This is an old review from a site I used to have called He said, She Said. I had hundreds of reviews on that site. I put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into that site and am going to preserve what I can of it. If a review from that site made it's way here, that means it has been updated. Whenever I watch a movie that I already reviewed, I will update it and put it here. All new reviews will still be put on the Facebook page.
What He Said:
I don't know if you've noticed, but Krampus - the mythological character whose origins are in Eastern & Central European folklore - had a bit of a run around the time when this movie came out back in 2015. He was all over the place. There was of course this movie. A Christmas Horror Story was released the same year. Then there was this one, this one, and this one all within a year. Memes and references were being posted on social media as well. I don't think this movie is the only reason for that, but it certainly seemed to be the leading one.
#Krampus tells the story of the Engel family. Toni Collette and Adam Scott are the de facto leaders. There's two kids and as parents they are technically in charge, but their youngest (Max) is the heart and soul. Anyway, the family is having a very bad day. Max ruined the school's Christmas pageant when he attacked a bully for doing some bully type thing. I forget what it was, but Max was doing the right thing.
Actually, the Engels have had several bad days and this is just the most recent. It's only going t get worse too. They are about to get a visit from some extended family members that make cousin Eddie and his crew look tolerable. And if that isn't enough, they are also going to get a visit from the evil spirit known as Krampus and his minions. Krampus is the exact opposite of Santa. Santa is pure good, Krampus is not. He is one mean MFer.
It all starts when Max tears up his letter to Santa in anger after fighting with his cousins. He just wants a nice Christmas and his cousins ruin it because they are ogres. Even though he didn't do a damn thing wrong, sometimes when someone says or does something in anger, it leaves its mark on the universe. the raw emotion behind it is so powerful that it's the equivalent of throwing a pebble into a lake or pond. The result is like the ripples the stone leaves, only much worse.
It starts with a storm, but not any storm. I'm talking about the storm of the century type of event. The power goes out and at first, the family is like, "Well this sucks", but is more like, "Something is very wrong" after a few hours. Then they start to hear strange noises. Footsteps in the roof or attic, faint giggles, the sound of hooves hitting the ground.... It's all over at this point.
As the She mentioned, we were some of the oldest people in the theater when we saw this. For a time, we were THE oldest people, until a couple of parents trickled in with their little monsters. It was an interesting experience. It made me feel old, for starters. It was also pretty funny, because the humor went over their little teenage heads and they were much more scared of the movie than we were.
As for the movie itself, I enjoyed it much more than I remember during that first viewing in the theater. I remember thinking back then, "This ain't so bad, but I want more." I am not sure why I felt that way, because I had so much fun watching it this time around. There are several very funny moments, including a very funny opening scene. The acting was campy and melodramatic, but that was on purpose. This is a Christmas horror comedy after all. The effects were fantastic. They were an excellent mix of practical effects, CGI, and even claymation! Krampus himself looks AWESOME. I would not have minded a little more screen time for him and exploration into the mythology around him.
Rating: Thumbs up.
This review was written for your reading pleasure on December 17, 2015. It was updated on December 25, 2021.
What She says:
Once upon a time, there was an Austro-Bavarian anti-Santa named Krampus. The guy makes Jack Skellington seem wildly
tame. He not only wants to ruin your Christmas; he pretty much wants to kill you and allow his scary minions to eat you.
St. Nicholas is nice to children. Krampus tortures children...and parents...and pets...and anything he can get his hands on.
He has hooved feet, a menacing smile, and demonic eyes. Ah, and those horns...
So, the movie Krampus follows your mildly typical American family getting together for the Christmas holiday. There's mom,
Sarah, dad, Tom, and their kids, Max and Beth. Sarah's sister Linda arrives with Howard, Stevie, Jordan, Howie, Jr., Aunt
Dorothy, and their dog. They're like the Cousin Eddie to the Griswolds, and Sarah and Tom have trouble hiding their
frustration as "the other half" roll into town. Living with Tom and Sarah, seemingly on a full-time basis, is Omi, who is assumed to be Tom's mother. She doesn't really speak much English, but Tom and son, Max are able to communicate with her and what appears to be German.
So the family gets together and fights a lot. Linda and Howard's devil children pick on Max for still believing in Santa, and Max responds by shredding his letter to the big guy. That is when all hell breaks loose. A freak storm comes out of nowhere, the power goes out, and streets are made impassable. It appears as though all the neighbors have vanished, and weird snowmen are showing up in the family's front lawn. Things just seem odd at first, but before too long everyone's wildest fears have become reality. Krampus attacks with his terrifying little helpers. He's got homicidal gingerbread men, a Jack-in-the-Box that eats people, and a Teddy bear that's more wolverine than he is cute and cuddly.
Don't worry, this film isn't going to appeal to your craving for holiday sweetness. People drop like flies and in pretty horrific fashion. And yet the movie is shockingly void of any real gore or blood. They somehow managed to walk the line between mercifully killing and keeping things on the softer side of PG-13. It's probably not a spoiler to say that this film is not exactly uplifting nor will it make you want to munch on cookies and candy canes. More than likely, it'll make you want to climb into bed and pull the comforter securely over your eyes before attempting, in vain, to catch some shut-eye without being jolted awake by nightmares.
I had the joy of watching this film with a bunch of pre-teens. I'm not kidding, the He and I were the oldest people in the theater by decades. The average viewer age hovered around 12, which meant that the kids got a little bit more frightened than a typical adult would and also seemed to miss out on some of the B-movie homage and jokes. But that's OK. Their Axe body spray and innocent giggles helped create a truly unique viewing atmosphere.As far as my critique of the film. It's not the worst movie ever, but also far from the best. I wasn't scared nearly as much as I was hoping to be, and yet I'll say that it was haunting and slightly disturbing. The concept was spookier than the execution. The acting was pretty good, but I think that the writers could have done more with the source material. The story has so much potential and they should have pushed the envelope a little more. This film should not have been created as a PG-13--it should have been done as an R--and that would have resulted in a better end result.The production value of the movie was good. It looked really good. The outside blizzard shots were spooky and believable. The CGI was not bad, and I think there was a pretty good use of puppetry to keep things more authentic. I actually really liked the feel of the movie, the general cinematography.Krampus had its bright spots, but I couldn't help but expect a little bit more from the movie.
Thumbs half up.
