Review of Krampus (2015) by Jack F — 04 Jun 2017

You really want your kids to behave during Christmastime this year? Have them watch "Krampus...".

A figure of mostly Eastern European folklore, Krampus is the companion to St. Nicholas, the yin to the jolly old saint's yang. Whereas Nick rewarded those who'd been well-behaved, his horned, cloven-hooved counterpart punished the naughty and the wicked. And in "Krampus," Michael Dougherty, who previously took on Halloween with the underrated "Trick R Treat," unleashes the being on an unfortunate family who seems to have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas.

Picture "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" with a horror twist, and you'd have a pretty good idea of what to expect. And while the Engels are no Griswolds when it comes to dysfunction, they surely have their issues. Workaholic Tom (Adam Scott) can't stay off his cell phone while his wife, Sarah (Toni Collette), spends more time fretting about visiting relatives than actually prepping for the upcoming Christmas holiday. The relatives are her sister, Linda (Allison Tolman), her loutish brother-in-law, Howard (David Kouchner), and their nasty, unruly children. Meanwhile teenage daughter Beth (Stefania LaVie Owen) would rather spend the holiday with her boyfriend than her family, and drunken old Aunt Dorothy (Conchata Ferrell) uses every opportunity she can to cut Sarah down.

Only young son Max (Emjay Anthony) has retained a smidgen of the Christmas spirit, but even he reaches his breaking point when his rotten cousins needle him for still believing in Santa Claus. And then, despite the warnings from Tom's elderly German mother (Krista Stadler), who has experience with this sort of thing, the entire household slips into a state of anger and despair. And then a mysterious winter storm suddenly descends upon their neighborhood, and it's brought a certain mythological creature along with it...

It gives a whole new meaning to "You better watch out/You better not cry/You better not pout/I'm telling you why...".

As Krampus and his minions begin to terrorize the Engel family, Dougherty wisely keeps the opening portions' darkly comedic tone. It has a sort of Joe Dante-esque puckishness; the film wants to make you laugh while it scares you. The supernatural hijinks keep escalating, and you'll be reminded of the "Evil Dead" movies. The Engel family is basically a clan of Ash Williamses, trying to retain their composure while dealing with an increasingly hostile presence, a presence that is also not without a morbid sense of humor.

I mean we're talking evil, demented gingerbread men and sentient dolls and jack-in-the boxes. We're talking attacking Christmas toys and double-barreled shotguns. We're talking an animated sequence that explains how the grandmother is familiar with Krampus. It's all great fun.

The movie has a sort of old-school spirit to it that makes it even more entertaining. Most of the special effects are practical rather than computer-generated. Krampus himself is kept in the shadows for most of the film, letting our imagination fill in most of the blanks (a la something like "Jaws"). And the excellent cast finds just the right note, somewhere between playing it completely straight and winking at the audience (again, like Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams).

"Krampus" would make for a perfect companion piece with "Gremlins," another Christmas-adjacent horror comedy. If you enjoyed the way the earlier film straddled the line between the genres, then "Krampus" will be right up your alley.

But whatever you do, just make sure you behave yourself, particularly around Christmastime. Because if Santa sees you when you're sleeping and knows when you're awake, then that means Krampus does too. And he's got a lot more than just coal waiting for you...