Five Unsung Christmas Movie Villains
One of my favorite things about this time of year is being able to watch, or rewatch, holiday movies. They are inspiring, have some great stories and in the case of Christmas-themed horror movies, often have some memorable villains. And let's face it, without a good villain (even when that villain also happens to be the protagonist), Christmas movies often fall flat.
Something I've noticed with holiday movies though is there are often villains that go unnoticed or at least unrecognized for their efforts. Here are five of my examples:
Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi, Die Hard (1988) -
While Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) is obviously the main villain in this film, Takagi (James Shigeta) deserves recognition as well because what kind of employer holds a company party on Christmas Eve? This movie shouldn't have happened because his employees should have been at home with their families.
Liz Langston, Jingle all the Way (1996) -
At minimum, you would think Liz would have reminded Howard more than once about the toy, knowing his history, instead of waiting until Christmas Eve.
Santa Claus, Elf (2003) -
The man (Edward Asner) kidnapped a baby! Enough said.
Was it intentional? No. That doesn't mean he couldn't have returned Buddy (Will Ferrell) back to the orphanage instead of keeping him in the North Pole, lying to him about being an extra-tall elf. And don't try to tell me he didn't know where Buddy belonged. Santa had no problem figuring out who Buddy's biological parents were, completely voiding that argument.
As a result of his crime, Buddy didn't get to meet his father until he was an adult, missing out on years of potential bonding. Not to mention that poor nun probably went to her grave not knowing what happened to the infant that was under her care.
Santa Claus, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) -
It's easy to overlook Santa in this movie because you never see him. However, I'd argue he is the film's real villain because he could have kept the Grinch (Boris Karloff) from being the Grinch.
Yes, you could argue Santa skipped delivering presents to the Grinch because he was a hateful grouch. I'd argue the Grinch was a grouch because Santa ignored him every Christmas while delivering gifts to the neighbors.
And what about poor Max? Didn't he deserve a gift?
Clark Griswold, Sr., National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) -
Clark Griswold, Jr. (Chevy Chase) underestimated just how stressful it would be to invite family to stay with him and celebrate Christmas in his house. However, he has his father (John Randolph) to blame for that.
After all, Clark Jr. had childhood memories and was just trying to fill his dad's shoes. His dad, in comparison, failed to teach his son that those "perfect" Christmases weren't always what they seemed.
To make matters worse, as one of his son's houseguests, the elder Griswold didn't feel the need to intervene, even as Clark Jr. was clearly beginning to snap. In fact, before finally having a short heartfelt conversation with him toward the end, Clark Sr. just planned on going home. If that's not villainous, then I don't know what is.
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