When Christmas turns strange: Unconventional films that break every holiday rule
Dark and unconventional Christmas films that defy festive clichés, from cult classics to arthouse holiday dramas and unexpected seasonal tales
Looking for something different to watch this Christmas? If your search history is filling up with phrases like “alternative Christmas movies,” “non-traditional holiday films,” or “Christmas movies for people who hate Christmas,” you’re not alone. Between endless rewatches of festive classics and the pressure to feel cosy on demand, the holidays can quickly start to feel creatively exhausting. Not everyone craves another sugar-coated Christmas film—especially after a year shaped by deadlines, burnout, and constant overstimulation.
In this article, alumna and graphic designer Constanza Coscia curates a sharp, unconventional list of Christmas films that actively reject festive clichés. These are movies that happen at Christmas rather than celebrate it: unsettling, absurd, beautifully strange, psychological, melancholic, and cult-worthy works by filmmakers such as Stanley Kubrick, Wong Kar-wai, Todd Haynes, Tim Burton, and Terry Gilliam. From arthouse heartbreakers and gothic fantasies to dystopian satires and anxiety-fuelled dramas, this selection is for those seeking dark Christmas movies, arthouse holiday films, or simply the best quirky watches for the festive season. No elves. No forced cheer.
Holiday Cinema Off the Beaten Track: Films That Subvert Festive Expectations
Ah, the holidays. Finally, a break from all the hard work: the long study sessions, the endless all-nighters spent perfecting that one project before finally turning it in. A time of rest, to let your mind switch off for a while. And what better way to tune out than by putting on a good ol’ Christmas movie?
The choice can be over. There are the usual greats—the ones every film buff with a Letterboxd account will recommend: Elf, It’s a Wonderful Life, A Charlie Brown Christmas… But sometimes, the cheesiness of these standards is a bit much, a little too on the nose. Don’t get me wrong—they’re classics for a reason, but you’ve seen them a million times. Sometimes, your brain craves something different, less saccharine—something refreshing and unconventional.
If you’re looking for something different to watch this holiday season, start with this list: a curated selection of films that don’t necessarily scream CHRISTMAS!, but instead use the season as a backdrop—or a jumping-off point—for unconventional storytelling.
Eyes Wide Shut: Stanley Kubrick’s Dark Christmas Film About Desire, Secrets, and Marital Collapse
Let’s be honest: when you watch Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, it’s easy to forget it’s set during Christmas time. Kubrick’s final film is a sharp departure from the warmth and sentimentality usually associated with the season. Affairs, underground cults, self-obsession, and romantic crises are hardly the themes you’d expect from a Christmas movie. Yet tinsel, lights, and decorated trees form a glittering backdrop as Tom Cruise drifts through a shadowy New York City, questioning the very nature of his marriage.
Here, Christmas feels hollow and ornamental—a perfect visual metaphor for a marriage unravelling under the weight of secrecy and desire. It’s festive, loud, and endlessly rewatchable—proof that holiday movies don’t need to be gentle to be essential.
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Die Hard: The Ultimate Alternative Christmas Movie for Action Lovers
Okay, okay. John McTiernan’s Die Hard isn’t exactly a deep cut anymore. By now, almost everyone—except the purists—counts it as a Christmas movie.
Released in 1988 as the first instalment of a saga, Die Hard follows John McClane (Bruce Willis) as he tries to reconcile with his ex-wife at her office’s Christmas Eve party—only for a group of villains to hijack the festivities. With its decorations, seasonal soundtrack, and undeniable festive energy, the film has become an undisputed holiday essential.
2046: Wong Kar-wai’s Unexpected Christmas Film About Time, Longing, and Lost Connections
Wong Kar-wai’s 2046, a loose sequel to In the Mood for Love, follows Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) as he continues to pine for Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung). The film also cuts to scenes set in the future, blending sci-fi with lived reality, as a series of Christmas Eves quietly mark the passage of time.
In 2046, Christmas becomes a gentle echo of time passing—of missed connections and memories that refuse to fade. If you’re in the mood for something melancholic, nostalgic, and visually stunning, this is the ultimate alternative holiday watch.
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Carol: A Stylish 1950s Christmas Romance That Defies Holiday Movie Conventions
1950s glamour, Cate Blanchett, and endless impeccable looks—what more could you want from a Christmas movie? Todd Haynes’s Carol has it all, perfect for anyone drawn to slow-burn, quietly devastating storytelling.
This unconventional Christmas film skips the usual holiday fanfare and instead centres on the illicit love affair between Carol (Blanchett) and a shopgirl in a Santa hat (Rooney Mara).
Spencer: A Christmas Psychological Drama Exploring Isolation, Pressure, and Royal Turmoil
If you’re drawn to psychological dramas, this is the pick for you. Pablo Larraín’s Spencer dives deep into Princess Diana’s (played by Kristen Stewart) psyche and her fractured inner world as she spends the holidays on a tension-filled visit to Sandringham, just after the British press breaks the story of her failing marriage to Prince Charles.
This non-traditional Christmas film explores the suffocating pressures Diana faces under the royal family’s gaze, and the near-surveillance state she endures. Kristen Stewart’s performance is raw and intimate, turning the season of togetherness into a haunting portrait of isolation.
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Batman Returns: Tim Burton’s Gothic Christmas Movie Set in a Frozen Gotham
While most people reach for Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas during the holidays, I’d point you instead toward his Batman Returns.
Tim Burton’s gothic fantasy unfolds in a freezing Gotham City, where Batman (Michael Keaton) faces off against the Penguin (Danny DeVito) and Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer). Christmas is everywhere in this film, but its warped take on the Dark Knight makes it the perfect unexpected seasonal watch.
Brazil: Terry Gilliam’s Cult Dystopian Christmas Movie About Consumerism and Absurdity
If you want something truly alternative, underground, and cult-worthy, watch Brazil, Terry Gilliam’s 1985 satirical masterpiece. Here, Christmas is just a backdrop for an exploration of rampant consumerism, terrorism, hyper-surveillance, and state capitalism.
Often described as Kafkaesque and absurdist, this quintessential Christmas film for people who hate Christmas blends sci-fi, noir, comedy, and fantasy into a singular vision. With standout performances by Jonathan Pryce and Robert De Niro, it is undoubtedly a must-watch this holiday season.
Constanza Coscia
Alumna, Professor and Editor, Milano