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Welcome to IndieWire After Dark, where we pick a new theme for our midnight movie programming every month!
Join us on Friday nights (and special occasions!) to explore some of the strangest fringe films available at any hour in the Streaming Age.
The lights are twinkling and the temperature is dropping. But in December 2024, the merry-making vibes are distinctly and resolutely… off. Lean into that discomfort with some Holiday Midnight Movie (and TV!) Madness as we celebrate a weird year.
After several particularly stressful months in current events, the pre-Christmas season feels oddly foreboding. That might be a welcome reprieve for those of us who are usually glum during the holidays (just me?), but the blues can sneak up on anyone. Whether you’re battling a bickering family or dealing with loneliness, weirdo cinema has the power to fight your funk with more funk.
When in doubt, clown it out! Feeling sad? Watch something bad! Seriously, skip this year’s viewing of “It’s a Wonderful Life” — and go full-send into something like 1978’s “The Silent Partner” (a sincerely excellent crime thriller!) or MTV’s single Christmas-themed episode of “Jackass” (it’s a lot of sledding on… skin). For our lineup, we’ve strung a bunch of wackiness together to create a tonally jarring garland as crunchy and sour as popcorn and cranberries.
All of these titles go for broke with ridiculous core story concepts, and each will leave you with a completely different feeling. Only have 30 minutes to soothe your rage before family dinner? There’s an animated alien invasion for that. Looking for a family-friendly rom-com that will fundamentally change how you see a Christmas pop hit? Emilia Clarke has you covered. Want thrills? Try the below 1984 sci-fi hidden gem. Need more chills? OK, “Better Watch Out.”
IndieWire After Dark publishes new midnight movie and cult film recommendations (that’s THE BAIT)… and our spoiler-filled reactions to them (that’s THE BITE)… late on Friday nights.
Happy Holidays, genre fans! Here’s what we’re watching in December 2024:
“Invader Zim: The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever” (Nickelodeon, 2002)
Created by: Jhonen Vasquez
After Dark on Friday, December 13
Descend into madness with this stand-out Christmas special from an especially weird time in animation. “The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever” was the last installment of the gone-too-soon “Invader Zim” to premiere on Nickelodeon before its sudden cancelation — and everything in this “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” redux rings true to what made the original show great. From an anti-capitalist kicker that’s still pretty funny to the priceless promise of Gir in an elf suit, this impromptu finale doubles as an oddly perfect swan song. Using a misnomer like “worst” here seems nearly as criminal as the world-domination/Santa impersonation plot at the center of Zim’s increasingly bizarre holiday episode.
Feeling Cynical at the Holidays? Try Nickelodeon’s ‘Invader Zim’ and ‘The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever’
‘Invader Zim: The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever’“Trancers” (1984)
Directed by: Charles Band
After Dark on Friday, 20
Delightfully schlocky and strange — not to mention the start of a franchise! — “Trancers” is an off-the-beaten-path pick that lets Christmas play out in the background of a perfectly chunky B-movie. Also known as “Future Cop,” Tim Thomerson stars as Trooper Jack Deth (yes, that’s “Deth” — no “a”) in this action film about the evil psychic Whistler (Michael Stefani) and his growing legion of mind-controlled zombie henchmen known as “trancers.” Deth will travel back in time to the 1980s to head off Whistler’s attempts to assassinate futuristic officials via the butterfly effect… by transporting his consciousness into the body of an ancestor and partying with a totally punk-rock Helen Hunt.
‘Trancers’ (1984)“Last Christmas” (2019)
Directed by: Paul Feig
After Dark on Christmas Eve
Celebrate the fifth anniversary of one of cinema’s greatest-ever tributes to taking a preposterous idea way, way too far with the overly literal “Last Christmas.” Starring Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding (when she was exiting “Game of Thrones” and he had just broken out with “Crazy Rich Asians”), this fizzy and flirty descent into madness centers the London-set love story of Kate — a retail clerk who spends her days dressed as an elf — and Tom — a charitable man hiding a tragic, Wham!-related secret. (Yes, Wham!) Written by Bryony Kimmings and Emma Thompson, who also appears as Kate’s mother, this astoundingly dark rom-com is so startling it will snap even the most heartbroken among us back to reality.
‘Last Christmas’ (2019)©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection“Better Watch Out” (2016)
Directed by: Chris Peckover
After Dark on Friday, December 27
The scariest entry in our December lineup by far, “Better Watch Out” is another movie with a solid surprise — but that reveal comes early on. It’s everything after that makes this script truly terrifying, culminating in a singular “Home Alone” homage you’ll never unsee. Going in, all you need to know is that a babysitter (Olivia DeJonge), her nerdy 12-year-old client (Levi Miller), and his goofy friend (Ed Oxenbould) are working through some awkward crush-related tension when an intruder threatens to ruin their cozy Christmas night. Think “Halloween” meets “You’re Next” with a black-comic “Scream” center. This bleak selection isn’t for everyone, but it’s sure to send shivers down your spine.
‘Better Watch Out’ (2016)Everett Collection / Everett CollectionCraving more recommendations? Try our holiday picks from December 2023:
- Tim Curry Will Shake Your Soul in ‘Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas’
- ‘Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny’ Is a Hauntingly Odd Christmas Fairy Tale That Should Be Kept from Children at All Costs
- Ski Lift Survival Horror ‘Frozen’ (2010) Is Still the Best Cinematic Homonym in the Game
- ‘Christmas Comes to Pac-Land’ Is the Chomp-Filled ’80s Christmas Relic You Never Knew You Needed
- The Late Julian Sands Blows the Lid Off Hulu’s Holiday Horror Comedy ‘A Nasty Piece of Work’
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