The concept of the holiday movie began back in 1898 with G.A. Smith’s pioneering silent film Santa Claus. The first of its kind to show the depiction of Santa that only runs just shy over a minute.
Since then Hollywood has belted out an array of films that have either been true to the genre such as A Christmas Story; The Holiday; Miracle On 34th Street; Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey or films like Die Hard; Brazil, and Gremlins that have teetered on the edge of identifying as a holiday film.
Then there are the anti-holiday movies and the Christmas horrors. Subgenres of their own like the slasher Silent Night, Deadly Night, Black Christmas, and Christmas Evil, a John Waters favorite, so you are inclined to know what demented viewing you are in for.
Related: 50 Classic Valentine’s Movies Gallery: From ‘Amelie’ & ‘In The Mood For Love’ To ‘Paris, Texas...
Since then Hollywood has belted out an array of films that have either been true to the genre such as A Christmas Story; The Holiday; Miracle On 34th Street; Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey or films like Die Hard; Brazil, and Gremlins that have teetered on the edge of identifying as a holiday film.
Then there are the anti-holiday movies and the Christmas horrors. Subgenres of their own like the slasher Silent Night, Deadly Night, Black Christmas, and Christmas Evil, a John Waters favorite, so you are inclined to know what demented viewing you are in for.
Related: 50 Classic Valentine’s Movies Gallery: From ‘Amelie’ & ‘In The Mood For Love’ To ‘Paris, Texas...
- 12/25/2023
- by Robert Lang
- Deadline Film + TV
In 1843, London publishers Chapman & Hall released A Christmas Carol. Written by Charles Dickens and illustrated by John Leech, it was inspired in part by Dickens’s anger at inequality in his country, especially as it affected children. Despite its aversion to the upper classes, A Christmas Carol was an immediate hit among readers and critics. Given the book’s popularity, it’s no surprise that movie makers have picked up on the story many times. Between its clear redemption arc and ghostly premise, the story has everything that a good movie needs.
Still, not every adaptation of A Christmas Carol is created equal. So if you’re looking for the best of the worst man in film and literature, check out these ten great movies. And if you don’t like my picks, well, bah humbug I say.
10. Scrooged (1988)
On paper, Scrooged sounds like a home run. Bill Murray, in his ’80s glory,...
Still, not every adaptation of A Christmas Carol is created equal. So if you’re looking for the best of the worst man in film and literature, check out these ten great movies. And if you don’t like my picks, well, bah humbug I say.
10. Scrooged (1988)
On paper, Scrooged sounds like a home run. Bill Murray, in his ’80s glory,...
- 12/19/2023
- by Joe George
- Den of Geek
On the 8th day of Creepmas, we’re celebrating the Victorian holiday tradition of sharing ghost stories. Telling ghost stories during winter was a folk custom that dated back centuries but slowly faded over time. Any tradition that involves scaring each other with horror stories feels like one worth reviving, so today’s Creepmas festivities embrace holiday horror movies that center around ghosts and hauntings. The eight titles below run the gamut from inducing warm holiday feels to ghostly insanity to chilling terror.
The 12 Days of Creepmas continues on Bloody Disgusting, this time with 8 Christmas ghosts to haunt your holiday season.
Keep track of the 12 Days of Creepmas here.
Anything for Jackson
Sheila McCarthy and Julian Richings star as Audrey and Henry Walsh, a well-to-do couple mourning their young grandson’s tragic loss. Still deep in the denial stage of grief, they turn to Satanism. The couple kidnaps a pregnant...
The 12 Days of Creepmas continues on Bloody Disgusting, this time with 8 Christmas ghosts to haunt your holiday season.
Keep track of the 12 Days of Creepmas here.
Anything for Jackson
Sheila McCarthy and Julian Richings star as Audrey and Henry Walsh, a well-to-do couple mourning their young grandson’s tragic loss. Still deep in the denial stage of grief, they turn to Satanism. The couple kidnaps a pregnant...
- 12/18/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
Ray Donovan star Liev Schreiber is getting locked and loaded for a holiday-themed action movie from Gangs of London director Xavier Gens called The Guns of Christmas Past. Deadline says Schreiber is negotiating for the lead role in Gens’s genre mash-up, described as “A Christmas Carol meets John Wick.”
The story revolves around Ebb, a former hitman for the mob who emerges from the shadows when his best friend gets killed. Ebb plans to infiltrate the enemy’s compound to inflict revenge, but the past, present, and future ghosts haunt him throughout the night to ruin his plans. Gens directs from a script by Andrew Hilton, with Navid McIlhargey and Erik Olsen producing.
I’m sorry, what? This movie sounds wacky! It’s like something Frank Cross from Scrooged would air on Ibc Television on Christmas Eve. After 2022’s Violent Night, starring David Habour, outlandish Christmas movies are the new holiday hotness.
The story revolves around Ebb, a former hitman for the mob who emerges from the shadows when his best friend gets killed. Ebb plans to infiltrate the enemy’s compound to inflict revenge, but the past, present, and future ghosts haunt him throughout the night to ruin his plans. Gens directs from a script by Andrew Hilton, with Navid McIlhargey and Erik Olsen producing.
I’m sorry, what? This movie sounds wacky! It’s like something Frank Cross from Scrooged would air on Ibc Television on Christmas Eve. After 2022’s Violent Night, starring David Habour, outlandish Christmas movies are the new holiday hotness.
- 5/4/2023
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
This is it. The holidays are upon us. It’s the last call for holiday preparations and cramming in every last bit of holiday horror our eyeballs can handle. Luckily, there’s no shortage of holiday horror out there. This week’s picks bring double the selection, all dedicated to delivering yuletide nightmares. These ten titles dig a little deeper than the classic titles like Black Christmas, Gremlins, and the Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise to introduce potential new favorites.
As always, here’s where you can stream them this week.
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
Adult Swim Yule Log (aka The Fireplace) – HBO Max
Look no further if you’re in the mood for something brand-spanking new and more than a little unhinged. Adult Swim’s 2022 holiday yule log presentation unravels into a gory feature film, courtesy of director Casper Kelly (“Too Many Cooks”). Kelly...
As always, here’s where you can stream them this week.
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
Adult Swim Yule Log (aka The Fireplace) – HBO Max
Look no further if you’re in the mood for something brand-spanking new and more than a little unhinged. Adult Swim’s 2022 holiday yule log presentation unravels into a gory feature film, courtesy of director Casper Kelly (“Too Many Cooks”). Kelly...
- 12/19/2022
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
As regular as Christmas clockwork, no sooner do the evenings begin to draw in and the firesides begin to warm the house with their soft glow, the seasonal TV and movie schedules come out. We all have our yuletide favourites – well-remembered classics from our childhood which sit alongside more recent festive fare – but one story reigns high above all else as the perfect Christmas tale.
Alastair Sim – putting the Og in ScroOGe back in ’51.
There have been many dozens of adaptations of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol over the years. Some set their scene in the traditional Victoriana of Dickens’ tale, others go farther afield, gender-swapping Scrooge or even anthropomorphise him as with the 1998 video classic – An All Dogs Christmas Carol. Anyone can be rich and redeemed! Those interested in becoming as wealthy as Mr. S can stop off at refuelcasino to try their hand at amassing their own well-stocked counting house.
Alastair Sim – putting the Og in ScroOGe back in ’51.
There have been many dozens of adaptations of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol over the years. Some set their scene in the traditional Victoriana of Dickens’ tale, others go farther afield, gender-swapping Scrooge or even anthropomorphise him as with the 1998 video classic – An All Dogs Christmas Carol. Anyone can be rich and redeemed! Those interested in becoming as wealthy as Mr. S can stop off at refuelcasino to try their hand at amassing their own well-stocked counting house.
- 12/10/2021
- by Michael Walsh
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
In 2018, Charles Dickens’ classic novella “A Christmas Carol” turns 175, but its utility as a springboard for movie and TV adaptations shows no signs of slowing down. It’s a classic story of regret and redemption, and its lead character Ebenezer Scrooge offers an arc from misery and cruelty to love and kindness that’s catnip for any actor or actress. (I watched a sleighful of Scrooges for my book “Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas” and am doing you the service of keeping the Barbie and “All Dogs Go to Heaven” versions off this list.)
Here’s a look at 20 performers who have put their own unique spin on “Bah! Humbug!”
Seymour Hicks, “Scrooge” (1935): There were a few silent versions, but this was the screen’s first talking Scrooge, in a version that’s early-talkie through and through, from the technical limitations to the big, theatrical performances, Hicks’ included.
Here’s a look at 20 performers who have put their own unique spin on “Bah! Humbug!”
Seymour Hicks, “Scrooge” (1935): There were a few silent versions, but this was the screen’s first talking Scrooge, in a version that’s early-talkie through and through, from the technical limitations to the big, theatrical performances, Hicks’ included.
- 12/13/2019
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Kevin Hart and Paramount are teaming on a potential remake of Scrooged, the 1988 comedy directed by Richard Donner and starring Bill Murray in a memorable take on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
The new project is in early development, we hear, and the next step is hiring a writer. Hart also could topline the pic which he would be producing via his Hartbeat Productions.
Murray played jaded network TV executive Frank Cross who eventually learns his lesson in the original film, which co-starred Karen Allen, Alfre Woodard and David Johansen.
Hart is busy all over town. Sony Pictures on Thursday dated his next movie, Fatherhood, which is directed by Paul Weitz and will open April 3, 2020. He also recently set an English-language remake the Korean box office hit Extreme Job at Universal, where he also is reprising his voice role in The Secret Life of Pets 2. His Netflix stand-up special Kevin...
The new project is in early development, we hear, and the next step is hiring a writer. Hart also could topline the pic which he would be producing via his Hartbeat Productions.
Murray played jaded network TV executive Frank Cross who eventually learns his lesson in the original film, which co-starred Karen Allen, Alfre Woodard and David Johansen.
Hart is busy all over town. Sony Pictures on Thursday dated his next movie, Fatherhood, which is directed by Paul Weitz and will open April 3, 2020. He also recently set an English-language remake the Korean box office hit Extreme Job at Universal, where he also is reprising his voice role in The Secret Life of Pets 2. His Netflix stand-up special Kevin...
- 6/7/2019
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Heather Wixson and Scott Drebit Discuss Scrooged on a New Corpse Club Member-Exclusive Bonus Episode
As a special seasonal treat for those in our Corpse Club membership system, Heather Wixson and Scott Drebit celebrate the imaginative and spooky 1988 Christmas movie Scrooged (which can be viewed as a horror film as well as a comedy) on a new bonus episode!
Although it's widely considered a Christmas comedy, there are many horror elements to be unwrapped in Scrooged, starring Bill Murray. With that in mind, Heather and Scott embrace the supernatural side of the season by discussing Richard Donner's 1988 adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic Christmas story, including Murray's unforgettable performance as Frank Cross, the eerie elevator scene that continues to stuff stockings with nightmare fuel, the film's fright-filled take on the holiday season, and much more!
So, grab a cup of hot cocoa, throw another log on the fire, and relax with a new bonus episode of Daily Dead’s official podcast!
There's more bonus content to come.
Although it's widely considered a Christmas comedy, there are many horror elements to be unwrapped in Scrooged, starring Bill Murray. With that in mind, Heather and Scott embrace the supernatural side of the season by discussing Richard Donner's 1988 adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic Christmas story, including Murray's unforgettable performance as Frank Cross, the eerie elevator scene that continues to stuff stockings with nightmare fuel, the film's fright-filled take on the holiday season, and much more!
So, grab a cup of hot cocoa, throw another log on the fire, and relax with a new bonus episode of Daily Dead’s official podcast!
There's more bonus content to come.
- 11/29/2018
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Spencer Mullen Nov 23, 2018
We're giving away three Blu-ray copies of the Bill Murray classic Scrooged (along with a rare ornament) in time for the holidays!
Just in time for the holidays, we're giving away three Blu-ray copies of the 1988 Bill Murray classic Scrooged for the movie's 30th anniversary! Featuring an all-star cast including Karen Allen, John Forsythe, Bobcat Goldthwait, Carol Kane, Robert Mitchum, and Alfre Woodard, the perennial holiday favorite is more uproarious and touching than ever. Each lucky winner will also receive an ornament that goes along perfectly with the film!
From the home release's synopsis...
"Frank Cross (Murray) is an uncaring, and unforgiving television executive whose live production of ‘A Christmas Carol’ is more important than any true meaning of Christmas. Before the night is over, he'll take a hilarious journey through his past and into the future to find redemption and put a little love in his heart.
We're giving away three Blu-ray copies of the Bill Murray classic Scrooged (along with a rare ornament) in time for the holidays!
Just in time for the holidays, we're giving away three Blu-ray copies of the 1988 Bill Murray classic Scrooged for the movie's 30th anniversary! Featuring an all-star cast including Karen Allen, John Forsythe, Bobcat Goldthwait, Carol Kane, Robert Mitchum, and Alfre Woodard, the perennial holiday favorite is more uproarious and touching than ever. Each lucky winner will also receive an ornament that goes along perfectly with the film!
From the home release's synopsis...
"Frank Cross (Murray) is an uncaring, and unforgiving television executive whose live production of ‘A Christmas Carol’ is more important than any true meaning of Christmas. Before the night is over, he'll take a hilarious journey through his past and into the future to find redemption and put a little love in his heart.
- 11/14/2018
- Den of Geek
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