanage, and he has just become Santa himself.
- DirectorSteven C. MillerStarsMalcolm McDowellJaime KingDonal LogueThe police force of a remote Midwestern town search for a killer Santa Claus who is picking off citizens on Christmas Eve.Very loose remake of "Silent Night, Deadly Night".