Krampus (I) (2015)

Krampus (I) (2015)

Krampus is a 2015 American horror comedy film based upon the eponymous character from Alpine folklore, directed by Michael Dougherty and written by Dougherty, Todd Casey, and Zach Shields. The film stars Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Emjay Anthony, Stefania LaVie Owen, and Krista Stadler. It was released on December 4, 2015.

Storyline

When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max (Emjay Anthony) is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus: a demonic force of ancient evil intent on punishing non-believers. All hell breaks loose as beloved holiday icons take on a monstrous life of their own, laying siege to the fractured family's home and forcing them to fight for each other if they hope to survive.

Plot

On December 22, a suburban family gets together to celebrate the holidays—Tom (Adam Scott) and Sarah (Toni Collette), their children Beth (Stefania LaVie Owen) and Max (Emjay Anthony); Sarah's sister Linda (Allison Tolman), Linda's husband Howard (David Koechner), their children Stevie, Jordan, Howie Jr., and their newborn daughter; Sarah and Linda's aunt Dorothy (Conchata Ferrell); and Tom's German mother, who is affectionately referred to as "Omi" (Krista Sadler). Max wants to continue the family's Christmas traditions, but tensions between various members of the family keep everyone from having a good time. Max eventually sees red when his mischievous cousins Stevie and Jordan steal his letter to Santa Claus and read it out loud at dinner. Hurt and angry, Max screams that he hates his family. Tom tries to comfort him, but Max angrily tears his letter apart and throws the pieces out the window. Almost immediately after he does, a snowstorm suddenly appears and cuts out power in the entire town.

On December 23; the family is struggling with the loss of heat and electricity, ignoring Max's worries over a snowman that has suddenly appeared in their front yard. A package delivery man delivers boxes, and the family also bring in a mysterious large bag of presents left by their door. Beth decides to walk to her boyfriend's house after he doesn't answer her texts. As she walks through the blizzard, she hears sleigh bells and sights a tall, horned figure stood on a rooftop. The figure chases her from rooftop to rooftop, and she hides beneath the now dead package man's van. The creature lands and circles the truck before vanishing. A jack-in-the-box suddenly appears and an unseen creature crawls out of it and attacks Beth.

As night falls, Tom and Sarah grow worried about Beth. Tom and Howard take his truck to try and find her. While they are gone, the rest of the family hear strange noises on the roof. Tom and Howard are unnerved by the lack of cars or people in the neighbourhood, along with a snow plow that has had a violent encounter. They find Beth's boyfriend's house in devastation, as well as large, goat-like hoof prints on the floor. Suddenly, they hear Beth screaming and run outside, where Howard is attacked and nearly dragged beneath the snow by an unseen monster. Tom scares it off with his gun, but Howard's leg is injured, and the truck has been destroyed. They make it back to the house, and Tom tells the family to board up the doors and windows, promising Sarah they will look for Beth when morning comes. Omi tells Tom to leave the fire burning, but Howard falls asleep on his watch and it dies.

As the family sleeps in the living room, a hook with a gingerbread cookie attached descends down the fireplace. Howie Jr. wakes up and takes a bite out of the cookie, which suddenly comes to life and wraps him in a chain, dragging him into the fireplace and up the chimney. Sarah, Tom, Linda, and Howard try to save him, but the boy is gone. Omi reveals to the family what is happening—they are being tormented by Krampus, an ancient demonic spirit that punishes those who are bad at Christmas. Omi admits that when she was young, her family's poverty and the state of her peers following World War II caused her to lose her love of the holiday, which summoned Krampus and resulted in her parents and town being dragged into hell. She alone was spared by Krampus, who left a bauble bearing his name behind, as a reminder of what happens when one loses their Christmas spirit. Everyone, apart from Howard, is stunned.

Tom forms a plan to try and run for the snow plow left behind in the streets, hoping to make a path for the rest of the family to escape. In the attic, the bag of presents suddenly begins shaking. Stevie and Jordan hear Beth's voice from the attic and go look. When Tom, Sarah, and Linda hear their screams, they run to the attic and witness a large jack-in-the-box monster swallowing Jordan whole. As they are attacked by monstrous toys, Howard deals with a trio of living gingerbread men in the kitchen. They all manage to fight the creatures off and save Stevie, when suddenly a horde of dark elves break into the house. The dark elves put out the fire, then carry off Dorothy, the baby, Howard, and the jack-in-the-box. Krampus is heard landing on their roof, and the remaining family members quickly decide to make a run for the snowplow. Omi stays behind to give the others time to get away, and Krampus stuffs her into his sack.

The rest of the family manages to reach the snowplow, when the monster beneath the snow appears. Tom sacrifices himself so the others can get away, but Linda and Sarah are both taken as well. Max and Stevie get into the snowplow only to find it doesn't work. The dark elves appear and take Stevie, and Krampus appears before Max. He gives Max a bauble with his name on it, wrapped in a piece of his shredded Santa letter, before vanishing. Max realizes that he is the reason why Krampus came.

Max finds Krampus and his dark elves preparing his sleigh to return to hell with Stevie. He throws the bauble at Krampus, demanding that he fix things. A massive hole with a pit of lava at the bottom suddenly opens in the street. Max pleads with Krampus to give his family back and take him instead. Krampus accepts the bauble only to begin laughing evilly. The dark elves toss Stevie into the pit, then Krampus picks Max up and holds him over the pit. Max apologizes to Krampus for losing his Christmas spirit. Krampus then drops the screaming Max into the pit.

Max suddenly awakens in his bed on Christmas morning. He looks out his window and sees that the neighborhood has returned to normal, and he finds his entire family downstairs opening presents. Max is then happy, believing that the entire experience had been a dream until he opens a present and discovers the Krampus bauble left as a warning, and the family falls silent.

The house is revealed to be inside a snow globe, among many others in Krampus's workshop, leaving it ambiguous whether they are trapped inside the snow globe or if Krampus is simply spying on them to make sure they do not lose their Christmas faith. Then suddenly, Krampus's demonic toys jump out at the audience.

Cast

Adam Scott as Tom
Toni Collette as Sarah
David Koechner as Howard
Allison Tolman as Linda
Conchata Ferrell as Aunt Dorothy
Emjay Anthony as Max
Stefania LaVie Owen as Beth
Krista Stadler as Omi
Luke Hawker as Krampus (in-suit performer)
Gideon Emery as Krampus Vocal Effects

User Review

Krampus is yet another Christmas horror-comedy that satirizes the American family, and the merriest time of the year. Beneath all of it's scary creatures, and comedy oriented cast is a message about family, and the Christmas spirit. Krampus is a funny, and often scary Christmas horror movie, despite its weak and somewhat confusing ending. In an age when Christmas time means something different to everybody, this movie is especially impressive because it appeals to all of those people.

Krampus' humor is one of the film's biggest strengths as it opens with a hilarious black Friday scene. The humor came as no surprise, considering the cast, but what was slightly surprising was that the comedy was more black-comedy, which blended beautifully with the horror tones. The film in many ways is a satire on our society in general, poking fun at how divided we are and our overall apathy towards the things that matter. Although the film has a pretty biting take on the American family, it has a somewhat positive outlook on it.

The creatures in the film are a combination of gremlins, and a terrible holiday nightmare. The different types of creative creatures the film uses is truly impressive and terrifying. The black comedy blends beautifully with the twisted variations on holiday toys and treats. Despite all of this the film does have it's share of weaknesses. The most notable is the ending.

The film has a good narrative flow, and pushes through until the last 10 minutes of the film. In the last 10 minutes, one characters turns a 180 and the plot becomes confusing. Without giving anything away, the film has multiple endings and by the end it's tough to tell what happened. On top of the weak ending, many times the film feels like a gremlins rip off. On top of that the satire on the family falls a little flat, as many characters remain stereotypes.

Krampus does deliver on the humor and the horror that it promises, and if that's all you're expecting then you won't be disappointed. The film even gives a funny look at the American society, even if it's a little thin. In the end Krampus is a fun take on Christmas horror, and horror comedy, so if you like either of those genres, check it out.