10 best Christmas movies without Santa Claus

Without Christmas movies and TV, the holiday season would be missed, not just by moviegoers, but by everyone who celebrates – the unwritten custom of getting together and watching something Christmas-themed the night before rounds out other traditions. While some people have a ritual of revisiting their favorite Christmas movie every year, others eagerly await the release of Christmas movies in 2024. From romantic comedies like Meet me next Christmasfor horror films like Terrifying 3Christmas has become the setting for all genres of cinema.

A common Christmas movie element is everyone’s favorite bearded man who flies off with his reindeer every year. Without Santa Claus, it wouldn’t be quite like Christmas. Well, not entirely. While there have been horror films featuring Santa Claus and occasional films with moral messages spread around Santa Claus, many films simply use the premise of Christmas tell stories that have little to do with the festival itself. Christmas has such a specific atmosphere in itself that it serves as the perfect setting for some action, drama or horror.

10

Happiest Season (2020)

Directed by Clea DuVall

Although it is considered one of the best Christmas movies for fans of romantic comedies, Happiest Season it’s mostly a weird drama with dry, witty comedy. Romance gets complicated, as most things do when families get together for Christmas. In Happiest SeasonKristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis play Abby and Harper, in a serious relationship. The film is premised on their trip to Harper’s house at Christmas, which Abby is excited about. There’s just one problem: Harper won’t reveal anything to her parents and needs Abby to pretend to be her straight friend.

While this is a great emotional hook for the drama that follows and also a necessary story because this happens in the real world more often than it should, it makes Happiest Season more of a drama than a romantic comedy. If anything, Happiest Season explores why such a family-centric festival might not be the happiest time for many people. Rom-com or not, it’s worth rewatching every Christmas, if only for the supporting stars Daniel Levy and Aubrey Plaza, who also play queer characters

9

Batman Returns (1992)

Directed by Tim Burton

Although horror films served as Batman Returns’ inspiration, is as much a Christmas movie as it is a Batman movie. The rest of the world may be on vacation, but the Caped Crusader can’t take time off for festivities. Set during Christmas, Batman Returns tells the origin stories of the Penguin and Catwoman, who team up on Christmas Day to trick Batman. Tim Burton masterfully uses the context of Christmas festivities to create a mix of camp and horror that provides the perfect gothic atmosphere in which the enigmatic villains feel anchored.

Despicable and tragic, Batman Returns is operatic in its exploration of themes of identity and loneliness. The psychology of its characters is the real plot as they develop while lost in the darkness of the city. The true miracle of Christmas is the perfect juxtaposition of themes with crazy emotions, like an army of penguins and Michelle Pfeiffer inexplicably surviving a gunshot.

8

True Love (2003)

Directed by Richard Curtis

True love will never leave Christmas watch lists just because of how iconic its cheesy moments have become. Opening a montage of Heathrow Airport, True love begins with a voiceover about how watching the display of love in airports can be an antidote to sadness, especially the sadness born of loneliness during the holiday season. True love tells nine different stories at once, all romantic adventures of people in London as they navigate the various dramatic courtships and family situations that arise during the holiday season.

The best part of True love It is perhaps that there is no restriction on the type of background of the people whose lives are portrayed. The toxicity of some of the romantic narratives should not be forgotten by the festive mood, and there are many harsh realities to face when rewatching. True love today. However, it explores all sorts of sources of tension between romantically involved people, from infidelity to financial difficulties to grief – this is about as varied as it gets, with a good balance between drama and romantic comedy tropes.

7

Tangerine (2015)

Directed by Sean Baker

Sean Baker tangerine is one of the most influential films of all time and changed LGBTQ cinema forever. Following two transgender sex workers and an Armenian man who is a frequent client of theirs tangerine is an ensemble drama that highlights how transphobia and fetishism make the holiday season just as difficult, if not more so, than regular days. It could be Christmas for everyone around them, but for the main characters there is no Christmas miracle. They will still be misunderstood, mistreated, and dismissed as “other.”

This direct focus on the trans experience, told with sympathy for marginalized people, is rare to find, even today. In 2015, it stood out for its lack of filters, painting a portrait of the characters’ struggles that culminates in a two-way discussion where the victims are inevitably the two trans sex workers. From explaining infidelity to abandoning a bar gig, the film carefully portrays some personalized experiences. tangerine it feels real, where trans characters are not empty representatives of collective trauma.

6

Black Christmas (1974)

Directed by Bob Clark

A classic slasher set in a sorority, Black Christmas follows a group of sorority sisters who are tormented by frightening calls from a stalker who sneakily kills one of them. After the death is discovered, the sisters naturally become more paranoid about the man’s presence and the police become involved. The influence of Black Christmas in John Carpenter Halloween it’s obviousas this slasher’s closed house structure, especially the second house when each person is eliminated one after the other, is an instantly recognizable genre staple.

Black Christmas It inspired two failed remakes, but the fact that it was remade is further proof of its cultural footprint. While it wasn’t a people’s favorite when it was released, it has since gained a cult following, becoming a traditional part of many horror fans’ Christmas watch lists like the original Christmas Wrecker. It also features one of the best final girls of all time, Olivia Hussey’s Jessica Bradford.

5

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

Directed by Shane Black

One of the many Shane Black films set during Christmas, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a unique blend of comedy and film noir, transported into the 21st century. Robert Downey Jr. plays a confused man who accidentally wins a film audition and is sent to Los Angeles, where he comes into contact with his childhood crush and a gay private investigator with questionable morals.

The usual traits of a film noir can be found in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which is why it stands out as a Christmas film. Not only is sunny Los Angeles a very bright setting for the dark themes the film explores, but Christmas is a very festive time for such a story. The contrast creates a funny, ironic narrative of depravity, filled with jokes that one might think twice about laughing at today.

4

Carol (2015)

Directed byTodd Haynes

Arguably responsible for making queer films more popular, Carol tells the story of two lesbians in the 1950s as they try to protect themselves from persecution while having an affair. Cate Blanchett plays the titular woman, an upper-class single mother who takes an interest in a toy store clerk and decides to pursue her romantically. The discovery that their relationship jeopardizes her case against her husband for custody of their son is the main conflict.

The melodramatic treatment of the themes in Carol It is perfectly complemented by the bright yet muted color palette that highlights the vibrancy of youth while acknowledging the drab monotony of a tiring closet existence. Using mirrors and window panes, Haynes creates liminal spaces where the protagonists can be completely themselves. Although it focuses on the characters’ struggles, Carolis one of the best modern Christmas films, and in the spirit of Christmas, it has moments of pure queer joy.

3

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

Directed by Frank Capra

Based on the short story “The Greatest Gift” by Philip Van Doren Stern, inspired by “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, Frank Capra’s It’s a wonderful life tells the story of a man who thinks about taking his own life until an angel shows him a version of the world in which he was not born. Using magical realism, the film shows how the man’s good deeds, which unfortunately got him through difficult times, made life better for everyone around him. It is often considered the most inspiring film of all time.

It’s a wonderful life is the height of Christmas-themed cinema, explore how Christmas is a day of reckoning with the past year, or sometimes your entire life, and finding moments of joy to be grateful for. It also features a literal Christmas miracle and embodies the optimistic sweetness that is the Christmas spirit. The storytelling style emphasizes the power of kindness and empathy in a cruel world, showing that man always chooses to do the right thing, and no matter how unfair his fate may seem, his good deeds have a positive impact.

2

Home Alone (1990)

Directed by Chris Columbus

One of the most beloved Christmas films in the world, Alone at home tells the story of little Kevin McCallister who is left behind at home when his family goes away for Christmas. He has the house to himself and does the craziest things, but he also responsibly protects his home from two notorious thieves, setting elaborate traps to trick them.

Macaulay Culkin is adorable in the lead role of Kevin as he walks around the house looking at people’s things, wanders around town, making friends and buying groceries, enjoying a luxuriously peaceful time away from the chaos of his family. He also causes multiple injuries to Harry and Marv, the burglars who attack his house. Alone at home is a compact film full of joy, transforming a frightening situation into a comical circumstance to instill joy in the hearts of spectators.

1

Die Hard (1988)

Directed by John McTiernan

Although the debate will always continue as to whether Die Hard counts as a Christmas movie, there’s no doubt that the film’s hero John McClane, played by Bruce Willis, certainly looks like a Christmas miracle to save the day. When his ex-wife’s company is under siege by terrorists, McClane, who is a police officer in another US city, decides to face them alone as local law enforcement agents and later the federal agents are incompetent to deal with the threat.

​​​​​​​The script balances action with emotion very well, and John’s loneliness in being the only person fighting the terrorists and his inner turmoil over his separation from his wife form the crux of his character development – most notably Alan Rickman as a suave German terrorist as an added bonus. Die Hard It’s an intense Christmas thriller that goes through action sequence after action sequence, as John deals alone with each of the terrorists, doing insane stunts like jumping from a roof with a fire hose on his waist to running over glass to escape bullets.