Believe it or not, American cinema in
the late ‘70s and early ‘80s provided audiences with a sub-genre so mismatched,
so specific, that it seems borderline absurd: Holiday-themed horror. I was
worried that the days of such films were long gone. Alas, along comes Krampus in all of its mean-spirited
glory, new and ridiculous to younger viewers who didn’t grow up on these flicks
and a refreshing revival for the viewers who did. I could rattle off a list of
the “classic” holiday horror movies, but the pinnacle of them is 1984’s Gremlins. Krampus would make the ideal double feature to Gremlins. Director Michael Doughtery has successfully made a piece
of work that both acts as an homage to those movies, while proudly standing on
its own.
For those unfamiliar with the legend,
it’s easiest to describe Krampus as the anti-Santa. Krampus, celebrated in certain
areas of Europe for more than 100 years, comes once a year to punish the bad
children. This Krampus definitely
makes good on tradition, racking up 98 minutes worth of naughty children paying
their dues—along with the adults who spawned them. What brings Krampus to town
this time, however, is a young boy who is fairly well-behaved, named Max (Emjay
Anthony). Upon discovering his newest letter to Santa, Max’s terrible cousins
relentlessly mock him about his belief in the big guy in red, leading Max to
tear up the letter and throw it out his bedroom window. And with that one
action, Krampus is called to work. Within minutes, Max and his entire family
become stranded in their home by a blizzard, unaware of the terror(s) headed
their way.
An ensemble cast that includes Toni
Collette, David Koechner, and Adam Scott does a wonderful job of walking a fine
line between, “This can’t really be happening,” and, “Oh my God, this is really
happening!”
The movie doesn’t take long to swing
into action. Max conjures the beast not long into the first act, providing
plenty of time for chaos galore. As if Krampus himself wasn’t scary enough, he
brings along a bag of deformed versions of familiar toys to help spread the
holiday fright. There’s very little gore in Krampus
but that doesn’t mean it’s short on scares—there are plenty of those from start
to finish.
Krampus is tailored to
families with a slightly morbid sense of humor who might be looking for some
off-the-beaten-path fun this Christmas. It’s too scary for young children, but
just scary enough for the pre-teen set on. If you’re tired of traditional
holiday movies and you want something just dark enough that it puts a smile on
your face, then Krampus is the
perfect gift for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment