Review of Krampus (2015) by Kjetil J — 23 Sep 2017
One of those fantasy horrors one step away from being truly awesome. (The Babadook springs to mind.) Krampus looks like Spielberg, Dante, Burton and Jackson had a fistfight. And everybody won. When it wants to be Christmasy, it is sometimes cynical, sometimes touching or downright soppy. Some of the frights hit home, but you must endure some frantic editing and misplaced one-liners. And when the monsters turn into a crowd - you can only have so much eye candy. Should have gone for the slow burn more often. Krampus itself is masterfully revealed, from a glimpse to full frontal.
Toni Collette is strangely underused, together with her daughter (Stefania LaVie Owen) - a potential heroine. Instead there is a lot of unnecessary male gun-bonding between the sub-Griswalds Adam Scott and David Koechner. Let it be said that Koechner is the actor most attuned to the mood shifts.
80`s PGpap aside: You may compare Krampus with two transitional films made by directors on their path from indie wild child to the mainstream - The Frighteners by Peter Jackson, and Sam Raimi`s The Quick and the Dead. (I rather like the last one.) And why not make it a double bill with the Dutch made Sint? Krampus vs Sinterklaas anyone?
This review of Krampus (2015) was written by Kjetil J on 23 Sep 2017.
Krampus has generally received mixed reviews.
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