Krampus
Krampus
This is a GOOD movie
that is THEATER worthy
As usual my review uses a rating of excellence ranging as
such: bad, ok, good, and great. I also focus on a film’s worthiness for a
theater viewing. I feel that if you’ve spent anywhere between $6 and $16 then I
might as well inform you whether or not it’s a movie worth your money for a
ticket. Even if it’s a good movie it might not matter whether you see it in a
theaters or just at home. If it isn’t theater worthy I’ll let you know if it’s
Redbox worthy. If not then it may not be worthy at all . . . but as I am
lenient that movie would really have to suck!
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| Rare Exports (2010) |
Tis the season to be jolly . . .
AND DEAD! This is by far the best Christmas horror movie I’ve seen since the
film Rare Exports (2010). If you’re a horror freak, as I am myself, then you
know that every holiday is a chance to get your gore on. Even, might I say
especially, Christmas. Although Halloween is the obvious time for horror there’s
just something about Christmas that can make horror all the more horrifying.
Perhaps it’s because it IS supposed to be the most magical time of the year,
the most innocent, and the most kind. The season of light and hope, as it were,
with a symbol of love and giving in the shape of a jolly old man with a soft white
beard and a big belly. Therefore seeing such a symbol turned dark, backwards, and
inside out is in many ways more horrific and exciting a concept than any
traditional horror story. At least to me . . .
This film finds a weird balance
between lighthearted and demented. While some of the creatures will cause you
to take the story less seriously, seeing as how their ability to frighten is
rather weak, there are other creatures which are quite simply nightmarish and will
absolutely have you quite tight with in their bloody grasp!
Of course the king of these
creatures being Krampus it all came down to how well he was made, portrayed,
and delivered. With that I must say that he was AMAZING! I have seen the
character Krampus in other films, such as Rare Exports, but they rarely give
you a glimpse at what he looks like or what he actually does. In this film you
get all of both. I didn’t expect to see him in action so much. On the contrary,
I expected to see glimpses of him throughout the film and MAYBE see him do
something towards the end, but he was present throughout the whole film!
Jumping from house to house like a little kid over rocks in a creek, you see
him stalking his prey in a dark cold blizzard. With hooves and horns he skulks
the dark waiting for those he’s come to claim. A long and gangly beard with an
old torn cloak wrapped in chains you’ll see that Krampus is just like was said
in the previews . . . “he is the shadow of Saint Nicholas”.
Now this isn’t just some creature
thought up out of Hollywood to sell winter tickets at the box office . . . they’re
not that creative. No, Krampus is a very old legend. He has a history all his
own originating from multiple countries over the centuries. While they
obviously don’t adhere strictly to the legend the writers do in fact do a good
job of providing some backstory to the legend. You get an idea of why he comes,
what happens when he does, and what happens if he leaves. Although I promise to
never ruin anything I will say that they throw in some Claymation in the film.
Claymation being the process of using clay to present the story, think Wallace
and Grommet or Nightmare before Christmas, it doesn’t quite sit well at first.
However, if you just go with it and focus on the story the Claymation is being
used to tell then I think you’ll look back and enjoy it. 
The characters are well written and
the family is well performed. I think that most of us will be able to pick out
a relative or two from the bunch in the film. You have two sisters who are
married and have families, one with a financially successful husband and two “average”
kids, and the other with an obnoxious husband who overcompensates in every way
imaginable and three kids with um . . . interesting personalities. Then of
course there’s the aunt, played brilliantly by Conchata Ferrell (Two and a Half
Men) who is basically a funny, drunk, walking “ba -hum-bug”.
What I really enjoyed was the ending.
For most horror movies now and days, especially movies made here in America,
the story has to have a happy sappy ending. That’s not true horror. True horror
means you might have learned a lesson, or grown stronger as a person, but it
doesn’t matter because it’s too late to come back from the dark and deathly
road you put yourself on. As you can imagine this happens a lot with Christmas
horror movies. Fortunately that isn’t the case for this film. Now I won’t tell
you what happens, who lives or who dies, or that there is an AMAZING SCENE OF HELL
THAT OPENS UP IN THE FILM . . . . but I will say that at the end you’re not
left feeling all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Which is good. If you want warm
and fuzzy at the end of a movie go see the Peanuts film or rent a chick flick
because this is horror! And this film, Krampus, is horror done right! At least
when done for Christmas anyways. Even if it is a little too light-hearted for
my taste at some points.
So I say that with the great
acting, great writing, and good story that this film is worth seeing in
theaters, it’s worth an $8 ticket, and it’s definitely worth a few hours of
your holiday time. The creatures are amazing, most of them at least, the
directing is superb with the feeling of constant creepiness surrounding the
story once things get dark, and I promise that if you don’t go in expecting an Oscar
worthy movie then you’ll have some dark fun with this film. Krampus was just
brilliantly created, as were most of this creatures, and the vision of hell
presented in the film is darker than I thought they’d go for this film. It
actually resembles the famous “Inferno” painting. So have a killer Christmas,
it might be your last!
Enjoy!
- Black Christmas (1974)
- Black Christmas (2006)
- Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
- Silent Night (2012)
- Rare Exports (2010)
- Jack Frost (1997) . . . but avoid the sequel
- Gremlins (1984)
- Christmas Evil (1980)
- Santa’s Slay (2005)
- Sint (2010)
- Orphan (2009)
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