Thanksgiving has come and gone, but there’s still Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s Eve to come at the end of the month. Celebrate the imminent end of this terrible year with these 10 holiday-themed movies you might not have seen.
Though not a Christmas movie in the strictest sense of the term, Douglas Sirk’s benchmark melodrama “All That Heaven Allows” is marked by one of the most devastating scenes ever to take place during this most joyous of holidays.
Don Bluth’s animated fare of the 1980s and ’90s tends to be forgotten about in these Pixar-dominated days, but his filmography is home to more than a few underseen standouts. In this one, which begins with the mouse Fievel receiving his signature blue hat as a Hanukkah present, he and his family emigrate to America to escape the feline oppression of Europe.
The main question raised by “Black Christmas”: Why aren’t there more slashers set during Christmastime? Bob Clark’s film is made even better by the knowledge that he also directed “A Christmas Story,” a considerably more wholesome entry in the holiday canon. (Amazon/Shudder)
As much a war movie as it is a Christmas movie, Peter Godfrey’s film opened a mere three days before World War II ended with Japan’s unconditional surrender. It’s ultimately a romantic comedy, however, with Barbara Stanwyck’s Elizabeth Lane finding love just in time for Christmas.
“A Christmas Tale”
You’ve seen the gifs and videos of Nic Cage freaking out, but have you seen one of his most soulful, unironic performances? Here he stars as a millionare playboy from New York who gets a glimpse of what his life could have been — a familiar setup that leads to genuine emotional stakes.
Ang Lee has twice won the Academy Award for Best Director, but neither trophy was for his best film. This Thanksgiving-set drama begins as a portrait of a dysfunctional family and grows outward from there; it also introduced many to the concept of a key party.
Forget about a lump of coal — if you’re really bad, Santa’s evil counterpart will come and get you. A perverse joy from last year’s holiday season, “Krampus” makes for sinister counter-programming for anyone tired of mistletoe and egg nog. (Amazon/Cinemax)
Abel Ferrara’s work — “King of New York,” “Bad Lieutenant,” “The Funeral” and several other essential films — doesn’t evince the most cheerful worldview. This one, which stars Drea de Matteo and Ice-T, is no exception: It turns on a kidnapping that must be resolved before Christmas lest the captor face the consequences.
This highlight of the Romanian New Wave is another relationship drama contrasting the spirit of the holidays with the withering of a marriage. Crăciun fericit, folks.