''Krampus'' is a 2015

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

horror comedy Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three types: "black comedy, parody and sp ...

film based on the eponymous character from Austro-Bavarian folklore, directed by

Michael Dougherty Michael Patrick Dougherty (born October 28, 1974) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and animator, best known for the cult horror film ''Trick 'r Treat'' (2007), and the monster film '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' (2019) ...

, and written by Dougherty, Todd Casey and Zach Shields. The film stars Adam Scott,

Toni Collette Toni Collette Galafassi (born Toni Collett; 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress, producer, singer, and songwriter. Known for her work in television and independent films, she has received various accolades throughout her career, inclu ...

David Koechner David Michael Koechner ( ; born August 24, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing roles such as Champ Kind in the ''Anchorman'' films and Todd Packer on NBC's ''The Office''. Koechner first became involved in perf ...

Allison Tolman Allison Cara Tolman is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Molly Solverson in the first season of the FX television series '' Fargo'', earning Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Early life and education Tolman has two older ...

Conchata Ferrell Conchata Galen Ferrell (March 28, 1943October 12, 2020) was an American actress. Although she was a regular cast member of five TV sitcoms, she was best known for playing Berta the housekeeper for all 12 seasons of ''Two and a Half Men''. For her ...

, Emjay Anthony, Stefania LaVie Owen, with Krista Stadler, and introducing Lolo Owen, Queenie Samuel, Maverick Flack, and Sage Hunefeld. In the film, a dysfunctional family squabbling causes a young boy to lose his festive spirit. Doing so unleashes the wrath of

Krampus Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure in the Central and Eastern Alpine folklore of Europe who, during the Advent season, scares children who have misbehaved. Assisting Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus, the pair visit children on the nigh ...

, a fearsome, horned demonic beast in ancient European folklore who punishes naughty children at Christmas time. As Krampus lays siege to the neighborhood, the family must band together to save one another from a monstrous fate. The concept for ''Krampus'' began in 2011, when Dougherty was planning to make a

-themed horror film, with him and Shields writing the screenplay. Production on the film began in 2014, with Dougherty directing and writing a new screenplay with Shields and Casey. The casting call began from November 2014 to March 2015.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

on the film began on March 12 and wrapped in May 2015. Creature effects were made by Weta Workshop. ''Krampus'' was released in the United States on December 4, 2015 by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

. It received mixed reviews and grossed over $61 million against a $15 million budget.

Plot

Three days before

, the prosperous but dysfunctional Engel family prepare for the holidays. Max, the youngest, remains a firm believer in Santa Claus and writes him a letter. His family includes his teenage sister Beth, their parents Tom and Sarah, and Tom's mother, whom they call Omi, and who speaks mostly German. Sarah's side of the family come for Christmas include her sister Linda, Linda's husband Howard, Sarah and Linda's cantankerous Aunt Dorothy, their children Howie Jr., Stevie, Jordan, and baby Chrissie as well as their

bulldog The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.blizzard A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling ...

engulfs the town, causing a power outage. When Beth ventures out to check on her boyfriend, a large, horned creature chases her. She hides beneath a delivery truck, but the creature leaves a

jack-in-the-box A jack-in-the-box is a children's toy that outwardly consists of a box with a crank. When the crank is turned, a music box mechanism in the toy plays a melody. After the crank has been turned a sufficient number of times (such as at the end ...

, which attacks her, and gives the impression she is killed. When Beth does not return home within the hour deadline her mom set, Tom and Howard leave to search for her. They find her boyfriend's house in ruins with the chimney split open and large goat-like hoof prints in the house. Outside, they are attacked by an unseen monster hidden in the snow. Tom saves Howard from it by shooting it with Howard's gun. They return home, board up the windows and everybody tries to sleep, except Howard who stands guard. Later, after Howard falls asleep, a large hook with a living gingerbread man attached lures Howie Jr. to the chimney. When he takes a bite, it comes to life and he is dragged up the chimney despite the family's efforts to save him. Meanwhile, a fire log is inadvertently kicked aside during their struggle to save Howie, setting the tree and presents ablaze. Omi explains that the creature hunting them is

, an ancient demonic spirit who punishes those who have lost the Christmas spirit. Omi recounts that when she was a child, her parents and community lost their spirit due to the hardships of the war in Europe. Omi also lost hope and wished for her parents to be taken away, which summoned Krampus. He and his helpers dragged everyone except her to Hell, leaving behind a bell bauble with his name on it. The family remains skeptical until menacing toys, hidden in presents delivered earlier, invade the house. Upstairs Stevie and Jordan are lured to the attic by Beth's voice; downstairs the adults hear them screaming. Tom, Sarah, and Linda go up to investigate, only to find Jordan being eaten by Der Klown, the jack-in-the-box from before. The family fends off the toys and the gingerbread men, but Krampus' elves leap in through a window, taking Dorothy and Chrissie. Howard, desperate to get his kids back, jumps on Der Klown's back and then disappears after. Tom decides that the family should flee to an abandoned

snowplow A snowplow (also snow plow, snowplough or snow plough) is a device intended for mounting on a vehicle, used for removing snow and ice from outdoor surfaces, typically those serving transportation purposes. Although this term is often used to re ...

on the streets outside. Omi stays behind to distract Krampus, who emerges from the fireplace and attacks her with his bag of toys. Outside, Tom, Sarah, and Linda are dragged under the snow and eaten by the snow monster while Stevie is captured by the elves. Krampus confronts Max and gives him a bell bauble wrapped in a piece of his discarded letter. Realizing that tearing up the letter was what summoned him there in the first place, Max chases after the demon, catching up as the pits of hell open. He begs for Stevie to be spared and offers himself up as a sacrifice. Krampus refuses and tosses Stevie into Hell. Max sincerely apologizes for losing his spirit, and although Krampus seems to accept his apology, he still tosses Max into the pit. Max awakens in his bed on Christmas morning. Discovering his family alive and well downstairs, he thinks that what happened was just a nightmare. As he unwraps a present to reveal Krampus' bauble the family are shown with ominous looks on their faces as their memories of the horrific events slowly come back to them. The camera pans out, revealing that the house is shown through a magical snow globe, along with hundreds of others in a vast collection in the underworld, for Krampus to monitor and spy on for having spared them.

Cast

* Emjay Anthony as Max Engel, a boy who loses the Christmas spirit due to his dysfunctional family's squabbling. * Adam Scott as Tom Engel, the father of Max. *

as Sarah Engel, the mother of Max. *

as Howard, the uncle of Max. *

as Linda, the sister of Sarah and aunt of Max. *

as Aunt Dorothy, the aunt of Sarah and Linda and great-aunt of Max. * Stefania LaVie Owen as Beth Engel, the teenage sister of Max. * Krista Stadler (de) as Omi ('Granny') Engel, the mother of Tom and grandmother of Max and Beth. * Lolo Owen as Stevie, the daughter of Howard and Linda and the cousin of Max and Beth. * Queenie Samuel as Jordan, the daughter of Howard and Linda and the cousin of Max and Beth. * Maverick Flack as Howie Jr., the son of Howard and Linda and the cousin of Max and Beth. * Mark Atkin as Ketkrókur * Sage Hunefeld as Baby Chrissie, the baby daughter of Howard and Linda and the cousin of Max and Beth. * Leith Towers as Derek, Beth's boyfriend * Curtis Vowell as DHL Man * Luke Hawker as

(in-suit performer), an dark ancient demonic figure from European folklore that dispenses vengeance and wrath on the naughty. He resembles a much darker representation of Santa Claus, resembling a horned goat-like beast, with his face concealed behind a bearded mask. * Brett Beattie as Der Klown, a demonic Jack-in-the-box. * Thor and Victoria as Rosie, the dog. ;Voices *

Gideon Emery Gideon Emery is an English actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Deucalion in '' Teen Wolf'' and for providing voice-over work in video games, television series and films. Early life and education Emery was born to Pauline, a compe ...

as Krampus * Seth Green as Gingerbread Man Lumpy *

Breehn Burns Breehn Burns is an American screenwriter, director, producer and voice artist, most known for his work on ''Bravest Warriors'' and ''Invader Zim''. Burns was the supervising producer on the 2019 Netflix movie '' Invader Zim: Enter the Florpu ...

as Gingerbread Man Dumpy * Justin Roiland as Gingerbread Man Clumpy * Ivy George as Perchta the Cherub

Production

Dougherty had "always wanted to do a scary Christmas movie", but the idea did not take form until his friends sent him an

e-card E-card is an electronic postcard or greeting card, with the primary difference being that it is created using digital media instead of paper or other traditional materials. E-cards are made available many different ways, usually on various Intern ...

featuring the Krampus creature which was, according to him "just love at first sight." Although this, according to Dougherty, happened in "the ancient times of the internet" the project would not be fleshed out until 2011, at which point he would team up with Zach Shields and Todd Casey to figure out the story. On November 21, 2014,

and Emjay Anthony joined the cast. On March 3, 2015, Adam Scott,

, and

joined the cast.

began on March 12, 2015 and officially wrapped in May 2015. Creature effects were made by Weta Workshop. The score was composed by Douglas Pipes and released on a double LP by

Waxwork Records Waxwork Records is an American independent record label. It has released film scores and movie soundtracks on vinyl as well as comics. History Waxwork Records was founded in 2013 by Kevin Bergeron and Sue Ellen Soto. By 2015, it had re-re ...

in 2018.

Release

The film was originally scheduled a release date for November 25, 2015, but was moved to December 4, 2015. The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

on April 26, 2016 and was internationally released on the same formats in the United Kingdom on December 26, 2016. An unrated, extended version of the film referred to as ''Krampus: The Naughty Cut'' was released on December 7, 2021 by

Shout Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

in a 4K and

combo pack. This release features new bonus content such as interviews, commentaries, and featurettes, and runs approximately four minutes longer than the original theatrical edition.

Merchandise

An original graphic novel titled ''Krampus: Shadow of Saint Nicholas'' was released on November 25, 2015 by

Legendary Entertainment Legendary Pictures Productions, LLC ( doing business as Legendary Entertainment or simply Legendary) is an American film production and mass media company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull in 2000. The company has collaborated ...

. The comic is written by Brandon Seifert and features stories by writer/director

and movie co-writers Zach Shields and Todd Casey. Art is provided by Fiona Staples, Michael Montenat, Stuart Sayger, Maan House and Christian DiBari. Weta Workshop released a number of collectables through their online store, including statues (Krampus, The Cherub, The Dark Elf), a life-sized prop reproduction of the Krampus Bell and a collectable pin. Trick or Treat Studios released three Halloween Masks directly out of the screen used masters. The masks include Krampus and two elves, Window Peeper and Sheep Cote Clod. The popular Halloween store

Spirit Halloween Spirit Halloween, LLC is an American seasonal retailer that supplies Halloween decorations, costumes, props and accessories. It is the country's largest Halloween retailer. It is currently owned by Spencer Gifts. It was founded in 1983 and bega ...

released a Halloween animatronic based on the main character Krampus.

Reception

Box office

''Krampus'' grossed $42.7 million in the United States and Canada and $18.8 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $61.5 million, against a budget of $15 million. In North America, ''Krampus'' earned $637,000 from its Thursday night showings, which began at 7 p.m., and topped the box office on its opening day with $6 million. It rose 9.9% on Saturday over Friday, a rare occurrence for a horror film. It went on to earn $16.3 million through its opening weekend from 2,902 theaters, which was above expectations and finished in second place at the box office, ahead of ''

The Good Dinosaur ''The Good Dinosaur'' is a 2015 American computer-animated adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film was directed by Peter Sohn (in his feature directorial debut) an ...

'', but behind '' The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2'' ($18.6 million), which was on its third weekend. Scott Mendelson of ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' felt the successful opening was attributed to the horror genre which was something of a new, unique and genuinely different offering at that time (the last time a Christmas-themed horror film opened was in 2006 with '' Black Christmas''). However, he also stated that had Universal not embargoed the reviews two days prior to its release, a wave of mostly positive reviews dropping a few days before release would have boosted its opening accordingly.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads "''Krampus'' is gory good fun for fans of non-traditional holiday horror with a fondness for Joe Dante's B-movie classics, even if it doesn't have quite the savage bite its concept calls for." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.

Accolades

''Krampus'' earned a pair of nominations for Best Horror Film from the

Empire Awards The Empire Awards was an annual British awards ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the local and global film industry. Winners were awarded the Empire Award statuette. The awards, first presented in 1996, were presented by the British f ...

and the

Saturn Awards The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * {{Michael Dougherty 2015 films 2015 horror films 2010s comedy horror films 2015 fantasy films 2010s Christmas horror films 2010s comedy thriller films 2010s monster movies American films with live action and animation American Christmas horror films American comedy horror films American satirical films American monster movies American supernatural horror films American Christmas comedy films American dark fantasy films Supernatural comedy films Supernatural fantasy films Demons in film Films about dysfunctional families Films about elves Films based on European myths and legends Films produced by Thomas Tull Legendary Pictures films Krampus in film Universal Pictures films Films directed by Michael Dougherty Films produced by Michael Dougherty Films with screenplays by Michael Dougherty Films scored by Douglas Pipes Films shot in New Zealand 2015 comedy films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films