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Hallmark has a trademark formula for its TV movies: family, friends, romance, and a little drama mixed in there for good measure. While viewers know what they are getting into when diving into a Hallmark movie, it doesn’t mean they’re all worth watching. In fact, some of the films in Hallmark’s catalog are best left with audiences never pressing the play button.
Between horrible plots, bad acting, and questionable props, such as fake flowers in a greenhouse, there are some downright unwatchable Hallmark movies out there. From the strange premise of Oliver’s Ghost to the questionable forced proximity of two families seen in the movie The Cabin, Hallmark has missed the mark on some of their projects. Take a look because viewers are going to want to make sure they skip over these Hallmark movies.
10 ‘Campfire Christmas’ (2022)
Directed by David I. Strasser
Unhappy with her work life and learning that her parents are going to sell their summer camp, Camp Evergreen, a place she practically grew up at, Peyton (Tori Anderson) is having a long year. Thankfully, her parents want to have one last celebration, namely their summer tradition of Christmas in July. Through a series of flashbacks, viewers watch Peyton and her friends play games, participate in a pageant, and even fall in love. Fast-forward to the present day, and they’re all back at camp, wanting to reconnect and have one last summer together. Of course, there are old flames still burning, romances are rekindled, misunderstandings occur, and a snowball fight consisting of freezer ice means no one is safe. This movie would definitely not be categorized as one of the best movies about camping.
While it does bring together themes of family and friends, this Hallmark movie is so full of cliches that it is difficult to stay invested in the movie. The fake laughter and misunderstandings between campers from years ago make it cringe to watch, especially since the characters are all adults who are acting on their past childhood drama with one another. Campfire Christmas is definitely a movie people can skip.
9 'A Cheerful Christmas’ (2019)
Directed by Marita Grabiak
Image via Hallmark
Holiday planners Lauren (Erica Deustchman) and her friend Colleen (Tianna Nori) land their dream job, helping a royal family, the Andersons. Excited about the opportunity, the two women promise to throw the best holiday celebrations ever. Well, be careful what you wish for because the job is easier said than done when the two women realize the eldest Anderson son, James (Chad Connell), wants nothing to do with either of them or their plans. Cue the “I can fix him” trope, and Lauren makes it her mission to get James into the Christmas spirit and, obviously, winds up falling in love with him.
Hallmark is no stranger to the royal love story plotlines. In fact, they tend to do them fairly well, but A Cheerful Christmas is not one of those instances. While it did have tropes people are used to with royal holiday movies, like a prince who doesn’t want to celebrate, this particular film just didn’t have any attention-grabbing aspects, lacking the character chemistry other films have, missing the romance mark, and becoming one of those unwatchable Christmas movies in the Hallmark catalog.
A Cheerful Christmas
Release Date December 15, 2019
Director Marita Grabiak
Cast Erica Deutschman , Chad Connell , Tianna Nori , Michael Dickson , Chris Violette , Karen Waddell , Samantha Madely , Jennifer Vallance , Richard Nash , Ron Kologie
Runtime 83 Minutes
8 ‘Santa Switch’ (2013)
Directed by Dave Cass
Image via Hallmark
A workaholic who doesn’t have time for his family, Dan (Ethan Erickson) soon realizes he’s about to lose his job, wife, and children in one fell swoop. And during the holidays! Of course, it is the exact time Kris Kringle (Donovan Scott) decides to take a vacation. Who better to take over his Christmas responsibilities than a soon-to-be unemployed Dan? Now, with the help of Eddie (Sean Astin), Dan learns what it takes to be Santa, all while trying to win his wife and children back and hope they don’t leave for good.
A plot all too similar to Tim Allen’s The Santa Clause, Hallmark took the concept of a civilian donning the iconic red suit and, somehow, made it boring. While Allen’s character is at least funny, Dan is broody and has zero redeeming qualities about him. An unoriginal concept made boring by bad dialogue and acting, Santa Switch is definitely one of the more unwatchable movies Hallmark has created.
Santa Switch
Release Date December 7, 2013
Director David Cass Jr.
Runtime 83 Minutes
Main Genre Comedy
Watch Now On Amazon Prime Video
7 ‘Never Been Chris’d’ (2023)
Directed by Jeff Beesley
Image via Hallmark
What is Christmas without a little love triangle and drama between friends? In the case of the holiday TV movie Never Been Chris’d, it all comes down to Naomi (Janel Parrish) and Liz (Pascal Lamothe-Kipnes), two best friends who come home for the holidays. While they are home, each woman starts hanging out with their mutual high school crush, Chris (Tyler Hynes). Now, it is all about the two girls fighting, a love triangle trope that feels very forced, and a narrative that could have been fleshed out a whole lot more.
The chemistry between castmates isn’t there, which is a horrible fact, considering this Hallmark movie is all about the romance between these three people and a friendship that is supposed to be decades old. The movie is full of overused tropes and themes that could have been expanded on instead of staying at a boring surface level with poor execution. All in all, Never Been Chris’d is a Hallmark movie that is cringy, unwatchable and doesn’t need to be on any to-see lists.
Never Been Chris'd
Release Date November 4, 2023
6 ‘Jingle Bell Bride’ (2020)
Directed by Allan Harmon
Image via Hallmark
Wedding planner Jessica (Julie Gonzalo) is tasked with getting rare jingle bell flowers for the bride she is working for, Renee (Donna Benedicto). Of course, these flowers are in Alaska; go figure. Being the dedicated planner that she is, Jessica actually flies to Alaska to find these flowers for the wedding. There, she meets Matt (Ronnie Rowe), pretty much the only bachelor in town and a guy who decides to help her find these flowers. There is a weird greenhouse with obviously fake plastic flowers, a snowstorm that the local guy doesn’t know how to drive in somehow, and pretty much no intensity as the two leads fall in love.
Jingle Bell Bride is a very unrealistic film showcasing the expectations of an irrational bride who has her wedding planner traveling across state lines in a small four-seater jet in order to acquire flowers. While Hallmark isn’t really known for its realistic plots, this one is just a little overboard. Throw in the city girl who is charmed by small-town life, and this unwatchable movie has enough eyeball-rolling cliches to make it unbearable.
Jingle Bell Bride
Release Date October 24, 2020
5 ‘Christmas Bedtime Stories’ (2022)
Directed by Alysse Leite
Image via Hallmark
When Danielle’s (Erin Cahill) husband, Colby (Charlie Webber), goes missing in action while he’s on deployment, her whole world is turned around. Taking care of their eight-year-old daughter as a single mother for a few years, she finally finds a sense of normalcy, dating and eventually becoming engaged to her husband’s best friend, Pierce (Steve Lund), and telling bedtime stories about Colby to her daughter, Audrey (Alice Comer). Then, strange things start to occur, signs that Danielle believes her husband is still alive somewhere, even though the military has officially declared him dead. Even so, the signs continue to come, and they impact her relationship with Pierce, eventually resulting in them breaking off the engagement. Against all odds, it is announced that four prisoners of war have been found and rescued. Colby winds up coming home against all odds.
While it is a nice ending, a missing soldier finding his way home, it is vastly unrealistic considering the chain of command had no idea he was alive, he was completely fit after being captured for three years, and he didn’t go to a debrief. On top of that, Pierce is MIA after the breakup and is never heard from again. He really got the short end of the stick with everything, especially after he was nothing but a nice guy and a stand-in dad for young Audrey. In true Hallmark fashion, they couldn’t let the story go without a miracle ending, making it pretty unwatchable for a lot of people. This movie is hands-down one of the worst military movies.
Christmas Bedtime Stories
Release Date November 19, 2022
Cast Erin Cahill , Steve Lund , Charlie Weber , Victoria Dunsmore , Tegan Moss , Ecstasia Sanders , Sarah Kelley , Jerry Trimble , Jamall Johnson , Michael Meneer , Eliyah Grace Ann Drysdale , Andrew Zachar , Dunya Ishola , Vincent Ross , William Ford Hopkins , Yvonne Schalle , Scott Fee , Scott McGrath , Denzel Onaba , Jeff Cooper , Theresa Wong , Denzel Brooks , Willy Miles , Melissa Howell , Szu-wen Wang
4 ‘The Cabin’ (2011)
Directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith
Image via Hallmark
The Cabin follows two families with the same last name, MacDougal, as they are double-booked in a remote cabin during Scotland’s “Mac Fest,” a festival that gathers different clans from around the world, each sporting a last name starting with “Mac.” One family has a single mom, and the other has a single dad. So, of course, the close proximity of the two clearly means there will be a romance at some point in time, considering they were unable to find another cabin at such short notice. The entire premise lacks realistic logic as these two families are forced to share a space with children, nonetheless!
The gooey love story doesn’t hit home as the forced proximity trope feels a bit forced, and bad child acting is at the forefront and very difficult to ignore. Sorry, but Lea Thompson couldn’t save this Hallmark movie with her acting chops. It is difficult to watch the cringy will-they-won’t-they with cheesy dialogue thrown in there for good measure, making The Cabin very unwatchable.
The Cabin
Release Date August 2, 2011
Director Brian Trenchard-Smith
Runtime 90 Minutes
Main Genre Comedy
Watch Now On Amazon Prime Video
3 ‘Oliver’s Ghost’ (2011)
Directed by David S. Cass Sr.
Image via Hallmark
In a strange twist of Hallmark’s typical formula, the network went with a very strange “horror movie” in 2011. Oliver’s Ghost follows the title character, Oliver (Nicholas Stargel,) as he and his family move into an old house. Little do they know that their new home is actually haunted by the former resident, an old grumpy ghost by the name of Clive (Martin Mull). The bow-tie-wearing curmudgeon of a ghost does not want Oliver and his family living in his home, so he haunts them. Of course, in comes Oliver, the only one of his family that can see Clive; it’s very Sixth Sense, just without Bruce Willis or a creative plot.
By the end of the movie, Clive falls into Oliver’s “trap,” actually befriending the young boy. Oliver even reunites Clive with his estranged daughter somehow since, you know, he’s a ghost. While it does dive into the family themes Hallmark is known for, it doesn’t deter from the fact that the movie is full of bad acting and a plot that is not original in the slightest. Also, for a movie about a grumpy ghost, there could have been a few more horror elements incorporated.
Oliver's Ghost
Release Date October 22, 2011
Director David S. Cass Sr.
Runtime 82 Minutes
Main Genre Drama
2 ‘The Town Christmas Forgot’ (2010)
Directed by John Bradshaw
Image via Hallmark
The Benson family is driving to a family gathering for Christmas. Unfortunately, they clearly didn’t look at the weather because a huge blizzard hits, making them pull over and get stranded in Nowhere, a small town that is severely lacking in Christmas spirit. So, the wealthy family decides it is up to them to get the people of Nowhere into the holidays, something no one asked for, and screams “privileged.” The Town Christmas Forgot seriously misses the mark on its ride to make a family-friendly movie about helping others during the holiday season.
It is arguably still a true Hallmark movie, pulling in the themes of family and love to create a mushy movie about how, even though people might come from nothing, that doesn’t mean they aren’t rich in other aspects of life. The thing is, they didn’t have to make the impoverished town called “Nowhere” or bring in a wealthy family to bring the Christmas spirit to the community. It is an outdated trope that does nothing more than make people cringe and actually feel bad for the family.
The Town Christmas Forgot
Release Date November 25, 2010
Director John Bradshaw
Cast Lauren Holly , Rick Roberts , Azer Greco , Torri Webster , Stephanie Belding , Joe Pingue , Phillip Jarrett , Dennis O'Connor , Julian Kennedy , Catriona Ferguson , Deborah Overes , Lesley Ballantyne , Trish Adams
Runtime 86 Minutes
Main Genre Comedy
1 ‘Chasing Leprechauns’ (2012)
Directed by Kevin Connor
Image via Hallmark
Chasing Leprechauns is unlike any other Hallmark movie out there, and not in a good way. The TV movie follows Michael (Adrian Pasdar), a troubleshooter who is sent to Ireland to figure out why his company is unable to build a smelting plant in a small Irish village. When he gets there, he learns that there is actually a law that protects the land. Not because it is a national forest or anything, but because endangered leprechauns live there. That’s when he meets Sarah (Amy Huberman), Ireland’s resident “pixie expert.” She teaches Michael all about the protected land and the mystical creatures who live there. Eventually, Michael falls in love with the expert, and the land is saved from being built upon.
The plot is a bit over the top, even by Hallmark standards, and sets its conflict right from the get-go, making the climax and ending of the movie very predictable. Between that and the questionable narrative of a small Irish village protecting leprechauns, viewers are better off watching a different fantasy-based movie. There are plenty out there with much better acting and character development that don’t have the main character going from a big corporate troubleshooter to a pixie-loving expert within 20 minutes.
Chasing Leprechauns
Release Date March 17, 2012
Runtime 83 Minutes
English (US) ·