ON THIS DAY IN HORROR - December 4th
"KRAMPUS" released in 2015
"KRAMPUS" released in 2015
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Three days before Christmas, 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 (Lolo Owen), Jordan (Queenie Samuel), Howie Jr. (Maverick Flack), and their baby daughter; Sarah and Linda's aunt Dorothy (Conchata Ferrell); and Tom's German-speaking mother, Omi (Krista Stadler). While Max wants to continue the family's Christmas traditions, tensions between members of the family keep everyone from having a good time and the family lose their Christmas spirit, especially Max, who rips up his letter to Santa and throws it to the wind after his cousins read it out at the dinner table. Shortly afterwards, a severe blizzard appears and cuts out power in the entire town. Beth, worried about her boyfriend, decides to go visit him in the storm. On her way, a strange horned creature chases her on rooftops and she hides under a stalled delivery truck, which the creature proceeds to walk around before leaving behind a jack-in-the-box. An unseen monster then comes out of the box and attacks Beth!
After a period of apparently being alone with no power, Tom and Howard go out searching for Beth by going to her boyfriend's house and find it in devastation, with the chimney split open as well as large, goat-like hoof prints on the floor. When they return outside,Howard is attacked by a creature hiding beneath the snow, but is saved by Tom, who shoots it. Fearing what they do not yet understand, the family boards up the doors and windows, promising Sarah they will look for Beth when morning comes. Howard promises to stay up to keep watch during the night, but he falls asleep. As the fire in the fireplace dies, a hook is lowered down the chimney with a gingerbread man, chains up and drags Howie Jr. up the chimney. The family wakes up, but is unable to save Howie. Omi reveals to the family what is happening; they are being tormented by Krampus, an ancient demonic spirit that punishes those who lose their Christmas spirit, referring to him as the "shadow of Saint Nicholas". Omi admits that when she was young, her family's poverty caused her to lose her love of the holidays, which summoned Krampus and resulted in her parents and town being dragged into hell. She alone was spared by the demon, who left behind a bauble with his name inscribed and her life as a reminder of what happens when one loses their Christmas spirit.
In the attic, a mysterious bunch of presents that had earlier been delivered suddenly begins shaking. The family runs to the attic and witnesses der Klown, a demonic jack-in-the-box monster, swallowing Jordan whole. The others are attacked by a group of monstrous toys and three evil gingerbread men, Lumpy, Dumpy, and Clumpy, but fend them off and regroup downstairs. As they are about to shoot der Klown, they are attacked by Krampus's elves, who abduct Dorothy, Howard, and the baby before suddenly leaving again. The remaining family decide to make a run for a snow plow in the street, while Omi stays behind to confront Krampus and buy time for the others. Krampus opens his bag of toys and she is attacked. As the rest of the group runs for the plow, Tom, Sarah and Linda are seemingly eaten by the snow creature and the elves take Stevie, leaving only Max. Krampus then appears before Max and gives him a bauble with his name on it, wrapped in a piece of his shredded Santa letter, before leaving. Now alone, Max resolves to confront the Krampus and his evil elves to save his family from the underworld!
After a period of apparently being alone with no power, Tom and Howard go out searching for Beth by going to her boyfriend's house and find it in devastation, with the chimney split open as well as large, goat-like hoof prints on the floor. When they return outside,Howard is attacked by a creature hiding beneath the snow, but is saved by Tom, who shoots it. Fearing what they do not yet understand, the family boards up the doors and windows, promising Sarah they will look for Beth when morning comes. Howard promises to stay up to keep watch during the night, but he falls asleep. As the fire in the fireplace dies, a hook is lowered down the chimney with a gingerbread man, chains up and drags Howie Jr. up the chimney. The family wakes up, but is unable to save Howie. Omi reveals to the family what is happening; they are being tormented by Krampus, an ancient demonic spirit that punishes those who lose their Christmas spirit, referring to him as the "shadow of Saint Nicholas". Omi admits that when she was young, her family's poverty caused her to lose her love of the holidays, which summoned Krampus and resulted in her parents and town being dragged into hell. She alone was spared by the demon, who left behind a bauble with his name inscribed and her life as a reminder of what happens when one loses their Christmas spirit.
In the attic, a mysterious bunch of presents that had earlier been delivered suddenly begins shaking. The family runs to the attic and witnesses der Klown, a demonic jack-in-the-box monster, swallowing Jordan whole. The others are attacked by a group of monstrous toys and three evil gingerbread men, Lumpy, Dumpy, and Clumpy, but fend them off and regroup downstairs. As they are about to shoot der Klown, they are attacked by Krampus's elves, who abduct Dorothy, Howard, and the baby before suddenly leaving again. The remaining family decide to make a run for a snow plow in the street, while Omi stays behind to confront Krampus and buy time for the others. Krampus opens his bag of toys and she is attacked. As the rest of the group runs for the plow, Tom, Sarah and Linda are seemingly eaten by the snow creature and the elves take Stevie, leaving only Max. Krampus then appears before Max and gives him a bauble with his name on it, wrapped in a piece of his shredded Santa letter, before leaving. Now alone, Max resolves to confront the Krampus and his evil elves to save his family from the underworld!
[to Omi]
Max: Are we going to be okay?
[Omi talks in German]
Max: What?
Aunt Dorothy: She said we're fucked!
Top and Above: Tom (Adam Scott), Sarah (Toni Collette) and their son Max (Emjay Anthony) have to fight with more than just their relatives this Christmas!
Understandably, with the controversy that surrounded other Christmas horror movies like Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) and Black Christmas (1974), Krampus was a hard story to sell for writer and director Michael Dougherty (it wasn't until Legendary Pictures agreed to a PG-13 rating that Universal green lit the movie). Dougherty, known mostly for the cult hit Trick R Treat (2007) - as well as his frequent collaborations with Bryan Singer (as one part of a screenwriter duo with Dan Harris) on X2 (2003) and Superman Returns (2006) - Dougherty turned his attention from Halloween to a new holiday, Christmas, to explore the mythology of the Krampus. In Austro-Bavarian Alpine folklore, Krampus was a horned, anthropomorphic figure described as "half-goat, half-demon", who, during the Christmas season, punishes children who have misbehaved, in contrast with Saint Nicholas, who rewards the well-behaved with gifts. Dougherty describes the Krampus in his film as Santa Claus's shadow: "He's not the unstoppable monster that kicks down your door and rampages and grabs you. There's something darkly playful about him. He's having a good time doing what he does and he enjoys the cat-and-mouse aspect of it."
Starring Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Emjay Anthony, Stefania LaVie Owen and Krista Stadler, production began in Wellington New Zealand on March 16th, 2015. Filmed mostly on stages at the renowned Stone Street Studios, the opening sequence was shot on location in a single day at a department store in New Zealand. Creature effects were designed and built by Peter Jackson's acclaimed Weta Workshop.
Starring Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Emjay Anthony, Stefania LaVie Owen and Krista Stadler, production began in Wellington New Zealand on March 16th, 2015. Filmed mostly on stages at the renowned Stone Street Studios, the opening sequence was shot on location in a single day at a department store in New Zealand. Creature effects were designed and built by Peter Jackson's acclaimed Weta Workshop.
TRIVIA: The Krampus's final design was distilled from various postcards and illustrations of the creature over the years. Check out IHdb's video on the Making of the Creature Effects in our Facebook Video Section
Top: Sarah's sister Linda (Allison Tolman) and her family - husband Howard (David Koechner) and children, Stevie (Lolo Owen), Jordan (Queenie Samuel), and their baby daughter. Joined by the sisters bitter aunt Dorothy (Conchata Ferrell);
Above: Max's German grandmother Omi (Krista Stadler) faces the dreaded Krampus!
Krampus' ambiguous ending has spawned two fan theories: 1.) That the Engels and their family are trapped in the snow globe, condemned to repeat Christmas morning for eternity in a twisted version of Hell or 2.) They were given a second chance, and the snow globe is Krampus' means of watching over them. Although writer/director Michael Dougherty has refused to confirm which theory is true, the tie-in comic book, Shadow of Saint Nicholas (released in November 25, 2015), confirms that the happy ending is the true one. The comic also has murdered characters resurrected without any hint of a twist, showing that Krampus is willing to give people a second chance as long as they prove they've learned their lesson. Unlike his grandmother, Max was brave enough to confront Krampus and prove he'd learned his lesson, which was why Max had his family returned and the grandmother didn't.
Krampus was originally to be released on November 25 but was pushed back to December 4 to coincide with the Krampusnacht, a traditional Austrian festival held on December 5 that celebrates the Krampus coming to punish naughty children. In the United States and Canada, Krampus earned $637,000 from its Thursday night showings and topped the box office on its opening day with $6 million. Krampus went on to earn $16.3 million through its opening weekend from 2,902 theaters, which was above expectations and finished in second place at the box office, ahead of The Good Dinosaur, but behind The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 ($18.6 million), which was on its third weekend. Scott Mendelson of Forbes felt the successful opening was attributed to the horror genre which was something of a new, unique and genuinely different offering at that time (the last time a Christmas horror movie opened was in 2006 with Black Christmas). However, Mendelson also stated that had Universal not embargoed the reviews two days prior to its release, a wave of mostly positive reviews dropping a few days before release would have boosted its opening accordingly. Krampus would eventually gross over $60 million at the box office, making the film both a critical and financial success.
Krampus was originally to be released on November 25 but was pushed back to December 4 to coincide with the Krampusnacht, a traditional Austrian festival held on December 5 that celebrates the Krampus coming to punish naughty children. In the United States and Canada, Krampus earned $637,000 from its Thursday night showings and topped the box office on its opening day with $6 million. Krampus went on to earn $16.3 million through its opening weekend from 2,902 theaters, which was above expectations and finished in second place at the box office, ahead of The Good Dinosaur, but behind The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 ($18.6 million), which was on its third weekend. Scott Mendelson of Forbes felt the successful opening was attributed to the horror genre which was something of a new, unique and genuinely different offering at that time (the last time a Christmas horror movie opened was in 2006 with Black Christmas). However, Mendelson also stated that had Universal not embargoed the reviews two days prior to its release, a wave of mostly positive reviews dropping a few days before release would have boosted its opening accordingly. Krampus would eventually gross over $60 million at the box office, making the film both a critical and financial success.
ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE: 65%
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