Kramus has been a subject of Austro-Bavarian folklore for as far back as the 6th Century. So, it’s a wonder why it took over a 100 years of motion pictures for the creature who punishes naughty children to get its own movie. Sometimes the first of anything isn’t always the best. The Finnish movie Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale drew some inspiration from the folklore but the obscure and poorly reviewed Krampus: The Christmas Devil was the first to really focus on him.
I haven’t seen it. Nor does it look interesting. The entertainment industry is a weird business. A movie is proposed and somene else’s gets wind and makes something very cheap and very fast. Take Blackenstein, or Black Frankenstein, which went into production right after Blacula, except it wasn’t made by the same production company, American International. While Blacula is a decent horror exploitation movie, Blackenstein isn’t.
Krampus was released by Universal Pictures in early December 2015 to coincide with Krampusnacht which and featured Oscar-nominated actress Toni Collette, along with Adam Scott, David Koechner and Conchetta Ferrell as suburbanites being terrorized by the creature and its evil minions. There was also A Christmas Horror Story, an anthology where Krampus is featured and Krampus: The Reckoning were also released in 2015. But only Krampus got more attention, mainly because it is released by a major studio.
This was Michael Dougherty’s second movie as a director following his directorial debut, the underrated horror anthology Trick ‘r Treat. But I feel the PG-13 rating, probably a mandatory requirement by the studio, keeps Dougherty from having a lot of devilish fun he brought along with his first movie. Most of the violence is off-screen or lacks any graphic details or gore. With the exception of a seeing the feet of a tween being swallowed whole by a Jack-in-the-Box Der Klown, the movie remains tame. And like Monster House, to avoid a harsher rating, the ending was a definite requirement.
Max Engel (Emjay Anthony) still believes in Santa Claus but his family is going through some problems. His parents, Tom (Scott) and Sarah (Collette), have a rocky marriage where Max has noticed the love has gone out. His sister, Beth (Stefania LaVie Owen), is the typical teenager more concerned about spending time with her boyfriend and the least amount of time with her family.
Sarah’s side of the family is visiting for the holidays. And they’re totally opposite than her family. Her sister, Linda (Allison Tolman) might seem like the most normal one. But her husband, Howard (Koechner) is your typical conservative man who probably would’ve supported Trump and been present at the Jan. 6, 2021 events. He drives a big huge Hummer he calls “Lucinda” and even has a full arsenal in a compartment. His daughters, Stevie (Lolo Owen) and Jordan (Queenie Samuel), have been raised as if they were boys. Linda and Howard’s only son, Howie Jr. (Maverick Flack), is obese and seems to be slow-witted.
They’ve also tagged along their Aunt Dorothy (Ferrell), who seems to be an old shrew who never has a drink nearby or just finished one. She’s rude and obnoxious and causes friction with Tom and Sarah. Also at the house is Omi (Krista Stadler), Tom’s German mother, who mostly speaks in German, but doesn’t care much for the holidays. We soon learn it’s from some past trauma she suffered as a child during the WWII era or its aftermath.
A family dinner goes wrong when Stevie and Jordan get ahold of Max’s letter to Santa and read it aloud, embarrassing him but revealing some truths. One of those is that Howard wanting his daughters to be boys which they hate. They’re wearing camo at a Christmas dinner and wearing baseball caps. A fight ensues and Max tells everyone that he hates the holidays and his family. Tom comforts his son but says sometimes the holidays are hectic. He gives Max back the letter to Santa.
But Max tears it up and tosses it out the window where the wind catches it as a winter storm blows in bringing a blizzard that knocks out the power for the area and they don’t have any cellular service. Initially, they don’t think anything is wrong but it’s just a winter storm blackout. Beth gets permission to go visit her boyfriend who lives a few blocks away but she is the first to see the Krampus creature.
Later that night, the family more concerned but when Howard and Tom venture out in his Hummer to find Beth, they discover an emergency truck empty with signs that something must have attacked it through the windshield. They got to the house of Beth’s boyfriend but find it in disarray from some force that broke through. There’s also hoof prints in the snow that is coming into the house. Howard is attacked by something underneath the snow which Tom shoots at allowing them to escape back to his house.
From here, the movie resorts to the typical “Trapped in a House” creature feature horror movie. This is usually typical to have a bunch of characters who can’t get along trapped having to work together, but you really want to see more of the creatures. And made by Weta Workshops, they don’t disappoint. Seeing a mixture of practical special effects and CGI when needed makes this one of the most creative horror movies of the past 25 years. It’s almost like an ode to the Charles Band/Full Moon Features horror series Demonic Toys and Puppet Master. And there’s something comical about the evil Gingerbread Men and a stuffed bear that has razor-sharp teeth and demon eyes.
But the Big Kahuna Krampus looks better when its face isn’t shown. I think this may have to do with the limited budget of $15 million, which even in 2015 seems low. It’s revealed that Omi got frustrated with the way her parents fought and lost hope, wishing them to be taken away. Unbeknownst, she had summoned Krampus. This flashback is filmed in animation similar to stop-motion style and works perfectly.
Yet the ending never seems to be adequate. Despite being the titular character, Krampus never really looks as terrifying as he should. Again, I think this is the limits of the PG-13 rating. It should be scarier and more vicious. With all the work for the Der Klown, the evil Teddy Bear and the Gingerbread Men, it’s kind of a letdown.
The comical elements help this movie from being a full straight horror but Dougherty was able to juggle horror and comedy with Trick ‘r Treat so splendidly. The Special Needs school bus scene is wonderful and Brian Cox playing a curmudgeon terrorized by the evil Sam creature is perfect dark comedy. Yet, this seems like a better idea than it is an execution. Sometimes, trying to be too commercial isn’t the best.
I think Dougherty and his co-writers, Todd Casey and Zach Shields, might have been trying to do what Joe Dante did with Gremlins. But even that movie had to have some restrictions on it even with the gremlin exploding in the microwave scene. Originally, the gremlins eat the family dog and chop the head off the mother before the script was toned down.
But despite some of these issues, I’m sure many horror fans and fans of comedy-horror will enjoy it. Collette, Scott and Koechner don’t take their roles too seriously and understand what they’re doing. And the late Ferrell was always a delight to see in all her roles. Stadler is the nicest surprise here. Unfortunately, Anthony has the difficult task of being the main protagonist. And as he was only 11 at the time, it mostly a reaction role. He’s not bad but he gets lost among the adults.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 