Jamie Lee Curtis starred in the 2004 Christmas comedyChristmas With The Kranks, and a very convincing theory suggests that it’s actually a horror movie. The branch of Christmas movies is home to a variety of stories from different genres and for different audiences, though most aim at a family-friendly tone, such asChristmas With The Kranks. Directed by Joe Roth and based on the 2001 novelSkipping Christmasby John Grisham,Christmas With The Kranksintroduces the audience to Nora (Curtis) and Luther Krank (Tim Allen), whose daughter, Blair (Julie Gonzalo), is leaving for a Peace Corps assignment.
As a result, she’s spending Christmas away from home for the first time, which Nora isn’t taking well. Seeing how it affects Nora not having Blair home for Christmas,Luther suggests they go on a Caribbean cruise instead, thus skipping Christmas. Nora reluctantly agrees, but the neighbors don’t take it well that the Kranks will not be celebrating Christmas as they usually do. Despite getting a 5% critics score onRotten Tomatoes,Christmas With The Kranksis an entertaining holiday movie, but it might actually be a horror movie in disguise.
Theory Suggests Christmas With The Kranks Is A Horror Movie, & It Makes Sense
Christmas With The Kranks Has Some Not-So-Jolly Moments
The Kranks are known in their neighborhood for hosting a Christmas dinner and for decorating their house with lights and a big Frosty on the roof. On top of that, the neighbors are a bit too passionate about Christmas in general, so when they learn that the Kranks are skipping Christmas to go on a cruise, they are a bit too intense about it. The leader of the street is Vic Frohmeyer (Dan Aykroyd), who uses his influence on the neighborhood to try and pressure the Kranks to, at least, decorate their house to fit with everyone else’s holiday spirit.
The actions of the neighbors and what these cause to the Kranks led aReddituser to come up with a theory that suggestsChristmas With The Kranksis actually a horror movie in disguise.The author points out the public shaming and humiliation that Luther and Nora go throughwhen they tell their friends and colleagues that they will be skipping Christmas. It all starts with the Christmas cards, with the man in charge of that following Nora to the restaurant where she meets with her friends and tells Nora’s friends about her plans, and he acts pretty offended by that.
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Vic also leads a group of Christmas carolers to the Kranks’ door and they just keep singing and singing in an attempt to break the Kranks and make them change their minds. Vic’s son, Spike (Erik Per Sullivan), leads other neighborhood kids to chant “free Frosty!” in front of the Kranks’ home, which sends Nora into stress and panic.
Other people outside their neighborhood also treat the Kranks like monsters as soon as they learn that they’re skipping Christmas, so whileChristmas With The Kranksisn’t framed as a horror movie, the social pressure that has been placed on Christmas and its celebration and how far this can go definitely give the movie a horror tone, even if subtle.
Christmas With The Kranks Theory Suggests Luther Wasn’t The Real Villain
Christmas With The Kranks Has Some Questionable Characters
Keeping the idea ofChristmas With The Kranksbeing a horror movie in disguise in mind, that would mean Luther isn’t the “villain” that the movie wants the audience to believe. ThroughoutChristmas With The Kranks, Luther is seen as the “bad guy” for wanting to skip Christmas and being proud of his plan, even though he had good reasons for doing so. It’s not just about Blair being away, but Luther calculates what they spend every year on decoration, gifts, the party, and more, so he decides to invest that into a cruise for him and Nora.
The damage left by the constant harassment and bullying surely won’t be forgotten easily.
The real villains inChristmas With The Kranks, then, would be Vic and the rest of the neighborswho treated the Kranks so badly just for wanting to go on a cruise instead of celebrating Christmas as they usually do. Surely, both Luther and the neighbors redeem themselves in the third act ofChristmas With The Krankswhen the latter team up to help the Kranks get everything ready for Blair’s return and the former gives the tickets to the cruise to his elderly neighbors – but the damage left by the constant harassment and bullying surely won’t be forgotten easily.
Christmas With The Kranks Being A Horror Movie Further Adds To Jamie Lee Curtis’ Horror Legacy
Jamie Lee Curtis Is Horror Royalty
IfChristmas With The Kranksis a horror movie (whether an unintentional or a subtly intentional one), it would be a fun addition toJamie Lee Curtis’ horror legacy. Throughout her career, Jamie Lee Curtis has explored a variety of genres, but she’s best known for her work in the horror genre.Curtis’ film debut was in John Carpenter’s 1978 horror classicHalloween, where she played Laurie Strode, the franchise’s main Final Girl. Her following three movies were also horror ones –The Fog,Prom Night, andTerror Train– establishing her as a horror icon in the 1980s.
The Fogwas also directed by John Carpenter.
Thanks to other, lesser-known horror projects and her return totheHalloweenfranchisein 1998 and again in 2018,Jamie Lee Curtis is now horror royalty, but she’s lacking a Christmas horror movie.Christmas With The Krankscould be that missing piece depending on how each viewer perceives the story of Luther, Nora, and their neighbors, but the latter’s actions are definitely disturbing despite being surrounded by comedic moments.
Source:Reddit.
Christmas With the Kranks
Christmas With the Kranks is a 2004 holiday comedy directed by Joe Roth, starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis. The film follows Luther and Nora Krank, who decide to skip Christmas festivities in favor of a Caribbean cruise, much to the dismay of their holiday-obsessed neighbors. Their plans are upended when their daughter announces a surprise visit, forcing them to celebrate Christmas at the last minute.
