Krampus Review (Observer Archive from December 14, 2015)

There’s no denying that everyone knows who Santa Claus, or jolly old St. Nicholas, is and what he represents to the Christmas holiday. But only recently has America become fascinated with the folklore of Krampus, said to be the shadow of St. Nicholas who punishes the naughty children. While there are many variations as to how he punishes, it can be said that director Michael Dougherty’s film simply titled Krampus will become a definitive version for fans of his work.

            

The plot of the film concerns the holiday gathering of two families for Christmas. It’s apparent with their differing lifestyles that they don’t get along, and although Max, the younger child of the hosting family, writes a letter to Santa wishing everyone would get along, his cousins mock his letter in front of everyone. To him, this is the final straw and he renounces Christmas and his family and rips up his letter. As soon as he does this, his neighborhood is engulfed in a terrible snowstorm, trapping the families in their house and making them vulnerable to attacks from Krampus.

            The strong pints of this film have to be its cast and the designs of the demonic toys. Known funny actors Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, and Conchata Ferrell do amazing as the parents of Max, his uncle and great Aunt respectively. Still newcomer Alison Tolman is great as Koechner’s wife, with her care for both her children and her sisters during the attacks. Who really stole the show in my opinion was Krista Stadler as Max’s German grandma Omi and Max himself. Omi’s been plagued by Krampus in the past and her backstory is one of the more heartbreaking parts in the film, plus it amazingly parallels Max’s predicament and how he tries to resolve everything in the end.

            The designs of the toys, elves and Krampus himself are a breath of fresh air, in a world of constant overuse of CGI. The look of Krampus in this film is both respectful of the tradition and menacing in comparison to the human characters. His elves and the demonic toys he sends to torment the family reflect the old fashioned traditions along with sadistic mischief. You might not sleep again after seeing the clown jack in the box swallow a child.

            I highly recommend this to anyone in the mood for Christmas related horror film, and for anyone in need of their Christmas spirit, for as horrifying as the mentioned tortures are, there is a larger message about knowing what Christmas time is for and not what you want.