Krampus (2015) Universal/Horror-Comedy RT: 98 minutes Rated PG-13 (sequences of horror violence/terror, language, some drug material) Director: Michael Dougherty Screenplay: Todd Casey, Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields Music: Douglas Pipes Cinematography: Jules O’Loughlin Release date: December 4, 2015 (US) Cast: Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Emjay Anthony, Stefania LaVie Owen, Conchata Ferrell, Krista Stadler, Lolo Owen, Queenie Samuel, Maverick Flack. Box Office: $42.7M (US)/$61.5M (World)
Rating: ***
Krampus may carry a PG-13 rating, but that doesn’t mean you should let your kids watch it…. unless you want them to have nightmares well into the Easter season. I have a theory as to why Universal opted for the softer rating instead of the R for which the material cries out for. It was originally supposed to be an R, but then the spirit of Christmas greed filled the heads of studio executives with visions of dancing dollar signs. Horror + Christmas + PG-13 = bigger box office. That means kids as young as 10 could conceivably buy a ticket and bear witness to the gruesome goings-on in Krampus. No, this Christmas movie is for bigger kids, especially those with a warped sense of humor. It’s like Home Alone, The Ref and Gremlins wrapped into one weird-ass package. As such, I liked it. It’s darkly funny tale about the eponymous figure of Alpine folklore who punishes bad children on Christmas. He’s the anti-Santa Claus; he even has his own band of evil elves. Building toys definitely isn’t part of their job description.
Max (Anthony, Chef) isn’t having a merry Christmas. He just got thrown out of the holiday pageant for fighting with his classmates. His family- dad Tom (Scott, Step Brothers), mom Sarah (Collette, The Sixth Sense) and older sister Beth (Owen, The Carrie Diaries)- is preoccupied with their own stuff to even sit down and watch Charlie Brown with him. Making matters worse is extended family coming for Christmas. These people are class-1 a**holes. Uncle Howard (Koechner, Anchorman) is a gun-crazy oaf. Aunt Linda (Tolman, Fargo) is inconsiderate. Their three children are insufferable bullies who torment Max from minute one. They bring along a surprise guest, elderly Aunt Dorothy (Ferrell, Two and a Half Men), a drunk who complains non-stop. There’s also a newborn and a dog for good measure.
After the two daughters read Max’s letter to Santa aloud at the dinner table, the humiliated preteen attacks them. He’s sent to his room where he tears up the letter and throws it out the window. Suddenly, a massive blizzard comes out of nowhere and strands them all in the house together with no heat, electricity or phone. Not long after, strange things start happening. Beth is attacked by some monstrous figure while walking to her boyfriend’s house and disappears. When Tom and Howard go out looking for her, something burrowing under the snow attacks Howard. And so forth.
The bad thing about a PG-13 rating is the inability to show graphic gore. That’s my usual complaint about PG-13 horror flicks. Krampus gets a pass because, unlike most PG-13 horror movies, it tells a genuinely creepy and sometimes scary story. It’s also not over-reliant on CGI effects. The evil elves look like something out of a cheesy 80s horror movie. The titular monster looks really frightening. And those killer gingerbread men are a riot. Yes, a riot.
Like I indicated, Krampus is told with its tongue firmly planted in its cheek. It’s definitely the stuff nightmares are made of, but with a darkly comedic slant. The characters are exaggerated, especially the aunt and uncle. It’s also very clever in parts, like when the grandmother, Omi (Stadler), flashes back to her childhood encounter with Krampus. Director Michael Dougherty (Trick ‘r Treat) utilizes stop-motion animation like the Rankin-Bass Christmas specials of old. Krampus is well-made, well-written and ends with a highly appropriate punchline. Speaking of lines, Koechner gets off the best one when he says, “I just got my ass kicked by a bunch of Christmas cookies.” If you liked Rare Exports a few years back, then this is definitely for you. Watch them as a double feature.
