While timeless classics like It's A Wonderful Life define the festive season for many, a slew of other Christmas films have earned a very different reputation. Reddit users have been passionately debating their picks for the very worst Yuletide movies ever to grace the screen, with choices ranging from the dull to the downright strange.
The Contenders for Christmas Cinematic Catastrophe
The discussion, which highlights a fascinating divide between cherished staples and forgotten flops, has brought several notorious titles back into the spotlight. In stark contrast to beloved films or critically acclaimed new releases like 2023's The Holdovers – which boasts a 97 per cent Rotten Tomatoes score – these movies are remembered for all the wrong reasons.
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
Long before the age of AI-generated plots, 1964 gave us Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. The film's outlandish premise sees Martians, lacking their own gift-giver, decide to kidnap Santa Claus to bring joy to their children. Despite its cult status, it is largely panned, holding a meagre 27 per cent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. One Reddit user called it a "classic" in the so-bad-it's-good category, while another was less charitable, finding it "closer to just straight bad".
Santa With Muscles (1996)
The year 1996 proved particularly unkind to festive cinema. Santa With Muscles stars wrestling icon Hulk Hogan as a fitness mogul with amnesia who becomes convinced he is Father Christmas, and features a young Mila Kunis. The plot sees him thwart a villainous scientist trying to seize an orphanage. Notably produced by former stockbroker Jordan Belfort of Wolf of Wall Street infamy, one Redditor summarised the film as "abominable, but entertaining".
Holiday in Handcuffs (2007) & Jingle All The Way (1996)
The bizarre romantic comedy Holiday in Handcuffs (2007), starring Melissa Joan Hart, features a waitress who kidnaps a customer to be her holiday date. A Reddit user recommends it for "just how insane the plot is".
Meanwhile, Jingle All The Way (1996) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a father desperately seeking a Turbo Man action figure, splits opinion. Some see it as "awful", while others champion it as "the poster boy for so good it's bad", arguing its sheer horribleness circles back to being enjoyable.
A Festive Legacy of Laughs and Cringes
The Reddit debate underscores that the Christmas movie canon is as much about shared nostalgia for cinematic missteps as it is about perfect classics. These films, whether deemed abominable, bizarre, or unintentionally hilarious, have secured their own peculiar place in holiday viewing history, proving that not every festive flick can be a wonderful life.
