An attempt at a Horror Comedy which doesn’t really provide enough of either. It had a few humorous moments commenting on the holiday’s commercialization and redneck relatives. As for the horrifying parts, they don’t have to be covered in splatter (fear not, they’re not in Krampus) but most instances weren’t terribly frightening.
The premise centers around a little boy being taunted by classmates and his family for his continued belief in Santa. In a fit of anger, he destroys his letter to St. Nick which then triggers the events you’ll see: the weather changing, civilization disappearing and inevitably, the Krampus making his play.
There are some good performances by David Koechner and Toni Collette, an out-of-place animation sequence (telling a flashback) and costumed cameos of people who can pass as evil little elves. I’m glad we saw Gremlins since this didn’t scratch the itch to combine the two genres to get a good result. The only thing to make this quick cash-in on the Krampus trend memorable would require Ted Turner to show it ad nauseum every year in place of the more well-respect A Christmas Story.
Alamo Extras: A winter-themed cartoon; a music video with a song about the Krampus; an animated New York Times piece about the Krampus of Japan, Germany and Iceland; some weird horror movie starring the guy who played Grizzly Adams in the Seventies; Footage of the Krampus making a comeback in Germany after the re-unification; and the Krampus gaining traction in American culture through these shows: American Dad, The Venture Brothers, Once Upon a Time, The League and General Hospital.