10 Best Alternative Christmas Movies

8. Reindeer Games

On a lower quality but equally appropriate note, we come to Reindeer Games, also known as Deception in other territories. Presumably producers didn't think the festive song reference credible enough to make this thriller fly like Santa's sleigh at the multiplex. A shame, as the Christmas branding was kind of the point. A fledgling Ben Affleck and Charlize Theron starred as an ex-con and his prison penpal who get mixed up in a casino robbery at the most wonderful time of the year.

Veteran director John Frankenheimer presided over the mayhem. Nowadays Affleck is a respected actor/director and upcoming Bruce Wayne, and no-one remembers this early entry. Yet the filmmakers have to be recognized for riding a cinematic gambit, with a premise so potentially ripe for big screen suicide.

Contributor
Contributor

I am a journalist and comedian who enjoys American movies of the 70s, Amicus horror compendiums, Doctor Who, Twin Peaks, Naomi Watts and sitting down. My short fiction has been published as part of the Iris Wildthyme range from Obverse Books.