Krampus Trailer (2015)

Trailer for Krampus.

When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max (Emjay Anthony) is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus: a demonic force of ancient evil intent on punishing non-believers.

All hell breaks loose as beloved holiday icons take on a monstrous life of their own, laying siege to the fractured family’s home and forcing them to fight for each other if they hope to survive.

Krampus was originally going to be released on November 25th but was pushed to December 4th to coincide with Krampusnacht, a real traditional Austrian festival held on December 5th which is actually a celebration of Krampus coming to punish naughty children.

The design of the Krampus creature came from a combination of postcards and illustrations from old books.

One of the writers and the director of Krampus, Michael Dougherty also wrote and directed the movie Trick ‘r Treat (2007) which also had elements of horror and comedy but was about the Halloween holiday rather than the Christmas holiday.

Krampus had a budget of $15 million and earned $16 million in just its opening weekend. The film made over $42 million in the United States.

Krampus is a horror film set during Christmas because as we learned from Black Christmas (1974) and Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), no religious holiday is off limits. Comedic actors Adam Scott, Toni Collette, and David Koechner star in this film about a family coming together to celebrate Christmas. Just like most family Christmases, there are arguments and disappointments. There is also incredible expectations by the children that will never be met because that is what the holidays are all about, anticipation, excitement and complete and utter disappointment when nothing turns out the way it is supposed to.

Krampus goes a step further and brings a character from ancient folklore into the mix which makes the Christmas season both terrifying and much more memorable. You may not remember what Aunt Martha got you, but you sure are going to remember that time a creature that looks like a pissed off goat walking around on his hind legs tried to eat you and all of your family.

As if the creature is not menacing enough, he apparently ropes in the toys into his evil plan. Clowns and Jack in the boxes are already scary, but Krampus amps up the terror by having them eat the children.

The trailer for Krampus is hilarious and a little bit creepy, so even though it may not keep me up late at night fearing Krampus, it still looks to be just the kind of bizarre horror/comedy that can be a blast. Although, I still may fear the clowns, but that is Stephen King’s fault.