The beauty of Michael Dougherty’s Christmas horror movie is that it never forgets, not for one moment, that it’s a Christmas movie. If you went in without knowing what the movie was about, you’d probably expect something closer to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. This works for the film beautifully.
A big issue I have with novelty horror is all the novelty. I will gladly watch a B-movie style Danny Trejo zombie flick any night of the week, but don’t make me pay for a movie theater ticket and try to sell me something silly. Krampus opens with “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” playing over Black Friday style carnage in a shopping mall, and keeps moving until we see the kids in the Christmas play cheering on two kids beating the living crap out of each other.
As it turns out, the kid in the reindeer suit is getting his ass kicked because he threw a punch at the brat who told all the first graders Santa wasn’t real. Here we meet the family that will take the brunt of Krampus’s wrath. The workaholic dad, the distracted teen daughter, a perfectionist mother, young Max, and his German grandmother – the last two to believe in the Christmas spirit.
Almost immediately, the redneck family rolls in with their stinky dog and bitchy aunt. All the Christmas movie tropes are in place when the cousins steal Max’s letter to Santa, an emotional and deeply personal plea for each of the members in his family. He’s humiliated, and so he tears the letter to Santa up and throws it out the window.
Here’s the beauty – the start of the film is just like any Christmas movie, and with Max’s humanizing view of his family, you care about them. There’s even a touching moment with his father (played by national treasure, Adam Scott) right before he gives up on the Christmas business all together and brings the wrath of Krampus down on his wealthy suburb.
From the first death, you know this movie isn’t fucking around. The message becomes clear early on – you will embrace the spirit of Christmas, or you will watch everyone you love die a horrible, violent death. The monsters ranged from fun and silly to outright fucking horrifying, and a small portion of the movie that works as the grandmother’s flashback is animated in a perfectly dark style that was incredible to watch. One strength is that you get Krampus in pieces before you have to face him full on – the horror builds as the family tries to defend themselves, protect the children, and figure out if there is anything they can do to stop the carnage.
Now, I know what you’re thinking – do they learn to love one another and embrace the Christmas spirit? Well I won’t get into spoilers, but the emotional impact of the film outweighs the horror five-fold. The family does break down their hard hearts, they do start to understand that their differences aren’t as important as their familial bond – it just doesn’t matter.
Krampus doesn’t give a shit how much you’ve grown.
The characters are the best part. Reluctant-action-hero Adam Scott is my second favorite Adam Scott (first favorite is Ben Wyatt, obviously), but the women in this movie show him up pretty good. Too many horror movies rely on the maternal instinct trope to get the women kicking ass, and there’s no doubt that the two mothers watching their children be punished by an ancient pagan demigod are fired up – but even the characters who are most definitely not maternal get their action in. Omi, the wise grandmother (played by Krista Stadler) is tough as nails throughout, standing stoically by with one goal – to keep the fire hot and the family safe.
The end of the movie doubles down on the gut punches, leaving the worst punishment for last.
Ultimately this movie was more fun and emotional than outright scary, at least for the seasoned horror fan, but I think that’s what made it great. It’s hard to scare someone who’s been watching horror movies since they were seven years old – so Dougherty goes for the heart instead. You’ll laugh, you might cry, and you will get right on putting the Christmas lights up.
