If you're over the same old Christmas watchlist recommendations (yeah, we're looking at you, Deck the Halls), then this guide is for you.
The great debate over 'what makes a Christmas film?' ends much like an argument over 'what is art?' It means something different to everyone. That is the true meaning of art, film and, funnily enough, Christmas.
So our team is making an argument for a new Christmas watchlist. Ordered from the least controversial to the most. They might not be as wholesome as you would expect, and many are certainly not family-friendly, but each film recommended has the Spirit of Christmas buried somewhere deep down inside. Enjoy.
1. Edward Scissorhands
Admittedly, this film terrified me at a young age, but it has grown on me. Edward Scissorhands, in a strange way, is much like Shrek. Wait, just hear me out!
A recluse is brought into closer proximity with society and people, which he's long since avoided because he's... well, different. But unlike Shrek, this film doesn't have as much of a fairytale ending, leaving audiences feeling like it's more of a fable than a romance wrapped in a tidy box with a bow on top.
Tim Burton may not have given everyone the ending they wanted with Edward Scissorhands, but we can all take lessons away from it. If you need a stronger connection to Christmas, it may just be the origin story of where snow came from.
- Christie "Sleigh-em" Graham
Edward Scissorhands is streaming on Disney Plus.
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Creator: Tim Burton | Cast: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest
Language: English | Rating: PG
Genre: Fantasy
Available on: Disney Plus
2. Twilight
I enjoy the first Twilight film. So sue me. There is an individual in my immediate family who really enjoys the Twilight films, who is fully aware of the general consensus and problematic elements. They (who have requested anonymity) barely even watch Twilight when they put it on at Christmas. It's more like background noise or comfort food. A tool to get through the hectic holiday season.
Call it Stockholm Syndrome, or a sincere love for both Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart that blossomed long after the film series ended, the Twilight movies (specifically the first) have grown on me over the years. There's something about the foggy, rain-soaked surrounds of Forks in Fall that is quite inviting during the blistering heat of an Australian Christmas. And if you do manage to make it through the Twilight marathon, you'll be rewarded with extended Cullen Christmas scene in Breaking Dawn - Part 2.
Director: Catherine Hardwicke | Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Gil Birmingham, Edi Gathegi
Language: English | Rating: M
Genre: Fantasy-romance(?)
Available on: Stan
3. Knives Out
Knives Out might not be at the top of the list when you think of Christmas movies, but Rian Johnson's whodunnit has handily displaced Die Hard as my family's usual Christmas Eve film of choice over the past few years.
If you're unfamiliar, the original Knives Out is a modern twist on a classic detective mystery. In it, Daniel Craig takes on the role of the eccentric Benoit Blanc and is tasked with unravelling the suspicious circumstances surrounding the sudden death of a famed author.
Even if it's not strictly sold as a holiday season homicide thriller, the backdrop to this cozy crime caper is stuffed full of Christmas-adjacent imagery from the snowy backdrop to Chris Evan's knitted sweaters.
And although the circumstances may be a little more dire than the average Christmas movie, Knives Out is similarly concerned with the good, bad and the messy parts of being part of a family. Blanc's ability to solve the crime is less about understanding how the murder happened and more about pulling apart the family secrets and uncomfortable truths that connect everyone else to it.
Finally, Knives Out is a crowd-pleaser. When you're looking for a movie you can sit down and watch together, you want something you can all get some enjoyment from - whether it's the Grinch discovering the true meaning of Christmas or Hans Gruber falling to his death. Johnson's thriller provides plenty in that department. The performances are larger than life yet grounded by familiar family dynamics, and it's easy to find joy in watching Blanc through the motions of solving the central mystery and seeing the pieces come together.
More than just collecting clues and deducing the truth in a flashy denouement, Johnson's take on Sherlock Holmes or Poirot insight is largely built on empathy. While the path to the Knives Out finale doesn't come with any yuletide cheer, the sheer satisfaction that accompanies the film's final shot feels like nothing short of a Christmas miracle.
- Fergus Halliday
All three Knives Out films are streaming on Netflix.
Creator: Rian Johnson | Cast: Daniel Craig (and so many others)
Language: English | Rating: M
Genre: Murder Mystery
Available on: Netflix
4. Conclave
Thinking of Christmas, I see comfy red clothing on older gentlemen. I see a gathering of family, both chosen and extended. I feel a certain reverence from my own catholic guilt, while battling with the inherent greed that comes from the promise of gifts after a slog of a year. There is but one film that brings all these feelings together, in a glorious demonstration of festive spirit, and that is Conclave.
Think about it. The film revolves around a highly ritualised religious festival, where people tied together by tenuous familial bonds come together. Under the guise of servitude and sacrifice, we see that hidden beneath it is actually a lust for something more material. Isn’t that the true meaning of Christmas?
- Anula "Ah-yule-ah" Wiwatowska
Conclave is streaming on Amazon Prime Video in Australia.
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Creator: Edward Berger | Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Isabella Rossellini, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Carlos Diehz
Language: English | Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Available on: Amazon Prime Video
5. Lethal Weapon(s)
I'm embarrassed to admit I went three decades on this Earth without watching a single Lethal Weapon film. Embarrassed is definitely the right word because I truly didn't know what I was missing.
Sure, I'd watched Mel Gibson in Mad Max, Braveheart, and Daddy's Home 2 (look, another Christmas Movie), but his role as Martin Riggs, a loose-cannon cop starring alongside Danny Glover as Roger Murtaugh, makes for some hilarious 80s on-screen chemistry.
Plus, it's crazy to think Gibson was even considered for Bruce Willis' role as Die Hard's John McClane and vice versa, with Willis originally tipped to play Riggs! What a difference those Christmas movies would've had.
This buddy cop drama is definitely not suitable as a 'gather-round-children' family flick. But for the adults, the Lethal Weapon films (specifically 1 and 2, which both take place at Christmas) should be on everyone's watchlist if you're tired of the same cheesy Hallmark content being recycled each year.
- Christie "Sleigh-em" Graham
Lethal Weapon 1 & 2 are available to rent for $4.99 each.
Creator: Shane Black | Cast: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover
Language: English | Rating: M
Genre: Action
6. The Surfer
There aren't many movies that capture the ugly reality of the Australian Christmas experience: the oppressive heat, the flies, and the terrifying bogans for whom the Christmas party never seems to end. The Surfer captures the Australian Christmas spirit a little too accurately.
Nic Cage plays The Surfer, an Aussie expat who returns home to Western Australia after a long stint in America (long enough to lose his Aussie twang). For Christmas, he wants to surprise his son, The Kid (Finn Little), by purchasing the idyllic beachside home he grew up in. Hoping to mark the occasion with a surf, the locals quickly and violently reject The Surfer, a rowdy gang of surfers multiple days into their own drug and beer-fuelled Christmas celebration. When The Surfer refuses the gang leader's (the late, great Julian McMahon) suggestion to turn around and never come back, the torment truly begins.
It's kind of like a modern-day Wake in Fright. It's uncomfortable, unnerving and often laugh-out-loud funny.
- Brodie "Foggnog" Fogg
Director: Lorcan Finnegan Berger | Cast: Nicolas Cage Julian McMahon, Finn Little, Justin Rosniak, Miranda Tapsellm, Nicholas Cassim
Language: English | Rating: MA15+
Genre: Thriller
Available on: Stan
7. Midsommar
Even though Christmas is usually tied to Yuletide, for us Down Under the festival actually falls around the Summer Solstice. Yule is all about the returning of the light after the longest night in Winter has finished, while the Summer Solstice celebrates new growth and the splendour of the summer.
What better way to really delve into the rituals of the Summer Solstice than with a rewatch of the dark, but cinematically bright Midsommar?
- Anula "Ah-yule-ah" Wiwatowska
Creator: Ari Aster | Cast: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Will Poulter
Language: English (with some untranslated Swedish) | Rating: R18+
Genre: Horror
Available on: Stan, SBS On-Demand
More streaming deals
Looking for something to stream tonight but don't want to pay full price? We've rounded up the best deals from Australia's major streaming services.
- Apple TV Plus deals: Get 30% off
- Binge deals: Stream Binge from less than $7 per month
- Disney Plus deals: Get 12 months for the price of 10
- Foxtel packages and deals: Save up to $55 per month
- HBO Max deals: Free HBO Max with Foxtel
- Kayo deals: 50% off Kayo Premium for six months with Optus SubHub
- Netflix deals: Free Netflix with Foxtel
- Paramount Plus deals: Save over $40 per year
- Prime Video deals: Score a 30-day free trial
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Christie Graham
Digital Content Editor
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