12 Alternative Movies We're Sick Of Hearing Are Set At Christmas

7. Gremlins

For a movie originally planned to market toys, Gremlins has some surprisingly anti-capitalist themes. Not only does a poor choice of gift nearly spell disaster when it multiplies into an army of destructive and potentially murderous gremlins but the original ends up being confiscated because its owner had treated it irresponsibly. The moral of the film could just as easily be "don't give live animals as Christmas presents," "read the damn instructions" or even "don't buy a furby." In fact I have to wonder if this film is part of the reason so many of my friends who owned furbies as children were convinced they were demonic. Gremlins has the dubious distinction of being one of two movies which prompted the creation of a PG-13 rating and was originally meant to be even darker, with the protagonist's dog and mother being killed by the gremlins and even sweet, innocent Gizmo turning evil with the others. Definitely not something to watch on Christmas morning while opening your presents. Steven Spielberg stepped in to tone all this down and make it more kid-friendly but it still remains surprisingly dark compared to the kind of kids movies you expect today. Even Shrek, which is usually touted as a family film for all the family (read: with jokes parents will get) seems tame by comparison.