There aren't that many films which combine Christmas with other elements and still have it as a central theme, since one main idea usually takes centre stage. It's usually a Christmas Carol first or A holiday film about insane killers, and that's fine with me. It's true we can all watch Gremlins repeatedly on an annual basis, that's just the way things go. It's about not taking responsibility for your gifts I guess... but as a mixture of festive themes and puppets the monster elements have always been the focus. It was originally a summer release after all. Michael Dougherty's Krampus (not to be confused with the countless low effort releases to feature the same Yuletide figure) on the other hand balances this all perfectly, it's full of creatures but it's still all about the holidays.
Part Scrooge, part creature feature this is certainly a fairly low budget affair, but you'd never notice during the story since this is a film made with a maximum effort from everyone involved involved. It opens with the full force of a consumer centric holiday, as festive music plays to a slow motion montage of people trampling each other to reach gifts. The blend of sickly sweet sounds and humorously dark sights really sets the tone here before it introduces our family of main characters. This is a comedy at heart, and while the monsters (domestic and otherworldly) are going to play a big part there is not a great deal of actual horror nastiness or bloodshed.
A lot of this is purely about having fun as expectations and reality begin to clash. The picture perfect family portrait with Santa is all wrong for a variety of reasons and it sets the rest of the story right on course. Max (Emjay Anthony) just wants this years reunion to be a great few days with the family just like the good old days... but this hope is immediately derailed once his awful relatives actually show their faces. The mixture of character types is pretty broad but it maintains the amusement factor as obnoxious cousins, uncles obsessed with home defence, and great aunts who say whatever they think without any tact arrive to upset Max's expectations.
Of course eventually this means that it's all the more satisfying to see some of these characters being tormented by a variety uninvited guests later on. There's plenty of head butting before Max gives up on the whole idea and tears up his Christmas wish letter and it gets whisked way up the chimney -- which leads to the intervention of the titular antagonist and all his nightmarish helpers. It's kind of like what might happen if Mary Poppins decided to come down and ruin everyone's weekend instead of helping tidy the house. There's a fairy tell element to the story that is both cosy and sinister, which is an excellent balancing act.
Visually this is all very slick throughout but the best aesthetic choices in the film really kick in when the pieces of the destroyed letter are whisked away and an sudden sub zero weather front hits the whole town. A huge blizzard covers the streets and as night falls it's clear the power is out and only candles and firelight are available. Being stuck like this while all the family bickering heats up might be bad enough, but the arrival of some sinister looking snowmen on the lawn and a bag of mystery parcels on the doorstep herald the arrival of a few more malicious visitors to the household. For a film titled around the evil version of Saint Nicholas you might not have expected any other arrivals, but he's bringing with him a band of helpers.
Krampus's sack is full of surprises in the form of monster toys and other assorted minions to punish those who have lost their Christmas spirits. The ensuing creepy spectacle is the big event in the story, and it delivers plenty of imaginative designs courtesy of Weta Workshop. Outside a few killer gingerbread creations everything here is at least part puppet, and once the madness begins to gear up in the third act it becomes a showcase for these monsters; some part toy and some twisted versions of Santa's regular helpers. There's a long build up to some of the reveals but it's never dull and is worth the wait. It's not a gruesome movie, and the horror sequences are more zany than disturbing. But there's still something amusingly gross about all of the creations on show which are filled with detail and character.
For a central premise which is so silly they really didn't need to put so much work in, but the whole thing is full of great moments and creativity. The attention to detail from the monsters to the music and sound is pretty impressive. Even what could have been dry exposition dump is done with flair, since they throw in a great stop motion sequence to talk about Krampus himself and explain his motives. The festive fable, the dysfunctional relatives and monster attack gags are nothing new, but the way it all comes together makes this a satisfying treat. It's a film that will sit easily alongside some of the regular viewings for those who like their Christmas films to be macabre. If you need something weird and wonderful this delivers both.
4/5
