There is no shortage of Christmas movies. But many are forgettable and only considered saccharine entertainment for the moment. Every once in a while, a Christmas flick will come along that manages to come back each season as a “Holiday Classic.”
In the 1980s, there were several all-timers that were released, alongside a healthy dose of the aforementioned maudlin fare. Even if a Christmas movie is a contemporary success, the true test is how long it can stand the test of time and how ingrained it becomes as an annual holiday tradition.
Lost Its Spirit: Prancer (1989)
Strictly speaking, Prancer is one of the more classy and wholesome films to come out of the 80s Christmas haul. That being said, it has lost its place as a tradition of the season, likely due in part to the film’s slower pace and revisionist take on the Santa mythos.
In today’s holiday film landscape dominated by CGI spectacles and comedic blockbusters, Prancer has faded from the public consciousness, relegated to holiday fare for kids and fans of a more deliberately mature and nuanced tale.
Aged Well: Scrooged (1988)
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has been remade so many times, trying to keep count is a moot task. So it takes a lot for an adaption to remain relevant and stand out from the crowd. Luckily, Scrooged is the perfect modern twist on the literary classic that both respects and updates the narrative for a modern audience.
Bill Murray is a great choice for the film’s Scrooge, a cynical and deadpan TV executive who gets the spectral treatment that drives Dickens’ original. The film is funny and visually entertaining to boot and remains one of Murray’s best showings of the decade, despite initially lackluster reviews.
Lost Its Spirit: Rocky IV (1985)
Rocky IV is still a ton of fun to watch, but not for many of the same reasons that it was initially a big hit in the long-running boxing franchise. Though Christmas is not the central driving force in the film, it plays an important aesthetic role in the film’s final fight between Rocky Balboa and Ivan Drago.
Many feel that the film’s on-the-nose patriotism and Cold War commentary have aged like milk, while the endless montages and 80s-isms make the film little more than a good, cheesy piece of cornball entertainment with some thrilling boxing sequences.
Aged Well: Die Hard (1988)
Yes, Die Hard is a Christmas movie. Now that’s out of the way, it is also one of the very best action films of all time. Bruce Willis has never been better than his initial appearance as John Maclaine, an extremely clever and crafty cop who must rescue a building full of hostages from terrorists.
The film’s Christmas-themed sets and exterior shots add an extra chilly layer of brutality to the film’s sequences of violence, as Maclaine takes the threats out one at a time. The quintessential ‘macho Christmas movie for dudes who hate Christmas,’ Die Hard is more than just pointless machismo — it’s a meticulously crafted thrill ride.
Lost Its Spirit: Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
The more time that passes since the release of Silent Night, Deadly Night, the worse that many feel the film looks. Initially just another notch in the endless belt of 80s slasher films, Silent Night, Deadly Night managed to be remembered more than most because of its ridiculous core premise, a barrage of somehow worse sequels and it’s somewhat clever title.
While the film could’ve been enjoyed as a campy and goofy watch on its initial release, time’s passage has only revealed it to be a mean-spirited schlockfest.
Aged Well: Christmas Vacation (1989)
Every year, millions of people tune in to at least one showing of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. One of the more beloved entries in the popular Vacation franchise, Chevy Chase once again returned to his signature role as try-hard all-American family man, Clark Griswold.
Hilarious antics ensue as the Griswold extended family move-in to the small suburban home for the holidays. Chase is timelessly hysterical in this installment, but it is Randy Quaid’s reprisal of “Cousin Eddy” that truly steals the show. The film is rightfully now considered one of the most iconic films of the Christmas subgenre.
Lost Its Spirit: Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)
Initially a critical and financial failure, Santa Claus: The Movie has undergone a cult-classic type reevaluation in the years since it was released. Produced and shepherded by famed producer duo Alexander and Ilya Salkind, the film marked the last time the father and son collaborated on a production.
The film’s central goal is to tell Santa’s origin story, though a curious choice is made to include a parallel storyline where Dudley Moore plays an elf who decides to pursue his own toymaking career. Though many still love the film, many have forgotten it. Probably for the best.
Aged Well: Gremlins (1984)
One of the primary films that caused the MPAA to create the PG-13 rating, the Spielberg-produced Gremlins straddled the line between horror and family-friendly comedy better than almost any other film.
Gremlins tells the cautionary tale of a young man who receives a strange animal and a strict set of three rules for Christmas. When he breaks one of the rules, the animal mutates into the titular scourge of pests. The mixture of good old fashioned holiday fun with some genuinely thrilling and gross sequences makes it one of the best teen movies of the decade.
Lost Its Spirit: Babes In Toyland (1986)
This TV movie from 1986 manages to stick around thanks to the VHS, DVD, and streaming reissues and its famous cast that includes a young Drew Barrymore and Keanu Reeves.
Despite the cast and nostalgic appeal, many feel that the film has aged beyond poorly. Certain sequences involving the cronies of Richard Mulligan’s antagonist are so outrageously strange, they verge on surreal absurdism. Though a bare minimum amount of charm can be scraped from the initial entrance into Toyland, the rest of the film is best left in 1986.
Aged Well: A Christmas Story (1983)
The ultimate holiday movie underdog, A Christmas Story went from a little movie that came and went in 1983 to one of the most recognized and quoted holiday classics around. The story is centered around the universally relatable story of Ralphie, a precocious kid growing up in 1940s midwest America who is obsessed with getting a BB gun from Santa for Christmas.
The film’s strange and aphoristic style, along with the quirky screenplay, come together to create an extremely watchable film that feels infused with the nostalgia and fleeting melancholy of Christmas magic.
