Non-Easter Films To Watch On Easter

I mean, sure you could watch The Last Temptation of Christ, Risen, The Passion of the Christ, The Son of God, The Greatest Story Ever Told, or any number of biblically based films. But why do that when you could watch these instead? All great films, all Easter adjacent, all just as inspirational… for some.

Mallrats

This is the least cheeky entry on the list, and I include it entirely because it takes place Easter weekend (probably). We know it’s a Saturday, Jay and Silent Bob lay the smackdown on a very caught off guard mall Easter Bunny, and there’s a soliloquy from a wise old prophet in Stan Lee. It’s one of my favourites, and is integral to the story of me, so of course I’m going to recommend it. I’ve even been to the Eden Prairie Mall in Minnesota where it was filmed. It’s streaming free on Tubi, with digital rental/purchase options available on Amazon, Google, Apple, and a handful of others.

Happy Death Day/Happy Death Day 2 U

These time-loop horror films are brilliant additions to the time-loop subgenre, and obviously warrants inclusion in this list as Tree, our main character, is constantly resurrected via time loop mechanics in order to save us all from the killer, aka our sins. The second one leans more into the sci-fi angle of it all, and I would love it if they ever came to deal on the third and final entry treased at the end of the sequel. The Happy Death Day duology is available to rent on digital platforms

Night of the Lepus

Mutant killer rabbits. This plays to the Pagan origins of Easter. I promise I’m not intentionally loading this with horror films. This one’s just a lot of fun. I remember watching this one as a wee lad and getting a kick out of seeing Doctor McCoy. Night of the Lepus is streaming on Shudder/AMC+

Star Trek: Wrath of Khan/Search for Spock

Spock recognized the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few, or the one, and sacrificed himself to save the Enterprise, and indeed the galaxy from Khan. You have to watch them both to get the full Easter effect, the sacrifice and the resurrection. Both are streaming on Amazon Prime

Life of Brian

The pinnacle of Easter films. The bringer of the classic Easter Carol “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” Financed in part by the best Beatle, Mr. George Harrison. And Monty Python’s greatest film (sorry-not-sorry Holy Grail).

Halloween: Resurrection/Alien: Resurrection

These are without a doubt low points in their respective franchises. But it’s right there in the title. Both are available to rent digitally, so if you want to spend money on it, that’s on you.