Movie Monday with Fred!-Krampus (2015)

 It's been a while since one of these has been posted and what better way to restart the series than by having it in its new home.

This Monday Fred recommends: Krampus (2015)

 

Let's start off the Christmas season with a movie that has quickly earned a spot in my yearly holiday movie rotation.

 

A boy accidentally summons an evil Yuletide presence that begins terrorizing his family just before Christmas.

 

I must admit, the first time I watched this I was expecting more than what I got. Being the follow-up to Michael Dougherty's Trick 'r Treat (2007), a movie that I instantly loved, I think I was expecting to have the same reaction. But that wasn't the case. It actually took me an extra viewing, and it being really cheap at one of my local shops, before I truly came around on it. It's still got it's problems, but there is quite a lot to like here! 

There's a lot of striking visuals peppered throughout this film; particularly a scene towards the end looking like a hellish Pagan ritual that looks like its just getting ramped up! And the creature designs range from great to, maybe, a little goofy (in a good way!). Krampus can be pretty imposing (when he actually shows up), but I'm still not a fan of the choice to cover his face with a mask; it's a little odd and it took me a moment to realize that's what it was while I was watching it. But his minions are all fun and menacing in their own ways as well; an evil angel tree-topper, gnarly teddy bear, a jack-in-the-box that has an extra surprise and gingerbread men (yup, you read that right).

The cast here are all pretty good for what is asked of them. Toni Collete (Hereditary and The Sixth Sense) has some stand out moments and Adam Scott’s (Step-Brothers and many other things) reaction to a sudden realization early in the film gets me every time. David Koechner (Anchor Man, The Office and many other things), Allison Tolman (why Women Kill and The Gift) and Conchata Ferrell (Edward ScissorHands and Two & a Half Men) do well as the obnoxious relatives that come to visit on the fateful night!

As previously mentioned, Michael Dougherty is the director here; he went on to not only write, but direct Godzilla: King of the Monsters and wrote the story for Godzilla vs. King Kong. And while Krampus isn’t as tightly written as his previous film he still brings enough of the holiday aesthetic with this as he did with Trick ‘r Treat. And here’s to hoping the proposed sequel to that film can capture the same magic—or at the very least, a different type of magic!

So, if you haven’t seen Krampus (2015) I highly recommend mend it! And if you have, maybe give it another shot if you didn’t care for. And what better way to do so than on December 5th, otherwise known as krampusnacht!

Tell me in the comments what you thought of Krampus (2015)! And we’ll be back next time for another Movie Monday with Fred!