There is no Christmas movie in the history of cinema that has ever gone harder than Krampus. This film is an incredibly well-made and entertaining twist on the typical family Christmas story while providing one of the most genuinely eerie monster stories of recent years. There is so much to enjoy about this film, as long as one is willing to just sit back and enjoy the chaos of it all. While the performances from the entire cast are decent and the cinematography is equally as creepy, the best thing about this movie that makes it so endlessly rewatchable is the slow anxiety and madness of family around the holidays. This fusion of horror and holiday drama makes for one of the most oddly relatable stories about family that I have ever seen, despite the age-old folktale of the evil Kris Kringle. Director Michael Doughtery excellently flexes his horror muscles and whether you are watching this for the yuletide family drama or supernatural horror, there is no denying that Krampus absolutely rips.
Young Max (Emjay Anthony) is part of a normal American family with mom Sarah (Toni Collette) and dad Tom (Adam Scott) and when he becomes too frustrated with them all, he gives up on his wish for a normal Christmas. After hearing from his grandmother Omi (Krista Stadler) about a spooky holiday legend, Max realizes that he has accidentally summoned an ancient spirit known as Krampus, whose main goal is not to give but to take. One of my favorite things that filmmakers can do to create original stories is to fuse genres. That does not always work, however, but Dougherty is able to mash Christmas and horror in such a flawless manner. This has obviously been done before in many B-films and cheap, forgettable bargain bin movies but the masterful way that Dougherty keeps the audience on their feet with all kinds of drama is amazing. Krampus does not turn out to be the scariest thing on Christmas, as this movie is really more of an examination into what it is about families that drive us to our breaking point. As we see Max's cousins and uncle Howard (David Koechner) arrive, this film feels like anyone's personal family reunion. There is so much hostility and ire when it comes to dealing with extended relatives and this, for many people, is the most stressful aspect of this time of year. This element of the film is what drives its paranoia and adding the supernatural threat of Krampus on top of that only makes this movie more effective. Dougherty does an excellent job with combining the antics of family around Christmastime, akin to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, with the suspenseful horror that comes with unleashing an ancient monster upon a small town. Once the Krampus parts of this film kick in is when the true horror comes out and the most enjoyable parts reveal themselves. The audience never actually sees Krampus himself until the very end and this anxious awaiting for the monster makes the payoff so worth it all. Horror works best when the audience does not actually experience it firsthand and Dougherty knows this all too well. He also definitely knows how to make a seemingly cliché horror premise incredibly enjoyable by toying with what makes it scary in the first place.
The cinematography and editing throughout this film are effective but the performances are what make these characters really pop. Adam Scott, Toni Collette, and David Koechner are all cast perfectly in this movie and while most of them are typically known for comedy, they are utilized in this family setting perfectly. Their interactions and the way that they all end up working together to fight against the incoming evil makes for such great development, as typical and generically efficient as it may be. There is also a very impressive animated sequence about halfway throughout this film when the horror begins that not only helps to tell the narrative but is a film in and of itself. However, the most impressive part of this entire film that helps sell it to me as an essential Christmas film is its use of practical effects. A lot of this film's technical elements make it one of the only Christmas films to not rely on CGI or gross monster effects and for that, I highly applaud it. The puppet work with the evil elves and the monster design of Krampus himself is truly horrifying and even for a PG-13 rating, this movie accomplishes so much with its visual terror. The only fully piece of CGI that this film contained were the gingerbread men but even they looked fantastic given the small budget. I will always prefer films that creatively utilize practical effects instead of wasting money on CGI and this movie puts so much effort into its spectacular design. No matter your stance on the corniness of Christmas films or the often predictability of horror films, Krampus provides an excellent new take on what can be considered a great holiday movie.
Krampus might not follow the exact details of its spooky folklore but the fact that Dougherty is able to introduce a new generation to this evil spirit in a Hollywood setting is fantastic. There are obvious flaws to this movie, the most obvious being its formulaic plot but I can not help myself but to absolutely love this story. Whether it's the adorable Adam Scott in a dramatic role or the mind-bending twist at the end, this film has become a personal Christmas necessity.
My Rating: ★★★★
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