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- 2022 has seen an abundance of new Christmas movies, more than any recent year in memory, whether it's the Hallmark-like holiday flicks or legacy sequels like A Christmas Story Christmas. However, one movie has taken everybody by surprise, which is the John Wick-influenced action movie, Violent Night. The new film is an absolute hard R, as it sees Santa literally gouging out people's eyes with tree lights. And for fans looking for more of that festive violence, these films are more than satisfying.
Everyone loves Elf and Home Alone, but these Christmas classics can often be overplayed around the holiday season. The overwhelming wholesomeness of these movies might also make viewers crave something a little more thrilling, fast-paced, and violent.
The backdrop of Christmas has been used by many filmmakers to highlight some truly absurd and violent narratives. Whether it’s two private investigators trying to get to the bottom of the murder of a porn star, a married couple being stalked by a cult, or some high schoolers simply trying to score drugs for a party, there are so many intriguing Christmas movies best watched when the kids are asleep.
UPDATE: 2022/12/24 08:20 EST BY STEPHEN BARKER
2022 has seen an abundance of new Christmas movies, more than any recent year in memory, whether it's the Hallmark-like holiday flicks or legacy sequels like A Christmas Story Christmas. However, one movie has taken everybody by surprise, which is the John Wick-influenced action movie, Violent Night. The new film is an absolute hard R, as it sees Santa literally gouging out people's eyes with tree lights. And for fans looking for more of that festive violence, these films are more than satisfying.
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (2011)
Available To Stream On HBO Max
The Harold & Kumar franchise is surprisingly great at jumping between genres whilst still maintaining its trademark vulgar comedy. The first film is a road trip movie, the sequel is a heist flick, and perhaps most shockingly of all, the threequel is a Christmas movie.
The festive film is more outrageous than any that came before it, and it's the most offensive and violent too, which is saying something coming from the series that includes a film set in Guantanamo Bay. The 3D release actually used 3D more impressively than all the films that were converted to 3D in post-production at the time too. While the series is generally mean-spirited, the 2011 flick is still full of Christmas Cheer, even if Neil Patrick Harris does murder Santa.
Die Hard 2 (1990)
Available To Stream On Starz
Die Hard 2 doesn’t get enough recognition, as the third entry in the franchise is what everyone tends to talk about after the original. However, the second movie in the series is still great even if it does basically the same concept as the original film. The 1990 movie is simply based in an airport instead of a skyscraper, but there's still a lot to love.
The "coincidence" of the attack that just so happens to take place where John McClain happens to be, which is again at Christmastime, is hilarious, but it’s just as much of a thrill ride as the first.
Office Christmas Party (2016)
Available To Stream On Fubo
Though few film critics would call A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas an influential movie, it certainly paved the way for many other 2010s R-rated Christmas comedies, which hadn't previously been popular. One of the 2011 movie's offspring is Office Christmas Party, which again sees a group of slackers simply trying to have the wildest party possible, only everything keeps going totally wrong.
The film isn't going to challenge viewers, the action isn't going to blow audiences' minds, and a few of the jokes might be pulled from other, better movies, but the bombastic and ridiculous sequences are so entertaining and fun. And the characters feel like the type of employees that everyone who works in the office knows... and hates.
Happiest Season (2020)
Available To Stream On Hulu
Happiest Season can totally be watched with kids in the room, but its comedy and jokes are a lot more mature, and it covers much more mature themes compared to other Christmas romcoms. The movie follows a woman who brings her girlfriend to visit her family over the holiday season, only her family doesn't know that she's a lesbian.
The film is one of the most inventive Christmas movies and one of the few major LGBTQ+ holiday films. And though the recently released Predator prequel Prey might have taken the spotlight recently, Happiest Season is one of the best Hulu movies.
The Night Before (2015)
Available To Stream On Fubo
The Night Before is an R-rated holiday comedy that's led by Seth Rogen, and the movie sees him even more unfiltered than in classic movies like The Pineapple Express and Superbad.
Three best friends reunite on Christmas Eve in an attempt to find the greatest party in New York possible, and it unsurprisingly leads to wild partying and a ton of cameos. With supporting work from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anthony Mackie, it's a star-studded affair with plenty of shock value.
Lethal Weapon (1987)
Available To Rent On Apple TV
Lethal Weapon is the first of many Shane Black-written movies based around the holidays, as the celebrated screenwriter, who often focuses on buddy-cop crime capers, has clearly had a penchant for the season ever since the mid-80s. And the season isn't just a backdrop to the action movie, as Christmas is what makes Riggs lonelier.
But it isn't all depressing, as Riggs and Murtaugh have the best friendship found in a buddy-cop flick. Though it’s one of the 80s action movies that critics thought was average upon release, Lethal Weapon has since gone on to become a classic, and the unlikely bond between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover is what makes it one of the best R-rated Christmas movies ever.
The Nice Guys (2016)
Available To Stream On Netflix
As another Shane Black movie, Nice Guys is often looked at as a spiritual successor to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Just like the 2006 film, The Nice Guys follows two private detectives (Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe) who hate each other but are forced to work together to uncover a murder.
The movie is based in the 70s and features all the expected Shane Black tropes, and that includes being set during the holidays. The movie's plot isn't exactly driven by Christmas-related events, but the detectives' different feelings toward the season tell audiences a lot about their characters. The movie wasn’t so popular upon release, but it has since gained a huge cult following, and fans want to see The Nice Guys 2.
Bad Santa (2003)
Available To Stream On Fubo
Bad Santa is every nihilist’s favorite Christmas movie, as it follows a clinically depressed mall Santa who is an angry alcoholic (Billy Bob Thornton) and often takes his anger out on the children who sit on his lap. Thornton is perfectly cast as a conman Santa, he plans to rob a convenience store on Christmas Eve until a spanner is thrown in the works, and it’s one of the best and darkest comedies of the past 20 years.
While there are tons of Christmas movies about evil Santas, Thornton's depiction is totally unique. Unfortunately, while the 2003 movie is looked at as a cult classic, its legacy sequel didn't quite have the same effect, as Bad Santa 2 was bitterly disappointing for fans of the original.
Go (1999)
Available To Stream On Showtime
Go features several intertwining narratives, loads of pop culture references, and handfuls of drugs and violence, and it’s one of the many 90s movies that was clearly influenced by Pulp Fiction. Though the film might seem like a knock-off of the 1994 classic, it’s actually one of the few that stands on its own as a great movie.
Go follows groups of teenagers working dead-end jobs simply trying to get their hands on some pills for their days off. And it’s all based around Christmastime, though viewers might not be able to tell given that it's set in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
In Bruges (2008)
Available To Rent On Apple TV
Considering that the film opens with a hitman accidentally murdering a choir boy in a church, it’s easy to forget that In Bruges is a Christmas movie. However, when Ray (Colin Farrell) and his pal Ken (Brendan Gleeson) hide out in the titular city, the movie unravels itself as one of the strangest but greatest comedy dramas of the 21st century, even if it doesn't exactly fill viewers with Christmas spirit.
The film has become one of the most acclaimed of the 2000s and Farrell and Gleeson have become an iconic on-screen movie duo. That's especially the case with the recently released The Banshees of Inisherin, which is similarly dark with themes of friendship and mortality too.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Available To Stream On Fubo
No other director loves Christmas more than Shane Black, as not only did he write Lethal Weapon and write and direct The Nice Guys, but also the 2006 movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which seemingly flies under everybody’s radar. Not only is it one of the greatest R-rated Christmas movies, but it’s also one of the best 2000s crime movies.
The movie follows Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey Jr.) getting caught up in a web of murder and lies as he falls deeper into the criminal underbelly of L.A. And as is the case with most of Black's movies, it features a great and unlikely on-screen pairing, as Downey and Val Kilmer have a hilarious odd couple-like relationship.
Batman Returns (1992)
Available To Stream On HBO Max
Though Batman Returns is one of the Tim Burton movies that screams Halloween, the movie also oozes Christmas, with a snowy Gotham City backdrop and the ice-cold villain, the Penguin. Along with Nightmare Before Christmas and Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns completes Burton's dark Christmas trilogy, and it's the best of them all.
Though it’s a superhero movie, the film is notoriously dark and completely unsuitable for children, as it sees Batman literally setting people on fire and electrocuting others. The Caped Crusader breaks his only rule countless times in the 1992 release, and the maniacal Penguin literally bites an unsuspecting Gotham civilian's nose off.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Available To Stream On Netflix
Being the final movie directed by Stanley Kubrick before his passing, Eyes Wide Shut is an incredibly morbid thriller that explores cults, the breakdown of relationships, human trafficking, and many other emotionally exhausting themes. And it's all set during the most joyous time of the year.
Despite its depressing themes and meandering pacing that many critics have complained about, it’s a great movie that requires patience, and viewers will be rewarded with a shocking ending. The film is unlike anything Kubrick ever directed for better and for worse, and it’s even one of Martin Scorsese’s favorite movies of the 90s.
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
Available To Stream On Fubo
Another Shane Black-written 90s action movie means another Christmas setting, and The Long Kiss Goodnight is that movie. However, of all the films of the era written by black, the 1996 release is completely overlooked and doesn't get the credit it deserves.
The movie follows a schoolteacher (Geena Davis) with amnesia who attempts to find out who she really is. Christmas doesn't have all that much of an impact on the movie and is more of a backdrop than anything, but its snowy setting makes for a great aesthetic, which is enough to make it one of the best Christmas movies of the 1990s. And Davis makes for one of the most badass female action heroes.
Die Hard (1988)
Available To Stream On Starz
People have been arguing about whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie for a long time, but regardless of how you feel about it, it's set during Christmas and follows an average New York cop visiting his wife in L.A. for the holidays.
If that isn't evidence enough that it's a Christmas movie, John McClane writes "Ho Ho Ho" on a dead man's sweater, and there's not much more festive than that. Nothing screams "Christmas spirit" more than that... that is until a group of terrorists break into the building and hold everyone hostage, leading to one of the most exciting games of cat and mouse ever.