Review of Krampus (2015) by Christopher E — 30 Apr 2016

A non traditional Christmas/Halloween mashup that feels like it belongs in the 90's, but it's ridiculousness and practical effects will keep you giggling.

Krampus is a demonic legend, who around Christmas time, goes around punishing those who have lost faith in St. Nicholas. As Christmas starts to approach, this broken family and their relatives struggle to get along, and as a result, Krampus and his minions arrive. Through a couple nights of terror and slaughter, the legend of Krampus will play out on, and the Grade B horror ensues.

Let me just start out by saying that I was actually really excited for this movie when I first saw the trailers. I'm usually pretty good at depicting the quality of the movie based on trailers, and I was one of few who said this movie would be good. Did it live up to expectations? Not fully, but was it bad? Definitely not. It's a mix of ridiculousness and cringe worthy moments that's practically a throwback to the late 1900's.

One thing that's actually pretty fun about this movie is the mayhem and chaos caused by Krampus and his crew. The first thing you really see in this movie is Krampus himself, and it's a pretty solid introduction. His massive figure and quick movements make him terrifying, and you appreciate the fact that when you see him up close, it's a costume. Most of the effects done in the movie are practical and costumes, which makes it even better. When all of his little minions are tearing up the house or terrorizing the family, it's actually really entertaining. Some of the monsters specifically are my actually favorite characters of the film, which could be considered a good or a bad thing.

One thing that sorely lacked in this film was the characters themselves. Now what I think the director/writers were trying to do was they were trying to keep the movie silly and crazy, because they knew something like this couldn't be taken seriously. They embraced it, which resulted in cartoon like characters. With that, they tried to implement comedic relief and moments that would make you laugh, but as a result, we were left with some awful human characters that actually deserved what was coming. They tried to give some characters comedic dialogue, but it made them seem like as*holes and ill mannered. Character development is not the point, but it doesn't hurt to just have some decent people in the movie. There are very few likable ones, if any.

The dialogue is just awful in every way, but as I type that, I sit here laughing and enjoying myself. Is that what movies back then were like? It felt like Gremlins combined with 90's action, which will result in over the top cartoon violence with some eye rolling one liners. I understand though, and about halfway through the movie, I realized I wasn't going to get the depth I was hoping for, so I just embraced the plot. As a result, the movie became a lot more fun, and it just felt like a guilty pleasure film.

None of the characters are necessarily dumb either, they're just rude people in a slasher type flick. Go into this with the mentality that people are here for the sake of gore and death, and you're not supposed to care about any of them.

The reason why this movie had me hooked was also because of its holiday theme. It's a non traditional Christmas story with a twist on it, while inadvertently adding a Halloween feel to the story. It strays from the usual Christmas tales, which I admire. The story actually goes a little deeper if you really think about it, and I was pleased with the ending. It shows the darker side of the holidays, and how it's not all fine and dandy. There's always conflict in some families, and the holiday season is not always a favorite. It's a darker tone during the season, and it will put a bit of a twist on our Christmas movie marathon.

In the end, "Krampus" has its struggles for sure, but its also has some positives. If you take this movie for what it is, you will be able to have some fun with it. In the end, I can definitely give this movie a fresh rating.