Krampus
It’s really frustrating when a movie like “Krampus” comes out. Here is a movie that is very much in the realm of “horror comedy,” but is not particularly scary nor funny. Don’t get me wrong- it has individual moments of both, not to mention some of the best creature effects in recent memory, but individual moments do not make a movie like this work. That doesn’t mean there isn’t value in it, though.
Krampus is an evil Christmas demon from Germanic folklore. He is seen as the antithesis of Santa Claus- rather than coming to reward the good girls and boys, Krampus comes to punish children who have lost the Christmas spirit. We know this from Omi (Krista Stadler), the mother of Tom (Adam Scott), whose family is hosting her sister-in-law’s family for Christmas this year. Tom’s family- including wife Sarah (Toni Collette), son Max (Emjay Anthony) and daughter Beth (Stefania LaVie Owen)- have had a rough year as a family, and the holidays make it difficult with Tom’s job taking up a lot of his time, and it’s only exasperated when Linda (Allison Tolman) and Howard (David Koechner) and their family of misfit children come to visit. Tom and Howard are very different types of people, although the sisters get along alright. There’s a lot of infighting between everyone, though, and it just isn’t like how Christmas should be for Max. It’s had an effect on him, though, and he writes Santa as much. When that letter is read aloud by his obnoxious cousins, however, the last bit of Christmas cheer, and hope for a return to the old days, is gone for Max, and he tears up the letter. At that point, the power goes out throughout their entire block, and a massive blizzard starts. Omi gets a fire going, and insists that they keep it going. That seems like a sensible thing to do, but as she will reveal later, she has a sense of what is coming for the family this Christmas, and it’s not Santa Claus and presents.
The film is co-written and directed by Michael Dougherty, who wrote “X2” and “Superman Returns” for Bryan Singer (and is returning to the superhero genre with “X-Men: Apocalypse”), but has also got a love of horror, as well. In that realm, he wrote the direct-to-DVD “Urban Legends: Bloody Mary” in 2005 and wrote and directed a cult hit in 2007’s “Trick ‘r Treat,” which he’s slated to work on a sequel for in the future. Here, he’s put together a central cast best known for comedy, and put them in the middle of a dark horror setting, seeming to hope for a tone along the lines of Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead” trilogy while also making a film that will become a new classic in the odd little “Christmas horror movie” genre. I’m not prepared to say he accomplished his goals, although he didn’t fail completely at them, either. Among the cast, Stadler is the most memorable for how her words have a haunting resonance- she’s lived long enough to see things the others wouldn’t believe possible. The film is at it’s best after we see Tom and Howard go out and try and locate Beth (who went to check on her boyfriend), and the family gets an idea of what they’re up against. This is where the effects crew comes into play, and the designs are delightfully creepy and scary. You’ve never seen a clown as scary as the one in the jack-in-the-box that infiltrates their home, and watching Koechner go up against some deranged gingerbread men is one of my favorite moments in a movie this year. When it gets down to the horror, “Krampus” is quite a lovely holiday treat. When it tries to throw some dark humor into the mix, it doesn’t work quite as well. Points for effort, though.
