I love comedy-horror and for some reason, in the middle of July, I decided to watch Krampus. At eight am, on a Sunday morning. Because sure, why ever not?
Krampus follows the Engel family on Christmas Eve when their relatives come over for holiday dinner. (The rudeness of the guests sparked a long discussion with my partner about how silly it is to subject yourself to a rotten holiday, but I digress.) My heart broke for little Max, who desperately wants to believe in Santa Claus and who writes a letter to the North Pole, wishing for good things for his family. His cousins find the letter and ridicule him at the dinner table. That no one stepped in really, really annoyed me. Only his sister came to his aid.
Terribly upset, Max rips up his letter to Santa and throws it out the window. Cue the dark and stormy night~
The next morning, a blizzard has struck the neighbourhood, the electricity is out and everyone’s trapped inside. When Beth, Max’s older sister, goes out to check on her boyfriend, the horror really sets in. And so begins a gruesome Christmas where the family must work together to survive Krampus and his gingerbread men and deadly demon toys. The gingerbread men were definitely a highlight! Think Shrek but make it Chucky.
The casting of this one was absolutely on point. Adam Scott and Toni Collette lead the film and are as wonderful as always. I feel like Adam Scott should do more horror-comedy. (He was great in Little Evil, too!) Emjay Anthony did a brilliant job as young Max, and Allison Tolman and David Koechner made a great duo even if the characters could be frustrating.
If you love comedy-horror, definitely check this one out! Although it’s probably better not to watch it on Christmas 😉
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