Christmas is coming and normally that would mean watching a movie all about peace on earth and goodwill towards all with an appearance from the jolly elf of the North Pole, Santa Claus, but not this year. Instead of a man whose belly jiggles like a bowl full of jelly we’ve been given a look at his sinister horned counterpart, Krampus. 

Legendary Pictures’ Krampus showed us a darker side to the holiday season. Opening with a crazy shopping montage and a nativity play fight scene you know that this won’t be like your typical holiday movie. The focus is on a young boy named Max and his family who are hosting the annual family Christmas. While he loves Christmas and wants to keep all the traditions alive no one, except his sweet German grandma Omi, seems to care. His mother’s sister and her family arrive and a huge fight breaks out over a letter Max wrote to Santa. In a fit of anger he wishes everyone would leave him alone and when he tears up his letter to Santa and throws it out the window a massive storm begins. This storm is just the first of many terrors that Krampus will bring down on this boy and his family.

While the movie in the previews looked a bit like a traditional horror movie I thought it was like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation mashed up with Goosebumps. Though Krampus is the big bad he has a band of helpers that do most of his handiwork. Unlike Santa’s cute little elves Krampus has fiendish gingerbread cookies, carnivorous jack in the boxes, snaggle toothed teddy bears, sharp tongued angels, and masked elven fiends. If you’ve never heard of the legend of Krampus there’s a great Tim Burtonesque sequence to teach you all about him about midway through the movie.

It’s a campy horror romp with goofy fight scenes, but there are some more serious moments too. I really enjoyed the movie and I definitely suggest it to anyone looking for something new to add to their holiday watch list. If you go I definitely want to hear what you thought. I totally laughed at a probably very inappropriate moment and I want to know if anyone else does it too. Here’s a hint, it was while the adults are in the attic with the Christmas presents.

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