Die Hard (1988)

The Christmas horror subgenre is a growing section of horror that tends to play on the swept-away side of Christmas. It examines whose naughty, and how badly they deserve to be punished, often with comedy thrown in for extra good measure. If you are a fan of horror, especially horror comedies, this is the list for you! They are in no particular order.

*Warning movies may feature or discuss sexual assault. Those with sensitivities around this issue should proceed with caution for entry #2.

Described as Die Hard mixed with Home Alone, Violent Night is titled appropriately to set up audience expectations. A disgruntled Santa Claus decides that he has had with the predatory capitalism and consumerism that has besmirched his nominally jolly holiday. He decides to go on one last hedonistic sleigh ride, debating if this will be the last Christmas for humanity. Ending up at the mansion of the wealthy Lightstone family, he is suddenly thrust into an action thriller John Wick style, when armed mercenaries pick this night to break into the mansion and steal the purported hundreds of millions in the family vault. The youngest Lightstone, Trudy, pleads for Santa's help with a child's innocence, and Santa Claus reluctantly goes up against the bad guys. It is silly, action-packed, and has a comic twist on the idea of naughty or nice!

Although Christmas is a time of year for love and cheer for all, holiday cinema has not always represented diverse communities. Being a holiday with Christian origins, much of its media consists of straight white families or straight white romances. Luckily, modern years have been bringing with them plenty of POC and LGBTQ+ representation that the holidays so desperately need. Here are just a few to get you started!

Notice: If watching with children, it would be good to do some more research on these films, depending on the age of your child. Number 2, Jingle Jangle, is technically the only one marketed towards children, and several others may not be child-friendly at all.

After being diagnosed with a terminal illness, an introverted woman breaks out of her shell and flies off to Europe in order to complete her bucket list with her remaining time.

To my astonishment, not enough people are talking about the best blockbuster I’ve seen this year, Ambulance (2022). I was skeptical about the film’s plot; it felt more like Die Hard (1988) meets John Q (2002) at first, but the film took me by surprise when the real action started rolling in. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko) and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (The Matrix Resurrections), Ambulance is a film not only about a bank heist gone wrong, but also about brotherhood. Will (Abdul-Mateen II) struggles to pay for his wife’s experimental surgery and goes to his brother, Danny (Gyllenhaal) for a loan. The twist is that their father was notorious for robbing banks and Danny has decided to take on the family business… you can see where this is going. Next, Danny convinces Will to help him with the bank heist along with other cooperators, so he can afford to pay for his wife’s operation. But, as Robert Burns once said, “The best-laid schemes of mice and men often go askew” as in, the bank robbery could have gone according to plan; if a cop didn’t stop by the bank to ask one of the tellers out on a date. Blood spews, after the bank heist falls apart, as the robbers and cops are firing at one another. This is when the film becomes more interesting. We see an insane amount of tracking shots of the action, such as one of the men being run over by the getaway truck. It’s safe to say that Ambulance starts off slow, but quickly picks up the pace when we move from a bank heist to a police car chase plot, or in this case, an ambulance chase. 

I have to say, Ambulance may feel like a typical heist-thriller but, it’s well-diverse compared to other action films. Yes, there are lots of action films with an all-colored cast, and clearly, Ambulance isn’t 100% diverse, but it’s diverse enough for the film to be taken seriously. We have Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as one of our lead protagonists (and no, he is not villainized in the film, we see him as a sympathetic character), Eiza González who plays the EMT Cam Thompson (she’s Mexican, by the way), Wale Folarin as Castro (he’s Nigerian-American and does not get killed), Keir O’Donnell as FBI agent Anson Clark who’s in a gay relationship, and we have A Martinez as Papi (Martinez is half Mexican and Native American). It’s also important to note, that while the film is plot-driven by having us in awe with the aerial FPV shots done by drones; the character arcs are well-written to make you understand the character’s desires and motives, which is why you will most likely cry at the end of the film.

As for the brotherhood theme, Ambulance isn’t the type of film that hires a well-known black actor to create diversity, as Abdul-Mateen II’s race is very much part of the film. We know Will is Danny’s adoptive brother from the beginning and when one of the gangsters called out Will for being Danny’s pretend brother; Danny was furious, as this may not be the first time people have speculated that Will and Danny are not biologically related. Notably, Abdul-Mateen II’s character was a war veteran; whereas, Gyllenhaal’s character was a lifelong criminal. The film makes sure that Abdul-Mateen II’s character is not depicted stereotypically for being black. Likewise, González’s character is not the hot-blooded Latina trope in this film; we see her as a heroine and survivor in the end. 

My only regret is not seeing the film in theaters, which you all should because it’s worth your money. Ambulance will have you laughing at times, which is good because we all need a laugh every once in a while; your heart will be racing with excitement and panic, and that's when you realized you just watched the best blockbuster of the season. For the full mind-blowing effect, you can experience the thrill of Ambulance in theaters, preferably in IMAX or if you're like me, you can stream it now on Peacock. 

The Hawkeye season finale wraps everything up in a neat bow just in time for Christmas, though somewhat disappointingly. Spoilers ahead!

Episode six begins with a meeting between Eleanor Bishop and Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin. Fisk plays a huge role in this episode in person. I’m so happy to see Vincent D’Onofrio back in this role; he is the perfect Kingpin. During the meeting, Eleanor lays out rather obviously for the audience all that she’s done and why: she’s killed Armand, framed Jack, and laundered money all to repay a debt owed by her late husband to Fisk. Now Kate has come too close to finding out the truth, which puts her in danger. That’s where Eleanor draws the line, and she tells Fisk she’s leaving the business. Fisk tries to get her to stay, but Eleanor reveals she has backups of his files as leverage, and she exits. 

Maya later comes to Fisk. Fisk is dressed in a horrendous outfit consisting of an aloha shirt ripped straight out of the comics. This is one case in which I have to go against comic book accuracy. This outfit does not match with this character, or at least with the one we know from Daredevil. He looks tacky, cheap, and silly—three things Wilson Fisk never should be. In Daredevil, Fisk’s style is sleek, modern, and minimalistic. 

Maya communicates with Fisk with Kazi as an interpreter, using her best poker face to tell him she’s given up on hunting the Ronin. Fisk responds to her verbally and uses some basic ASL as well, which is a nice touch to establish their relationship. They exchange signed “I love you”’s, giving us a little glimpse into their supposed father-daughter bond, leaving me more curious about their relationship. But Maya knows that Fisk had her father killed. After she leaves, Fisk complains about all his problems, Maya now being one of them. Thankfully, the show makes him smart enough to see Maya’s turned on him. He plans to hurt Eleanor Bishop and Maya for what they’ve done to him. 

Back to the Hawkeyes: Clint and Kate make a ton of trick arrows in preparation for their confrontation. At the holiday party, everyone is in attendance. Clint and Kate come dressed immaculately. Eleanor arrives and Kate tries to keep her out of trouble. Jack appears, fresh out of jail and now wielding a sword. I guess he’s not a villain after all; he’s just a guy with a weird love of swords. The LARPers come as backup disguised as waitstaff. Kazi stands outside as a sniper. Finally, Yelena Belova arrives in a striking green coat on her mission to kill Clint Barton.