And Violent Night and Better Watch are great! Hopefully will become modern Christmas horror classics. Those two and Krampus have been the best to come out in the last decade or so and Better Watch Out seems so under seen.
Agreed! Yeah, I think Better Watch Out was originally released with the not-so-great title “Safe Neighborhood” (in Australia?) so maybe that has something to do with why it seems so few people have seen it.
We debated the Die Hard topic this year by watching Home Alone followed by Die Hard. l say Die Hard is a Christmas movie because it's fun to have that opinion and I'm not a Christmassy person. I tried to argue that if Die Hard wasn't a Christmas movie, then Home Alone wasn't either, because it's just a caper, or a romp, or slapstick. But my youngest daughter pointed out that Home Alone has a Christmas wish in it, so it's 100% a Christmas movie. Die Hard has no Christmas wish, ask she argued Die Hard is not a Christmas movie. I think it's a pretty solid argument.
But one young woman I talked to a few years ago thought it IS a Christmas movie: "I mean, what could be more Christmas-y than sending a dead terrorist down an elevator with 'HO HO HO' written in red on his shirt?"
Yeah, you're right, but I still watch it every year at Christmas time! This year my 31-year-old daughter watched it for the first time with me .... on Christmas eve!
Okay - just subscribed…and this is the first article I’m reading. Literally just started *Die Hard* with my daughter. I say it *is* a Christmas movie, she says it isn’t.
I love your article! Happy I subscribed!
I just wanted to say…and I could be wrong, but by the criteria delineated in the article, it would appear that *It’s A Wonderful Life* isn’t a Christmas movie, either. Family movie? Yes! Christian overtones? All of them! But…Christmas is ancillary to the plot.
I’d say you’re correct about IAWL, it’s not a Christmas movie. I suspect the main reason people watch it around this time of year is because the holidays have a way of emphasizing feelings of loneliness, being unappreciated, depressed, etc and this story is an uplifting reminder of one’s self-worth. So then it becomes a “Christmas movie” for those people
Great article and agree 100%! It’s not a “Christmas centric” movie like White Christmas but it is a movie that has a Christmas time setting with decor, etc like say, Lethal Weapon, that people can nostalgically relate to as a seasonal movie. I’m guessing that one would fall under the point of your article as well. Like Hook to me is a “Christmas movie” and it probably has less Christmas in it than Die Hard.
Same with the Halloween season. Beetlejuice and The Monster Squad are total Halloween season movies without Halloween even in it.
Die Hard is a Christmas Movie because it is a Harry Potter movie.... Bruce Willis sneaking around a dark tower at night trying to hide from Alan Rickman.
And Violent Night and Better Watch are great! Hopefully will become modern Christmas horror classics. Those two and Krampus have been the best to come out in the last decade or so and Better Watch Out seems so under seen.
Agreed! Yeah, I think Better Watch Out was originally released with the not-so-great title “Safe Neighborhood” (in Australia?) so maybe that has something to do with why it seems so few people have seen it.
Krampus was fun.
Ahh..yeah, Better Watch Out is much better for sure. I didn’t know that but that makes sense.
As a person who is perpetually barefoot, this movie always makes me cringe because I know what's coming.
😆 Yes, and “what’s coming” is only slightly worse than stepping on a Lego
It's the unshod version of the "Would You Rather?" game.
We debated the Die Hard topic this year by watching Home Alone followed by Die Hard. l say Die Hard is a Christmas movie because it's fun to have that opinion and I'm not a Christmassy person. I tried to argue that if Die Hard wasn't a Christmas movie, then Home Alone wasn't either, because it's just a caper, or a romp, or slapstick. But my youngest daughter pointed out that Home Alone has a Christmas wish in it, so it's 100% a Christmas movie. Die Hard has no Christmas wish, ask she argued Die Hard is not a Christmas movie. I think it's a pretty solid argument.
She makes a great point! I would add that Home Alone was released during the holidays too (I saw it in the theater).
But one young woman I talked to a few years ago thought it IS a Christmas movie: "I mean, what could be more Christmas-y than sending a dead terrorist down an elevator with 'HO HO HO' written in red on his shirt?"
Yeah, you're right, but I still watch it every year at Christmas time! This year my 31-year-old daughter watched it for the first time with me .... on Christmas eve!
Okay - just subscribed…and this is the first article I’m reading. Literally just started *Die Hard* with my daughter. I say it *is* a Christmas movie, she says it isn’t.
I love your article! Happy I subscribed!
I just wanted to say…and I could be wrong, but by the criteria delineated in the article, it would appear that *It’s A Wonderful Life* isn’t a Christmas movie, either. Family movie? Yes! Christian overtones? All of them! But…Christmas is ancillary to the plot.
Thank you!
I’d say you’re correct about IAWL, it’s not a Christmas movie. I suspect the main reason people watch it around this time of year is because the holidays have a way of emphasizing feelings of loneliness, being unappreciated, depressed, etc and this story is an uplifting reminder of one’s self-worth. So then it becomes a “Christmas movie” for those people
Yes, and The Shining is a New Year’s Eve film. Family fun!
Right? 😆
I am absolutely going to throw down on this: https://tempo.substack.com/p/seasons-greetings
And throw down you did 😆
I do find it interesting that you liken what happens in the film to navigating Christmas with family, what an astute observation
they don’t broadcast xmas movies in July.
Great article and agree 100%! It’s not a “Christmas centric” movie like White Christmas but it is a movie that has a Christmas time setting with decor, etc like say, Lethal Weapon, that people can nostalgically relate to as a seasonal movie. I’m guessing that one would fall under the point of your article as well. Like Hook to me is a “Christmas movie” and it probably has less Christmas in it than Die Hard.
Same with the Halloween season. Beetlejuice and The Monster Squad are total Halloween season movies without Halloween even in it.
Thanks for tackling this important issue. DIE HARD is currently streaming on Tubi!
Die Hard is a Christmas Movie because it is a Harry Potter movie.... Bruce Willis sneaking around a dark tower at night trying to hide from Alan Rickman.
Of course it is. But it’s not as good as Lethal Weapon.