‘The Polar Express’ Should’ve Been a Horror Movie

The Big Picture

• The Polar Express could have worked better as a Christmas horror film instead of a creepy holiday movie.
• The film has unsettling moments and a creepy atmosphere that keeps viewers on edge.
• The animation style and plot lend themselves to a horror genre, with creepy characters who seem like they’re hiding something.

The vibes in The Polar Express have always been off — well, at least for a so-called “wholesome” Christmas movie aimed mostly at children. The thing is, between the creepy Sims-like animation and mildly terrifying side plots, Robert Zemeckis‘ film would’ve worked a whole lot better had it been an outright Christmas horror film rather than a regular holiday movie verging on creepy territory. There’s nothing warm about The Polar Express: as the viewer, you’re almost always on edge while watching it, which is why it’s a little shocking that so many people have deemed it to be their favorite, wholesome holiday movie. The overall message of the film might be sweet and charming, but the route taken to arrive at that point is definitely far from wholesome. There are tons of moments in the film that could have definitely been spun with a deeper horror angle to really drive the point home that this was bordering more on a horror film than a family movie.

‘The Polar Express’ Was Always a Little Creepy

A train that scoops up random children in the middle of the night and bribes them with unlimited hot chocolate — yeah, that sounds completely normal. If we didn’t know any better, we might’ve mistaken it for a 20/20 episode on the classic white kidnapping van. There are tons of instances in The Polar Express that verge on creepy, but let’s not forget that there was a literal moment in the film where a random vagrant hanging out on top of the train gets his head chopped off by an upcoming tunnel. Sure, he might’ve just been a figment of the main character’s (Josh Hutcherson) imagination, but still — the dude got his head chopped off! And if that wasn’t enough, Tom Hanks voices half of the characters in the movie, upping the meta quality along with the overall creepy factor. Did Santa Claus, the random hobo, conductor, Ebenezer Scrooge puppet, and the main boy’s father all have to be voiced by him? The answer to that question is no. If you walked into a room and everyone was speaking in the same voice, you’d be weirded out, too.

Not Much Would Have To Change To Make ‘The Polar Express’ Into a Horror Film

Here’s the thing: The Polar Express would only have to be mildly tweaked and expanded on to become a full-on horror film. That main conductor dude? He could definitely moonlight as a casual murderer, as his job is to kidnap children from their homes and bring them across the globe to meet a dude with a massive white beard. The same goes for the vagrant living on top of the train as he’s even more creepy than the conductor. The animation in The Polar Express somehow lends itself to the chilling vibes just as much as the plot does, as it relies on slow-motion movement to highlight key moments. In many ways, the film is a thriller in its own right. There are different versions of reality constantly at play, making the stakes even higher for the main character at all times. Every character in the film seems like they’re hiding something: it’s almost as if everyone has an ulterior motive, and maybe they do. The kid that the train picked up after the main character? He’s got some stories to tell. The nerdy, overbearing kid with the glasses? He definitely has some skeletons in his closet. And the hot chocolate being served to every single kid on the train? There’s probably a lot more than chocolate in that stuff.

The entire scene with the puppet version of Ebenezer Scrooge could be left completely untouched; it’s that frightening. The same goes for the scene where the main character befriends a random hobo on top of the train. Even the hot chocolate musical number on the train was giving off a manic, creepy tone; if that was intended to be a break from the overall terrifying vibes already happening, it only made things worse.

What Makes a Successful Christmas Horror Movie?

The Polar Express could’ve been extremely successful as a horror film, and in doing so, it would’ve avoided all the comments that followed about the movie being unfittingly creepy. Still, there’s a fairly dedicated group of people who live for this film, claiming it to be one of the best Christmas movies to have ever been created. It’s nice that the main character ends up believing in the spirit of Christmas by the end of the film, but it’s the entire lead-up to that moment that is plagued with bad vibes. Movies like Krampus, Black Christmas, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Violent Night are all successful Christmas horror films because they lean into their overall goal. An updated, horror-centric The Polar Express could fit in nicely with that lineup, but only if it’s true to its objective.

Lighter horror films directed at children — think Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas — work because they lean into their theme. They were up-front about being in the horror genre, whereas The Polar Express wouldn’t touch that designation with a 10-foot pole. Had it leaned into the fact that it was bordering on horror, the vibes wouldn’t have felt off: it would’ve uplifted the film instead of dragging it down. A film needs to be itself to be fully accepted, and The Polar Express always seemed like it was trying to be something it wasn’t. The premise would be a whole lot easier to swallow with a horror movie designation, and while we might not have that ranking right now, viewing the film as if it were a horror movie certainly makes it easier to watch.

The Polar Express is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

Watch on Max