Christmas movies tend to be sweet little bonbons, rich with easy sentiment and warmth. But nestled among the sugarplums lie a few delicious poison apples, stories that shrug off cozy comfort and evoke all the winter bleakness lurking in our brightly-lit celebrations.

There’s nothing like The Lion in Winter (1968) to make your own family gatherings look harmonious. It’s Christmas of 1183 when Henry II (Peter O’Toole) calls the Plantagenets to Chinon. With his heir…