I have a bit of a confession to make, I don’t really watch a lot of Christmas movies and in general am not a fan of a lot of them. Now before the torches and pitchforks come out, I do enjoy the Rankin-Bass Christmas specials and I like Elf as well, but most just aren’t my thing.

That said, occasionally, I find something strange and unique to enjoy. And so I’m sharing five bizarre Christmas movies.

1. Santa Claus aka Santa Claus vs. the Devil (1959)

The first on our list is from Mexico and is so bizarre it is borderline experimental. The movie sees Santa Claus in his castle in space (yes really) on December 24th, preparing for his yearly journey. Meanwhile, Lucifer himself sends a demon named Pitch to turn the children of the world naughty.

The approach this movie takes to how Santa operates is very unique. Santa monitors the children of Earth using various devices that seem to be in the spirit of something like Peewee’s Playhouse, like a computer with giant lips and eyes. He also utilizes a machine to see children’s dreams, has a group of robotic reindeer, and gadgets such as a key that opens any door, a sleep inducing powder and a flower that lets him disappear. All this provided by his most trusted assistant…Merlin the Magician.

And so most of the movie involves Santa attempting to go about his usual business while Pitch attempts to stop him in what can best be described as some Wile E. Coyote antics.

This one was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 and is one of their best episodes.

2. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)

In this movie, the children of Mars are too lazy and distracted, so the leaders of the planet choose the best remedy to this problem: to abduct Santa Claus. The Martians are however unable to identify the real Santa Claus and also abduct two Earth children to help find the real Santa.

Also featured on MST3K, this movie has become a staple of terrible Christmas movie watch parties and a continued source of riffing.

3. Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)

You probably weren’t expecting a zombie movie.

Anna and the Apocalypse is a Christmas musical that happens to also involve zombies.

This is one of the most creative zombie films I’ve ever watched and is pretty hilarious with its tonal dissonance, especially towards the start of the zombie apocalypse and the main character is singing a cheery song with the lyric “what a time to be alive,” all the while people are being attacked by zombies in the background.

A fun watch for musical fans and zombie fans (probably more overlap on those than you’d think) it combines cheesiness of musicals with the goriness of zombies in a hilariously macabre mixer.

4. The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)

Sure not technically Christmas, but an infamous special that has had people asking “why does this exist?” for over forty years. The “plot” of the special involves the family of Chewbacca awaiting his return home for the Wookie flavored Christmas-expy: Life Day. Naturally, Chewbacca’s family: wife Mallatobuck (Malla), son Lumpawarrump (Lumpy) and Chewie’s father Attichitcuk (Itchy), all speak in grunts and growls, already making the bizarre viewing experience strange.

Things get even weirder as the special goes on, from a cooking show, to an animated segment that was audiences’ first introduction to Boba Fett, and a musical number by Bea Arthur.

This is a bad special. Very, very bad. But, managing to sit through the whole thing is a rite of passage for those that love trash cinema or weird cult items.

5. Christmas Comes to Pac-Land (1982)

Yes, there was a Pac-Man cartoon, and yes, it was bad. This one is the kind of special you see once as a child, then promptly forget and finally wonder if it wasn’t some weird part of your imagination. In fact, I only remembered this thing existed while in the middle of writing this list.

The plot like many Christmas specials, sees ole Saint Nick crash and the main characters need to help him get back to his schedule all the while learning about Christmas.

It is bad, but hey, now you know it exists. Also Peter Cullen (aka Optimus Prime) is Santa Claus, so there is that.

So there are some bizarre Christmas movies/specials that are on brand for this column. I hope everyone has a happy Christmas and I hope we all have a much better new year.