9 Un-Orthodox Christmas Movies To Liven Up Your Holiday

3. Gremlins (1984)

I think it's safe to assume that everybody here (or almost everyone, anyway) has seen Gremlins at least once. It's one of those films that you can't get through childhood without watching. That's a good thing, because horror-comedies don't get much better than this Joe Dante-directed & Steven Spielberg-produced classic. One of the many things Gremlins gets right is that it wholeheartedly embraces its holiday setting. The fun begins when Rand Peltzer (Hoyt Axton) finds the perfect gift for his son, Billy (Zach Galligan). Deep in the heart of Chinatown, Rand comes across a furry, cute little animal known as a mogwai. The store's owner (Keye Luke) refuses to sell the animal, but the owner's grandson sneaks the mogwai out to Rand. The grandson informs Rand of three rules he must follow regarding the care of the creature: 1) don't get the creature wet; 2) don't expose him to bright light, especially sunlight; and 3) don't feed him after midnight. Rand agrees to the rules, names the mogwai Gizmo, and gives it to Billy, who almost immediately breaks all the rules. He exposes Gizmo to bright light about two seconds after receiving him. He spills water on him the next day, causing Gizmo to reproduce. None of Gizmo's offspring are well-behaved, especially the one with the white mohawk. Said offspring immediately trick Billy into feeding them after midnight. The late-night feeding results in the furry creatures becoming scaly, sharp-toothed creatures who start wreaking havoc on Billy's idyllic hometown of Kingston Falls. Billy joins Gizmo and his new girlfriend (Phoebe Cates) in an attempt to stop the creatures. The film immediately lets us know that we're in the midst of the Christmas season, as Rand informs us that he's on the search for a Christmas gift. The film's soundtrack also contains a large amount of Christmas songs. Most importantly, however, one of the most fondly remembered scenes in the film has a decisive Christmas theme. Said scene is the moment when Billy's girlfriend regales Billy and Gizmo with the morbid story of how her dad died while impersonating Santa Claus. The story comes out of nowhere and does nothing to advance the plot. However, that doesn't change the fact that the scene is one of the best Christmas scenes in any movie.