RATING THE KRAMPUS MOVIES - PART 1

Rating the Krampus Movies - Part 1

Article by Ray Schillaci

Call it what you will, but the creative minds of the film industry tend to think alike at times, and so often the case comes up with similar ideas that end up racing for the viewer’s attention. We’ve seen this with disaster films, silly rom-coms, and westerns (“Wyatt Earp” and “Tombstone” going mano a mano). The latest example is the black sheep in the Saint Nick family, “Krampus”.

According to the National Geographic website, Krampus is the “Christmas Devil” – “Half goat, half demon, horrific beast who literally beats people into being nice and not naughty.” In 2010, Norway gave us a unique glimpse into the fun and frightening fantasy of it all with “Rare Exports”. Five years later, here in the States, creative minds (and, some not-so-creative) deliver not one, but four tales of this yuletide terror. None of them as impactful or fanciful as the Norwegian product, but some do have their merits, and deliver some gruesome goodies for those that are seeking out the horror of the holidays aside from Black Friday.

Only one of the four have received the luxury of a decent theatrical release via Universal Pictures. This is not to discredit the others, but it does give Universal’s beast a far bigger audience to take a chunk out of. The Big U’s “Krampus” also comes equipped with higher production values and a stronger cast. Adam Scott (“Parks and Recreation”), Toni Collette (“Little Miss Sunshine”), David Koechner (“Anchorman”), and Conchatta Ferrell (“Two and a Half Men”) round out the tongue-in-cheek tale skewering beloved Christmas movies and spice it up with their brand of comic timing.

“Krampus” could be a close cousin to such dark holiday fare as “Gremlins” or “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. In fact, at times the film does remind me of early Tim Burton films (“Beetlejuice”, “Edward Scissorhands”). The scares are more silly than terrifying, but the creative energy behind it all is far more fun to watch. On the other hand, one cannot help but notice either a direct rip or a homage to Stuart Gordon’s cult favorite “Dolls,” which was probably done with less than a third of the budget and far more freaky fun over 25 years ago (God, I feel old).

Director, Michael Dougherty (2007’s cult favorite “Trick ‘r Treat”) treats us to a Christmas Eve with a very dysfunctional family that is about to come upon a rude awakening as to the meaning of it all (the holiday season) where a lump of coal would be welcomed over the ghastly events that are about to befall them. After the bickering, berating and mental beatings from annoying family members, young Max is sick of it all, and wishes them away. And that’s where our titled character is happy to oblige with demonic jack-in-the-boxes, evil elves, a beastly stuffed bear, possessed gingerbread men, and an angel doll with very sharp teeth.

The nastiness that follows is far more fun than frightful. The film almost cries out for audience participation during some of the more outrageous events, credit has to go out to the director, and the writing team of Todd Casey, Dougherty and Zach Shields. Although their film is not perfect and may not be as embraced or memorable for fright fans as “Rare Exports” or the “All Through the House” segment in 1972’s “Tales From the Crypt,” it still maintains a giddy fantasy-like darkness that is well worth seeing on the big screen. Some of the scares could have been heightened, and some of the comic hijinks could also have been trimmed to make it a leaner, meaner horror holiday tale. But out of the four films out there, “Krampus” is one helluva treat with a real cool ending.

“A Christmas Horror Story” is to be commended for not only it’s delightfully daffy ad campaign, sporting old Saint Nick actually doing combat with Krampus, but also being ambitious enough to deliver not one but four tales of terror that actually intertwine rather than be separate entities. On top of all this, we have a Norman Rockwell-type setting with a pugnacious radio host, William Shatner. All of this just adds to the fun, and you can’t help but feel that the directors, Grant Harvey, Steven Hoban and Brett Sullivan went in with tongue firmly in cheek.

Unfortunately, it’s a rather uneven mix with two of the tales being sub-par in suspense and fun. The students seeking out to do a documentary, and living the nightmare once lived before feels tired and trite, and another dysfunctional family pays a visit to a decrepit aunt only to meet up with the legendary Christmas Devil. Both stories get nowhere near the creativity, fun and creepiness of the other two. They have their jump scares and cool effects (especially Krampus himself), but they are nowhere near engaging.

What sells us on the whole picture is a laid-back Shatner doing his best disc jockey snockered on egg nog, a family stealing more (unbeknownst to them) than just a Christmas tree, and Saint Nicholas dealing with a zombie outbreak amongst his elves, and eventually doing battle with a beautifully rendered Krampus. Shatner is purely delightful exuding the joys of Christmas in the small town of Bailey Down. The stolen Christmas tree story is creepy as hell, and probably the most suspenseful. It might have even had legs to be it’s own story, creepy little kid and all.

Then there is the ridiculous, but absolutely dizzy fun of watching Santa dismember his elves one by one. There’s something so dark and comical about the whole affair, you can’t help but laugh and cheer. To top it all off, this fun fright flick ends with a bang and a whirl of a twist. This is definitely worth renting over the holiday season and showing to friends and family (no impressionable youngsters – unless you have certain obnoxious members you wish to scar).