There are some interesting psychotronic icons born on Christmas. Two big ones are Rod Serling (1924-1975) and Dick Miller (1928-2019). Other notable birthdays: Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957), Irish McCalle (1928-2002), Mabel King (1932-1999), Rick Berman (1945-), and Sissy Spacek (1949-).
Christmas-day releases are common. As a result, there are a lot of psychotronic films released as well. I found these: Cat People (1942), The Comedy of Terrors (1963), Abby (1974), Altered States (1980), An American Werewolf in Paris (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998), The Faculty (1998), Galaxy Quest (1999), Catch Me If You Can (2002), Darkness (2004), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Wolf Creek (2005), Black Christmas (2006), The Spirit (2008), and The Darkest Hour (2011).
For today, I present some psychotronic Christmas films that you can watch now for free. I had to skip some (eg, Krampus) because I couldn’t find copies. These are in no particular order.
Family-Friendly Films
I consider all of the following psychotronic. But they are also family-friendly and much beloved. You will note that I do not include Frosty the Snowman. I didn’t care for it even as a child.
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: My favorite Christmas TV show. It is especially subversive in modern America where strict adherence to outdated norms is what much of the country demands. I grew up with Hermey and Yukon Cornelius as role models and it made me the shockingly odd guy I am today!
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas!: The narration by Karloff is such a brilliant choice. Also of note is June Foray voicing Cindy Lou Who.
- The Muppet Christmas Carol: Very possibly the best filmed version of this story!
- A Charlie Brown Christmas: The use of actual children for the voices is pretty rough. But overall, this is still pretty good. (Note: Apple TV+ has this pretty well locked down. I’ve provided a playlist that mostly cuts perfectly.)
- Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town: This was my favorite Christmas show when I was a kid. It holds up pretty well. And I love Keenan Wynn as the Winter Warlock.
- Klaus: This is the only recent Christmas film that I’ve connected with. It’s probably because it doesn’t stick too much to the modern conception of Santa. Also: JK Simmons has one of the best voices in all of film.
- “Night of the Meek“: The Christmas episode of The Twilight Zone starring Art Carney and John Fiedler. Sure to make you cry in a good way.
- “Night of the Meek“: Remake of the original in the 1985 reboot of the original series starring Richard Mulligan and William Atherton. It too is a real tear-jerker. Rockne S O’Bannon’s script works but it struggles with time constraints. It really deserves to be twice as long.
General Psychotronic Christmas Films
It would be so much easier to do Christmas horror films. I’m trying to mix things up. There are a lot more recent things but I just don’t keep up on that. These should keep you entertained!
- Christmas Evil: This is a wonderful film about a guy who really likes Christmas. He rewards the good ones and kills the rest. Lots of good gore — especially outside the church!
- The Long Kiss Goodnight: If I have to pick an action film, this will be the one. Another Renny Harlin film, Die Hard 2, would work almost as well. But I’d much rather spend two hours with Geena Davis than Bruce Willis.
- Black Christmas: The ultimate slasher film almost completely devoid of the typical tropes that developed following this film. It’s also an all around great horror film.
- Trading Places: This is a solid John Landis film. And it’s mostly pretty funny and ultimately incredibly sweet. It’s a rare role for Dan Aykroyd where I don’t want to die of cringe.
- The Nightmare Before Christmas: People debate whether this is a Halloween film. It isn’t. Watch it. It’s tons of fun. Doesn’t matter how much you watch it.
- Santa Jaws: This is the film for you if you absolutely must have a little Hallmark Christmas magic. It’s a good one to watch with your anti-horror family.
- Anna and the Apocalypse: This is an odd one for me. It’s unusual, and it works. I could do without the song and dance, but that is core to it. The gore is excellent, however. So if the normies in your life like Santa Jaws, you can show them this.
- The Curse of the Cat People: A classic Christmas horror film that I think is suitable for the whole family.
- Jack Frost: This comedy slasher is a whole lot of fun. I normally understand why people hate particular films, even if I disagree. In this case, I don’t know why people dislike this one.
- In Bruges: Not exactly Christmas but definitely Christmasy. It’s a great film that pushes the important moral principle that you shouldn’t necessarily kill all your enemies all the time.
- Santa Claus Conquers the Martians: This is delightful. And way better-made than its reputation would indicate. It has a strong story with wonderfully goofy production design.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Christmas Postcard via Missouri History Museum. It is in the public domain.