The anti-Christmas movies you’ll want to watch again and again

We'd take these festive flicks any day over the boring Christmas classics. 🎄🙅‍♀️

If the thought of watching Elf or Love Actually again this year makes you want to sneak behind the Christmas tree for a nap, read on... 

Here’s a hand-picked selection of some very alternative festive viewing.

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Despite it snowing outside, John McClane gets pretty hot and bothered fighting terrorists. Source: IMDb

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Die Hard

Bruce Willis is the OG of action heroes and he never lets us down as NYC cop John McClane.

In the first movie of the popular franchise, John is celebrating Christmas Eve with his ex-wife and kids at a party in an office tower when terrorists take everyone as hostages.

The deadly cat and mouse game on the backdrop of snow and tinsel is all we could possibly want.

Rent

This 2005 adaptation of the multi-award-winning musical is about a group of creative friends struggling to survive in New York City.

It’s not hugely festive, but it starts on Christmas Eve and finishes on Christmas day one year later, so it’s covered the bases and worth a watch.

When your job won't pay the rent, sing about it. Source: IMDb

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Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Robert Downey Jr. stars as a thief (who steals a present for his kid) pretending to be an actor who gets paired up with a private eye to “help him with his role” in a hardboiled crime story turned comedy of errors. It’s brutal, bloody, painfully funny, and will make you think twice about where you put your fingers.

Bad Santa

Bad Santa is the story of Billy Bob Thornton, a hard-drinking, foul-mouthed mall Santa by day and mall thief by night.

It’s also a mildly heartwarming story about a drunken degenerate helping a bullied boy find the confidence he needs to kick his tormentors square in the nuts and ride off on his bike.

It’s rude, it’s raunchy, and it’s the most fun you can have while still technically watching a Christmas movie.

Billy Bob Thornton sure needs some work on his Santa etiquette. Source: IMDb

Batman Returns

Yes, this one takes place at Christmas, just in case you never noticed before. Michael Keaton kills it as Batman every which way you look at it, and the bonus of Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman teaming up to fight the evil enemy, Penguin (Danny De Vito) rounds off the perfect retro viewing experience.

Harry Potter

Did you know there’s a Christmas scene in every Harry Potter film?  In the first movie, Harry chooses to stay at Hogwarts so he doesn’t have to spend it with his adopted family, the Dursleys, who are so cheap they give him 50 pence (AU$1) as a gift.

His first real present is a wooden flute from Hagrid - which comes in handy when he has to battle the giant three-headed dog. The Weasleys trying on their ‘creative’ wooley garments from Mrs Weasley are scenes we never get enough of too.

Those Hogwarts kids go crazy at Christmas...with a game of chess. Source: IMDb

Gremlins

You won’t be able to think about Christmas Eve shopping the same again after watching this gruesome tale.

When a salesman goes out looking for a gift for his son with hours to spare, a reluctant shopkeeper sells him a ‘mogwai’ - and warns him to never expose it to bright light, water, or feed it after midnight.

Yeah, he ends up regretting that purchase big time.

No matter how old we get, we still watch Gremlins with hands closely guarding our eyes. Source: IMDb

A Christmas Prince

This romantic comedy is served with extra cheese - but it’s worth it, trust us. It centres around an unlucky-in-love journalist who goes on an undercover assignment to Aldovia (don’t bother looking it up, it doesn’t exist) and ends up falling for the prince she’s meant to get the dirt on.

Many reviewers have called this straight out ‘bad’, but the sequel is out this week, so it must be doing something right.

Edward Scissorhands

Back when Johnny Depp was odd - but in a cool, creative kinda way - we fell in love with him as Edward, a gentle animated human created by a scientist. His hands weren’t done before the scientist died, so the scissors were his next best option.

So what’s the Yuletide link?

It’s actually based on a grandmother telling her grandchild a story about why it always snows on Christmas. And of course, it’s all about peace, love and acceptance.

Originally published as The anti-Christmas movies you’ll want to watch again and again