Krampus
"Saint Nicholas is not coming this year. Instead, a much darker, ancient
spirit. His name is Krampus. He and his helpers did not come to give,
but to take. He is the shadow of Saint Nicholas." -Omi
The 2015 horror-comedy Krampus is directed by Michael Dougherty (Trick r' Treat) and stars Adam Scott as Tom, Toni Collette as Sarah, David Koechner as Howard, Allison Tolman as Linda, Conchata Ferrell as Aunt Dorothy, Emjay Anthony as Max, and Krista Sadler as Omi.
^A Christmas horror movie?...I'm not too optimistic.^
If you don't know who Krampus is, don't worry because I didn't before I saw this movie. Krampus is basically the opposite of Santa Clause. He is Santa's evil shadow (in goat man form) who punishes those people who lose their hope and stop believing in the true meaning of Christmas.
Krampus is centered around two sides of the same family. One side (Tom, Sarah, Omi, and the two kids, Max and Beth) are good and nice, but the other side (Howard, Linda, Aunt Dorothy, and the 3 kids, Howard Jr., Stevie, and Jordan) are the dysfunctional and completely unlikable bunch. Max tears up his letter to Santa and throws it out the window shortly after he loses his temper and yells to his family that he hates them. A snowstorm comes tumbling in and now the family is trapped inside the house. Que Krampus! Insanity ensues and now we've Krampus' minions which include evil gingerbread men with sharp candy canes attacking the family, an evil jack-in-the-box eating the children, and dark elves taking members of the family.
^Wha?????^
I would say Krampus surprised me in a good way. It was better than I expected, for sure, but at the same time, that's not saying much. What I admired greatly about the work on Krampus was the practical effects put into it. Almost all of the monsters in Krampus were practical, meaning that they were not computer animated. There were those exceptions like the gingerbread men with the sharp candy canes, but come on, how could you make gingerbread men running around with different facial expressions and stabbing people as a practical effect? I would especially like to point out that Krampus himself looked pretty creepy and cool. It was a nice design and throwback to 80's type of horror-comedy.
^HAHAHA! Those things are f***ing hilarious!^
Unfortunately for Mr. Krampus, he and his minions couldn't save the movie from being forgettable. The movie itself was a little too simple and at times I could see Krampus as only being released straight to DVD or streaming. The scenes and beats throughout Krampus felt repetitive to many below par horror films. Granted, it was executed better, but I didn't feel like it offered much besides the premise itself. The thing that a viewer has to realize going in (and maybe that's why I enjoyed the movie more than I should have) is that Krampus is a ridiculous movie and there's going to be crazy things happening. Emphasis on ridiculous and crazy. A problem with the story (and pacing for that matter), was not getting to see much of the goat man entity Krampus. He doesn't seem to be the major reason causing the peril on this family. His minions do more of the dirty work, which I enjoyed watching, but the movie is called Krampus. I would've liked Krampus to be the on-screen threat.
^It's not a must see. You can walk to see it. You don't have to run.^
Maybe making Krampus rated R could have benefited the film in retrospect. There are curse words throughout the movie, but there were scenes where I could see that a couple more f-bombs would've made the danger seem more real (hard to say the word "real" when you're talking about killer gingerbread men and man eating jack-in-the-boxes). Maybe some more blood too?
^C'mon! You can't tell me this thing can't tear through your skin and induce gore!....Sorry. I guess I just like a good toy bear murder.^
Speaking of swearing, Adam Scott and David Koechner are two of the main characters in Krampus. Tom (Scott) is Max's dad who is charismatic and a total right turn from what Scott usually does (i.e. Step Brothers). Howard (Koechner) is a jerk and still the same kind of character Koechner always does, but maybe a little more family oriented. Like Tom, his family is pretty likable and like Koechner, his family is unbearable. Not a funny kind of unbearable, but a kind of unbearable where I found myself rooting for Krampus and his minions to get them.
<Please spare Tom, Krampus!
Take Howard. It would be my gain.>
While I can see Krampus as being a hit with cult classic followers, I can't see this as a hit with the average movie-goer. It has a campy sense of humor that definitely pulls from 1984's Gremlins. If you're going to see it then keep an open mind. A very wide open mind. It's silly, creepy (at times), and is complete lunacy, but I still was somewhat entertained. Krampus has replay value for it's amusing creatures and interesting premise. Maybe that's enough to make you want to go see it. Just be sure to be believe and be nice, not naughty or else Krampus will come...
Pro
- Funny moments with Krampus' minions
- Cool 80's horror throwback with an interesting premise
- Practical effects are very admirable
- Mostly unlikable characters
- Not enough of Krampus!
- Simple film that didn't offer a lot
- Missed opportunity with not having R rating
2.9/5
Krampus is rated PG-13 for sequences of horror violence/terror, language, and some drug material
Watch the trailer here
Krampus is in theaters everywhere now
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