You may be asking yourself "What does this all have to do with Today's movie?". Honestly, it's the theme and moral of the whole movie. Today, join me as we discuss Michael Dougherty's second holiday classic, Krampus.
Back in 2007, Michael Dougherty brought us the Halloween classic Trick 'R Treat. It was such a delight back then. It perfectly encapsulates a lot of things that we love about the spooky season. I mean there's a reason that it went on to become such a classic all these years later.
In 2015, Dougherty returned to bring us his second holiday film with Krampus. It was something that I honestly never expected to love as much as I do. I love Trick 'R Treat. It's a family tradition to watch it at least once during the spooky season. But for Christmas, we had Christmas Vacation. I mean to an extent one could view that as a horror movie unto itself. The whole squirrel sequence was one I remember terrifying me as a child. When I had heard word of Krampus, I instantly was excited. I just hoped that it would be as special as Trick 'R Treat.
When it was released, the terrible thing was that our local theater wasn't playing it. It seemed to have been a victim of a wacky theatrical release. This had unfortunately been the same issue with Trick 'R Treat except that had been shelved and then shoved directly onto home release.
This led me to first watching it when it hit home release. It honestly lived up to the hype that I had for it. It was a beautiful love letter to the crazy family holidays. Just ya know with Gingerbread Men ready to attack, dwarves that felt like they were out of Phantasm, a Jack in the Box that surpassed Demonic Toys, and the big entity himself - Krampus.
The Engels somehow manage to outdo the Griswolds when it comes to dysfunction. Actually they wouldn't feel out of place of living down the street from them. Oh crap, now that's head canon. And before you say Howard is nothing like Cousin Eddie, I'll say you are crazy. Howard is probably good buddies with Cousin Eddie. And that is why this film works. It calls upon what we know of holiday classics and adds a beautiful horror twist to them. It's pure nostalgia and love. But it's also completely relatable. I mean there's probably a time or two when we were younger that we could see ourselves as young Max. I mean nowadays I can totally relate to Adam Scott's Tom.
This cast in the film is fantastic. Each one of them is very unique and distinct. They are a dysfunctional family and not just some cookie cutter Hallmark crap. Adam Scott is so good as Tom. Toni Collette's performance doesn't feel as dissimilar to her performance in Hereditary. That's pretty awesome. David Koechner is also fantastic as Howard. Honestly, I have yet to find a film that he's in where I didn't like his performance. And yes, Scout's Guide to the Apocalypse is amazing. Conchata Ferrell also is superb as the terrible Aunt Dorothy. In the beginning of the film, they all may seem one note. But over time, they grow and become an awesome family unit. You can't help but be endeared by them.
Does this film deliver in the horrors? Absolutely. We watched it this year with our son for the first time. He has heard us discuss it before. And even questioned Why he has a homemade Krampus bell hanging by his door. He absolutely loved the film. He was horrified by the toys in this film. The Angel and Bear were the most terrifying. He kept asking why when they showed the Jack in the Box. That whole sequence with the toys is a bit unsettling. The best part for me this time around was the Snowmen that appeared in the yard. I never really paid them much attention before to notice that as the family members fell, a snowman would appear. That was a very cool attention to detail. And then there's the whole sequence with Beth being chased by Krampus. It just oozes with atmosphere and a bit of dread.
This is family horror that is done right. Its rating allows it to join the ranks of cult classic alongside Gremlins. It's honestly one that the whole family can enjoy. And that's pretty special as there aren't many good horrors the whole family can watch. Especially as there is not much gore and that does not hinder the film one bit.
Rating: 5 out of 5.
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