The most recent episode of Honest Trailers dealt with the beloved Christmas movie Elf. And, while it struggled to land any decent hits on what has now become an immovable piece of beloved festive furniture, it did make a good point about the film’s central romantic relationship. Because, after all, Elf is the film where Zooey Deschanel falls in love with what is basically a toddler trapped inside an adult body. Viewed from that perspective, Elf is creepy as heck.

But then again, aren’t all Christmas movies fundamentally creepy? Here, with the barest minimum effort, I will expose some of your favourite Christmas movies for the monstrous nightmares they actually are.


Where to begin? There’s the bit where Liam Neeson tries to get over his dead wife by vicariously encouraging his son to violate several important post-9/11 airport security laws purely in the vain hope that a stranger will kiss him. There’s Hugh Grant’s prime minister, who abuses his status to pursue a romantic relationship with an employee. And, of course, there’s Andrew Lincoln; the man who orders his friend’s wives to be completely silent while he wordlessly recounts his sickest fantasies to them. It’s actually incredibly easy to imagine Louis CK playing every single male role written for Love, Actually.

In which a boy’s dead father is dragged back to Earth from the afterlife, taking the guise of a wisecracking, sentient, genital-obsessed snowman in a doomed bid to win back the affection of his grieving son. But as soon as the plan succeeds, the sun comes out and the man dies all over again, trapped in a never-ending hellcycle of death after death after death. Merry Christmas everyone! Your dead parents will never find the peace they’ve always longed for.

Home Alone

A tale of parental neglect, the effects of which manifest themselves in the sort of extreme dissociative violence that usually lands people in secure facilities. You sense that, straight after the credits ended, Macaulay Culkin went out into his garden to pull the legs off some kittens. Plus, if Old Man Marley isn’t a serial killer I’ll eat my hat.

A Muppet Christmas Carol

Here’s something nobody ever mentions when they talk about A Muppet Christmas Carol: why is Michael Caine the only human in the world? What happened to all the other humans? Did the Muppets kill them all? Is Caine their slave? Is he simply biding his time before he attacks the Muppets and inevitably wins, thanks to his giant size, massive teeth and comparative resistance to fire? This film is all of my nightmares come to life.

The Polar Express


Not exactly a creepy story per se, but you try spending a couple of hours watching Tom Hanks’ cold lifeless eyes float around unmoored on a succession of smooth, squidgy, objectively evil motion capture creations. It’s like watching the scene from Alien Resurrection where all the half-formed mutant Ripleys beg for death, but with more choo-choo trains. Monstrous.

Santa Claus: The Movie

Ostensibly, this is a Santa Claus origin film. However, when that thin gruel of a plot runs out of steam after about 10 seconds, we’re treated to a second act where Dudley Moore’s elf becomes ravaged by long-gestating daddy issues and attempts to force Santa into a miserable wilderness of irrelevance. This film is Shakespearean in its cruelty.

The Santa Clause


Incredibly The Santa Clause – in which a man harrowingly transforms into Santa against every last one of his wishes – was not an early David Cronenberg body horror film. Wonders will never cease.

The Family Man

Where successful businessman Nicolas Cage is sent to a parallel dimension to be learn the wholesome values of family life. You know who comes out worst here? Those poor children who suddenly have to have Nicolas Cage for a dad. Merry Christmas kids! Unwrap your present! It’s a dinosaur skull that your dad can’t really afford!

Meet Me in St Louis

The film that contains Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, which is less of a song and more of an unconvincing attempt to distract yourself from the unrelenting horrors of the world with tinsel. It fools nobody. Also, some of this film is set at Halloween, and Halloween is spooky.