Its a Very Scary Christmas: Krampus

Krampus (2015)

I will be the first to admit that I am more of a Halloween kind of girl than a Christmas enthusiast. I could even go so far as to say the only Christmas-ee movie I actually like is The Nightmare Before Christmas, and that is a 50/50 split on holidays at best. I have to say though, I like the lineup of new Christmas movies this year.

I’m sure by now everyone has seen the trailer for Krampus, which as of this post is coming out tomorrow (December 4th, 2015), and you bet I am going to be first in line to see it. This is the kind of Christmas spirit I can really get behind.

I mean, with a murderous Christmas demon how can this be anything but amazing? Sure, whether or not it will be a good movie over all is unknown, but I expect I will be thoroughly entertained.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the lore behind the Krampus the story goes a little like this:

Often considered the counterpart to Santa Claus … the Anti-Claus if you will *ahem* … the Krampus is a German tale about a demonic creature who dispensed coal to naughty children on the night of December 5th. Some stories even tell of Krampus leaving sticks or canes for the parents to use on their misbehaving children.

The Krampus is also referred to as the yule goat for obvious reasons. Most often he is depicted as a large hairy creature with horns, a tail and the hind legs of a goat.

Naturally, I am particularly interested in seeing the creature design for Krampus in this movie. From the trailer it looks as though he is going to be mainly practical effects, which is a nice break from the CG fest most movies have become. Give me a flesh and latex goat-demon for Christmas anytime!

But wait … there is more. 

The new Krampus movie had me all nostalgic for the Christmas horror movies of old. As I was scouring youtube for trailers from Black Christmas and Santa Slays I came across a movie called A Christmas Horror Story which actually also just came out this year.

Oh my word is it ever glorious.

Wow, Santa really came through for me this year. Not one Krampus themed horror movies, but two? I guess Christmas wishes really do come true.

Reasons why I need to find this movie and watch it:

  1. Krampus looks bad-ass
  2. Santa looks bad-ass
  3. Zombie elves
  4. William Schatner
  5. Promise of an epic one-on-one battle between Santa and Krampus

This film had a limited theatrical release around Halloween and is actually already available on DVD. It also has a 75% on rotten tomatoes, which is surprising for a holiday themed horror movie. The only major complaint I am seeing is the use of four separate story lines to form the narrative, which I can live with so long as it is tied together in a creative way.

At least now I have something interesting to watch while I scramble to finish my last minute Christmas gifts like a mad woman. I think the next order of business is to find as many Krampus themed alcoholic cocktail recipes as humanly possible.

Starchip13

Leave a Reply