Review of Krampus (2015) by Brett H — 11 Dec 2015

Krampus is a refreshing addition to the very limited Christmas horror genre that drops you right into the madness of the holiday and brings a deadly, unwelcome guest. The mythos of Krampus began in Europe as a type of Anti-Clause that was used to scare children straight and he very much does the same here.

Directed by Michael Dougherty, who helmed another awesome holiday horror flick, Trick R Treat, it is a total throwback film to the greatness of the 80s with mostly practical effects, real tension, and at times reminded me of Gremlins! The cast is pretty stellar for a horror film with the likes of Toni Collette, David Koechner, Alison Tilman, and Adam Scott all giving convincing performances among the madness taking place.

As said, the practical effects are AMAZING and exactly what I wanted to see with a creepy-as-fuck, Jack in the box, slug...thing that was easily the scariest creature in the film. Krampus himself isn't actually on screen as much as the trailers might make you think, as he's more of a dictator with an army of Christmas minions to do his bidding, but when he does show up; he certainly is an imposing force.

I will say that the script does drop the ball in a few instances and things just sort-of happen without the proper reactions from the characters, even when death is involved and the ending ALMOST blew the whole thing, but luckily they corrected it with a satisfyingly dark ending.

I had a blast with Krampus and I can see myself re-visiting this in the future as a perfect double-bill with Trick R Treat!