Krampus
Director: Michael Dougherty
Cast: Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner
Universal Studios
April 26, 2016
Reviewed by Brian M. Sammons
Writer/director Michael Dougherty showed up on my radar with his amazing Halloween-themed anthology, Trick ‘r Treat (2007), that was woefully treated by the studio and unceremoniously dumped to DVD instead of getting the theatrical release it so richly deserved. So when I heard that Dougherty was going to give another holiday (this time Christmas) his horror treatment, and that it would be coming out to theaters, I was a very happy and hopeful man. But usually when that happens, disappointment soon follows. Well I don’t know if this qualifies as a Christmas miracle, but this movie was every bit as good as Trick ‘r Treat, in some ways even better, and now it’s out on Blu-ray from Universal. So you know from the start you should get it, and if you’re in a hurry you can stop reading now. But if you want to know specifics, then grab your winter coat, maybe bring a shotgun, and be sure you don’t forget your Christmas spirit, because we’re going to spend some time with The Shadow of Santa, Krampus.
The movie starts off like any other Christmas-based comedy these days, showing the very worst in humanity and how the holidays turn everyone into jerks. Then you get the forced dinner with the extended family where no one really likes anyone, and everyone is trying their best to be jackass of the year. Into this holiday cliché falls young Max who, despite being too old to do so, still believes in Santa and just wants a nice Christmas like they use to have. But after the dinner from hell, he gets fed up, rips up his letter to Santa, and thus invites doom and horror to visit this holiday in the form of a hulking, hunchbacked, horned and hoofed horror from the old world named Krampus. Aided by an army of evil helpers and scary surprises, Krampus goes about teaching the family what misery truly is, and how it’s really, really important not to lose that Christmas spirit. Or else!
There are many things that make this movie work so wonderfully that it easily made my list of Top Ten Horror Movies from 2015. First, the direction is spot on, with both the humorous and horrific moments being treated with equal care and skill. Michael Dougherty is two for two with me and I can’t wait to see what he does next. The actors all deliver very fine performances, being able to go form despicable douchebags to fully fleshed-out characters I care about as the film progressed. Even the kids all do good work here, and usually child actors leave me cold. The special effects and creature design are both whimsical and downright terrifying. This is the rare movie that does both comedy and horror so right – when things are meant to be funny, you’ll laugh out loud; when it’s time to turn up the terror, the atmosphere is palpable, as is the tension. It is also the very, VERY rare fright flick that is effective for the adults watching it, but not so intense as to traumatize any child in the audience. And to be clear, this is a great movie for grownup horror fans to introduce their offspring to spooky cinema. Krampus is frightening but it is also fun – the movie is scary but it doesn’t have to be gratuitous in any way to do so. The film works on every level conceivable, there’s even some family drama thrown in there, it looks amazing doing it in both design and cinematography, and has an awesome soundtrack and sound design as the cherry on top. Krampus easily gets a spot on Santa’s nice list.
As for the extras on this Blu-ray from Universal, first and foremost there is a commentary with co-writer/director Michael Dougherty and co-writers Todd Casey and Zach Shields. There is a 30 minute behind-the-scenes/making-of featurette called “Krampus Comes Alive!” and another one that’s about the Weta workshop that made all the Krampus creatures that runs about 10 minutes. There is a gag reel, a nice selection of deleted and extended scenes, and an alternate ending that’s basically just a variant of what we got in the theaters. Last but not least, there are a bunch of galleries for posters, creature art, story art, x-mas card art, and storyboards.
Krampus is a truly great movie, a new horror holiday classic that works both for adults and for kids. That is a rare and wonderful thing, something that should be celebrated, so spread some holiday cheer and pick up this Blu-ray/DVD/digital combo pack. Let it become part of your seasonal movie watching tradition – it is for me. Consider Krampus very highly recommended and a must get when it comes out April 26th.
