We're stepping into the holiday season with another round of Collider Recommends, bringing you three of the best things to watch this weekend as we prepare for feasts, friends and family, and some much deserved rest. So get ready for the most wonderful time of the year with some great films from our dedicated team of movie lovers.
This week's experts include Video Producer Perri Nemiroff, Lists Editor Sammy Murrian, and Deputy News Editor Maggie Lovitt. So read on to get some great picks or click here to watch the clips on our official Instagram account!
'Krampus' (2015) starring Toni Collette and Adam Scott
Perri Nemiroff, Senior Producer
Tis the season — to recommend some holiday horror. As many of you know, I’m a diehard Trick ‘r Treat fan so when it came time to check out director Michael Dougherty’s next holiday-themed horror movie, my expectations were through the roof. For me? 2015’s Krampus instantly made due on that hype, but at the time, the majority was less enthusiastic than I was. However, I’m a big believer that an underrated gem will ultimately have its day and, sure enough, ten years after release, Krampus is a certified Christmas cult classic.
Dougherty puts a brilliant twist on the Alpine folklore legend by sicking Krampus on a family that’s especially susceptible to losing their cool with one another during the holiday. Thanks to a top tier ensemble including Adam Scott, Toni Collette, Emjay Anthony, David Koechner and Allison Tolman, Dougherty manages to craft a wonderfully bonkers holiday story that also has something to say about family dynamics. In the movie, the vibes are already off the moment Max’s (Anthony) family’s Christmas get-together begins, but when his cousins mock his letter to Santa, that’s it. He’s had it. Little does Max know, by ripping up the letter and tossing it into the wind, he lures Krampus to their home to teach them a little something about holiday cheer.
One of the very best parts of the ensuing yuletide mayhem? Doughtery opts to prioritize practical effects. Not only does this combination of puppets, animatronics and makeup elements with some digital enhancements look phenomenal, but it also well aligns with the shockingly wholesome vibe of this impossibly entertaining Christmas nightmare.
'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' (1969) starring George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, and Terry Savalas
Sammy Murrian, List Editor
The holidays are upon us, and I'd like to encourage you to seek out my personal favorite Christmas movie of all time. Based on arguably Ian Fleming's greatest spy novel, On Her Majesty's Secret Service represents the James Bond franchise at its most thrilling and emotionally sophisticated, and it is indeed a Christmas movie wherein the holiday is integral to the plot. A box-office hit though a disappointment relative to the Sean Connery blockbusters that preceded it, OHMSS was long considered either a misfire or at least the black sheep of the franchise, largely because it's the only movie starring Australian model George Lazenby as the gentleman spy.
As an unexpectedly tender James Bond who's falling in love all while investigating his nemesis under deep cover, Lazenby is much better here than his reputation suggests, a little stiff but terrific in the fights and the romantic scenes with Diana Rigg's troubled Countess Teresa di Vicenzo. Telly Savalas of TV's Kojak is also the most intimidating and charismatic iteration of Ernst Stavro Blofeld ever on-screen. The action sequences stun, particularly two of the greatest ski scenes ever executed, and the cinematography by Michael Reed is the franchise's most illustrious alongside Roger Deakins' Oscar-winning work on Skyfall.
Everything leads to one of the most perfectly executed tragic endings not just of this franchise, but in all of cinema. Many in the diehard Bond fandom, including myself, consider this romantic action masterpiece to be the single greatest entry in cinema's most historic franchise.
The Spirit of Christmas (2015) starring Jen Lilley and Thomas Beaudoin
Maggie Lovitt, Deputy News Editor
Hallmark has become synonymous with schmaltzy holiday romances, but not all schmaltzy holiday romances exist under the Hallmark umbrella. The Spirit of Christmas is one such movie — and the fact that it isn’t a Hallmark staple is the precise reason why it’s flown under the radar of most holiday romance connoisseurs.
Released in 2015, The Spirit of Christmas plays upon familiar tropes: a workaholic from the big city, Kate (Jen Lilley), is sent to a small town to help close on the sale of a historic inn where a grumpy recluse, Daniel (Thomas Beaudoin), is clinging to his family’s legacy. The major difference between this film and the vast majority of holiday romances that contain some mix of these elements is the fact that Daniel is a ghost. Yes, indeed! The Spirit of Christmas isn’t just about holiday cheer — it’s quite literally about a spirit who spends the thirteen days leading up to Christmas skulking around his family’s mansion, completely visible to all who enter. What starts as a fraught frenemies dynamic slowly turns into an ooey-gooey romance with a very real time limit on it.
As the pair slowly fall for each other, Kate works to unravel the mystery of Daniel’s untimely death during the Prohibition era, and uncover why Daniel becomes visible for a mere thirteen days each year. A mystery which might make their short-lived romance even shorter. The Spirit of Christmas is a must-watch this holiday season, especially for those who love to indulge in ghostly romances with impossible happily ever afters.
