It’s the most wonderful time of the year — the time when every streaming service releases what feels like an endless list of holiday films that may or may not be the worst films you’ve ever seen. This year, we’re taking the pain out of your holiday viewing and telling you which ones are actually a gift.
Happiest Season (2020)
In Aotearoa, we’re lucky to be able to catch this one in cinemas at the moment while the rest of the world watches it via stream. It’s a fairly stock-standard Christmas film full of joy and family dramas. It follows a lesbian couple, one of whom has not yet ‘come out’ to her family, through the holiday season. It’s warm, funny, and (spoiler alert) it has a happy ending — something still unfortunately rare in the queer film canon.
Jingle Jangle (2020)
You may have missed this one being released on Netflix. It managed to slide into the menu with very little fanfare, which is disappointing because this film deserves celebration! It’s a wholesome watch for the whole whānau (or at least everyone in the whānau that appreciates a musical film). It contains some super catchy new Christmas tunes and visual and costuming magic.
Klaus (2019)
Klaus was released last year and was a bit of a revelation. This animated feature gives a slightly different backstory to Santa Claus as we know him. It’s sad, it’s sweet, it may nearly certainly bring you to tears of joy and despair. It will also nearly certainly be the only time we get to see (or at least hear) J.K. Simmons play Santa. This too can be found on Netflix (perhaps a new haven for ‘actually good Christmas movies’?
Better Watch Out (2017)
For something a little bit different to your standard Christmas fare, Better Watch Out is worth checking out. Think ‘the babysitter's home alone’ thriller crossed with, well … The Santa Clause. As well as featuring some haunting uses of Christmas carols, this film has an underlying commentary on toxic masculinity that might just be what you need after your big family Christmas dinner.