> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Five Offbeat Holiday Films to Keep It Weird This Christmas - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/five-offbeat-holiday-films-to-keep-it-weird-this-christmas/ - Published: 2023-12-20T21:49:24.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-24T15:12:48.000Z - Description: Stop-motion animation, the poetic story of a snowman, and other picks highlight the artistic potential of the classic genre. - Author: Sarah Rose Sharp - Tags: Film, Christmas, Lists, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-large, #Import 2025-11-24 09:29 (2023, 2024, part 1) It’s time for the most potent and divisive argument of the year: What movie should we watch this Christmas? Traditionalists might tune in for straightforward fare like *Miracle on 34th Street*; delusional romantics fire up the Hallmark Channel; and elder and younger Millennials debate *Home Alone* versus *Elf* while your spooky cousin demands *The Nightmare Before Christmas*. But this is all well-worn territory, and this December, maybe you’d like to get even further out of the box than usual. From a nostalgic children’s tale that treats holiday stories with an artistic touch to films that consider Christmas a fair setting for horror to a movie more existentially dreadful to watch than *Reindeer Games*, here are our offbeat picks of the genre to help spark memories — or family feuds — this season! --- #### Rankin/Bass's Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) + [The Year Without Santa Claus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5FYear%5FWithout%5Fa%5FSanta%5FClaus?ref=hyperallergic.com) (1974) First aired on NBC as part of the "General Electric Fantasy Hour," Rankin/Bass Productions's stop-motion animated *Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer* has been a mainstay of holiday viewing ever since. Generations of viewers love its anachronistic style and exploration of the titular character’s misfit-turned-perfect-fit story. It holds the title of [longest-running Christmas TV special](https://www.history.com/news/holiday-stop-motion-specials-facts?ref=hyperallergic.com) in the United States, and has spawned several iconic holiday franchises, including [*Frosty the Snowman*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064349/?ref%5F=tt%5Fmv%5Fclose&ref=hyperallergic.com) (1969) and a 2001 [*Island of Misfit Toys*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph%5Fthe%5FRed-Nosed%5FReindeer%5Fand%5Fthe%5FIsland%5Fof%5FMisfit%5FToys?ref=hyperallergic.com) sequel. Oh, *Rudolph* is too mainstream for you? No worries. The 1960s and ’70s were positively festooned with oddly animated Christmas television specials. Based on a 1956 Phyllis McGinley book of same, Rankin/Bass's [*The Year Without Santa Claus*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5FYear%5FWithout%5Fa%5FSanta%5FClaus?ref=hyperallergic.com) gives the “Wonderful Life” treatment to Santa himself (voiced by Mickey Rooney). With a plot more convoluted than *A Tale of Two Cities*, the main thing to know about this special is that, despite all manner of holiday hijinks, the Christmas spirit prevails. I mean, truly, when does it not? --- #### The Snowman (1982) Originally a 1978 illustrated children’s book by Raymond Briggs, the wordless story that follows the overnight relationship between a boy and a snowman-come-to-life was adapted as a [short film for television](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5FSnowman?ref=hyperallergic.com#:~:text=The%20Snowman%20is%20a%201982,Dianne%20Jackson%20for%20Channel%204.) in 1982\. Directed by Dianne Jackson, who previously worked withproducer John Coates on The Beatles’s *Yellow Submarine*, the short went on to be wildly successful, first in the United Kingdom and then worldwide. Its adaptation for American release featured a live introduction by David Bowie speaking as though he were a grown-up version of the boy in the film. Briggs, who [passed away last year at the age of 88](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/aug/10/snowman-author-raymond-briggs-dies-aged-88?ref=hyperallergic.com), has an impressive oeuvre of Christmas-related content, including *Father Christmas* (1991), *The Bear* (1998), and the 2012 sequel *The Snowman and the Snowdog*. Interestingly, the original *Snowman* narrative has nothing explicitly to do with Christmas, which makes it perfect for enjoyment and lively debate about its nature as a holiday movie. --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2023/12/gremlin1.jpg) Still from *Gremlins* (1984) (image courtesy Warner Bros.) #### Gremlins (1984) Let's face it, no one wants to be *that* bummed out while watching a Christmas movie. But [Christmas horror](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/christmas-horror-movies-ranked-worst-to-best/?ref=hyperallergic.com) is a legitimate genre in its own right, and no film nails the balance between campy jump scares and holiday hilarity better than *Gremlins*. Firmly establishing Christmas as the motif in an opening sequence that looks like the interior of a wholesome small-town snow globe, the movie soon descends into chaos as our protagonist Billy fails to follow the operating instructions on his Christmas gift, a *mogwai* named Gizmo. Gizmo soon replicates some evil friends, who transition quickly into the titular creatures and waste no time turning the scene from Norman Rockwell to Norman Rock*hell*. Best of all, the movie's [bar sequence](https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=BcWJaHZBEw0&ref=hyperallergic.com) highlights the particular plight of servers during the holidays, with the ineffable Phoebe Cates standing in for every beleaguered bartender putting up with the excesses of the season. Throw on [*Gremlins 2*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKX5IMoy-78&ref=hyperallergic.com) for New Year's Eve, and you've got a whole holiday theme going! --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2023/12/2.jpg) Mya Taylor in *Tangerine* (2015), a Magnolia Pictures release (photo courtesy Magnolia Pictures) #### Tangerine (2015) Set in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve and shot entirely on iPhone 5S, *Tangerine* premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2015 to a strong critical reception. The action mostly follows two trans sex workers, Sin-dee and Alexandria, the taxi driver who loves them, and the pimp-slash-boyfriend who cheats on them. Plumbing the depths of interpersonal betrayal and featuring drama set in strip clubs and donut shops, the movie also maintains a comedic vibe, even as characters smoke meth, street fight, form unlikely friendships, break up marriages, and experience anti-trans violence. For a fun holiday activity, innocently suggest this one and place side bets on when your MAGA uncle will lose his entire mind and leave the house (the over-under is two minutes). Merry Cine-mas! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2023/12/00309383.jpg) Still from *Gremlins* (1984) (image courtesy Warner Bros.)