By Lindsey Schibelhut, Staff Reporter.
“You better watch out, You better not cry, You better not pout, I’m telling you why, Krampus is coming to town!”
Have you been naughty this year? Or lost the Christmas spirit? Well Krampus and his evil horde are going to scare that spirit back into you. “Krampus” is the latest horror/comedy film released on Dec. 4, from director Michael Dougherty. The film was written by Dougherty along with Todd Casey and Zach Shields.
In the beginning of the film we are introduced to Max (Emjay Anthony), his sister Beth (Stefania LaVie Owen), his mother Sarah (Toni Collette), his father Tom (Adam Scott) and Tom’s mother Omi (Krista Stadler). Max is a somewhat introverted preteen who is desperate to keep the Christmas spirit alive in his family.
However, after the arrival of his aunt, uncle and their children, his holiday spirit is dashed when his cousins embarrass him by reading the letter he wrote to Santa Claus out loud at the dinner table. Furious Max then rips his letter to shreds and throws it out his bedroom window. Unbeknownst to Max, this act unleashes the evil entity known as Krampus on his family and they all have to work together in order to survive the night.
One of the highest praises I can give to this movie is the selection of the cast. Since the film is a mixture of comedy and horror, I was pleasantly surprised at how well both of those elements were blended together; the actors play well off of one another throughout. The main standout performance for me is Emjay Anthony. You see his character go from child-like innocence to making tough decisions about how to reverse the Krampus curse to save his family.
I also enjoyed the film’s story, it seemed well written and I also enjoyed the cinematography. The director did well in bringing out the nostalgic spirit of the holidays. My favorite is the beginning montage of the film. Michael Dougherty really captures the insanity which is gift buying during the Christmas season and it adds to the comedic element. You see shoppers going mad, knocking down products and a few shoppers being dragged out by security.
But here’s what you really want to know – Is it scary? It is, in a jump scare, edge of your seat way (at least for me), but it wasn’t scary in a slasher film sense. I don’t want to give too many spoilers, but if you’ve ever wondered what it would look like to see a jack-in-the-box eat a child – you will wonder no more.
I feel like the story is trying to convey what it means to lose the ‘reason for the season’ and the consequences that it can bring. The scary elements just helped to guide the story along and tell it in a new and interesting way. Some people may hate me for saying this but it reminded me of something M. Night Shyamalan might try to pull off if he were actually good at it.
They could improve the film a bit by making it a tad more scary and tweaking the special effects of the Krampus character. Krampus had a perpetually open mouth that looked just a little too fake.
Overall, if you are looking for a campy Christmas film that doesn’t fit the norm of regular holiday flicks then “Krampus” is your ticket, but it is certainly not child friendly. It brings a new perspective to ‘be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.’
