Move over, Elf: These are NJ’s favorite anti-Christmas movies

It’s the time of year when we’re bombarded by holiday films. As great as they can be, after a few, you can almost get a phantom toothache from how sweet and sappy they can be. So why not break up your movie-watching with some darker choices?

Rather than a Merry Christmas, how about some Merry Mayhem?

Hosting Advice conducted a survey to discover what the most popular “anti-Christmas” movie choices are.

While some of them have a few Christmas elements, some are just flat-out horror movies for those who are really sick of the sappiness of the holidays.

Throw some of these in the rotation to keep a nice balance of ‘merry and bright’ and ‘scary and fright.’

Top ten anti-Christmas movies to watch this Holiday season

🔟 The Exorcist (1973)

9️⃣ The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

8️⃣ Psycho (1960)

7️⃣ Friday the 13th (1980)

6️⃣ Black Christmas (1974)

This is the first one that makes sense to me. Granted, it’s a slasher film, but we at least get some (albeit dark) Christmas imagery.

5️⃣ A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

You could argue Freddy Kruger was wearing the OG ugly Christmas sweater; his stripes are red and green, after all.

4️⃣ The Shining (1980)

This one is definitely about a family spending a cold winter together, but the Torrences aren’t very jolly.

3️⃣ The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

I can’t even grasp at straws to come up with a way to make this Christmas-y, but at least you’ll be watching a great film.

2️⃣ Krampus (2015)

While Saint Nick rewards good children with gifts, Krampus punishes naughty ones by beating them with a stick.

In the movie, a family fight around the holidays causes the youngest son to lose his Christmas spirit, which unleashes Krampus’s wrath. Maybe watch this one after the kids are in bed.

And the number one Anti-Christmas movie that New Jerseyans plan to watch this December is…

Gremlins (1984)

Not only does the movie take place during the holiday season, but the Mogwai is an early Christmas gift for Billy from his father. As cute as Gizmo is, though, this movie is not all warm and fuzzy; it goes to some dark places.

No spoilers, but I don’t have any kids who still believe in the big man watching during Phoebe Cates’ speech. From experience, I can tell you it will lead to a very awkward conversation.

Enjoy your movie bingeing!

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kylie Moore. Any opinions expressed are Kylie's own. You can follow Kylie on Instagram.
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