Krampus - Christmas horror/comedy

Fysh

There have been a couple of mentions but no dedicated thread that I can find so I thought I'd start one.

Here's the trailer:

I saw this ladt night and had quite a lot of fun with it. Gremlins is the obvious comparison/reference, and I will say I didn't think it was quite that good (but then part of that is the nostalgia that's wrapped around Gremlins or any film I fondly remember watching as a kid, so it's probably not entirely fair). There is another comparison to be made but I'm spoilering it to be on the safe side:

Jumanji

.

Comparisons aside, did I enjoy it? Yes, very much so. It's got a very funny opening sequence, it IMO juggles a sizeable cast well while giving each of them a distinct personality, there are some great laughs in there and some inventive & impressive visuals. I was particularly delighted to note that there's a significant amount of puppetwork in the film, which looks excellent and helps add hugely to the sense of menace as the film goes on. And there's a lovely flashback sequence that's my favourite part of the film. Plus there appear to be some Calvin & Hobbes fans amongst the production team based on one particular throwaway line and certain bits of creature design, which I consider to be a plus (Possibly also some fans of Five Nights At Freddie's, now I think about it...)

If I had to pick an issue with it, it would be that the resolution is pretty obvious. But then with this type of film it almost always is. The very ending is silly (not to mention yoinked straight from

Jeepers Creepers

, but I like that the epilogue itself

managed to put a sting in what would otherwise be a typical "reassuring" ending for this kind of film

.

Horror comedy is always tricky to balance, but if you like Gremlins I suspect you'd probably find a lot to enjoy in Krampus.

El Diablo Blanco

Saw this last night, myself, and my feelings are pretty much in line with Fysh's.

Great cast, loved the animated flashback sequence, but the script wasn't the tightest. I assumed most of the big laughs were supposed to come from David Koechner and Conchata Ferrell, but some of their lines failed to land, and didn't get anything from the audience I saw it with.

Impressed by both Emjay Anthony ('Max') and Krista Stadler ('Omi'), who I hadn't seen in anything previously - both left a lasting impression; quite a feat considering a cast with the likes of Toni Collette and Allison Tolman.

Good mix of horror and comedy, but it kinda feels like a film with an identity crisis, unable to truly decide which side of the fence it wants to come down on; as a result, it's a little uneven in its tone.

Shame about the script, but still an enjoyable (and occasionally moving, surprisingly) seasonal horror.

sonic85

Seen this a couple of nights ago. It was enjoyable but I felt a bit unsatisfied at the end for some reason.

Loved the opening sequence liked the one liners and comic bits and thought the acting was pretty good but felt the horror aspect could've been a bit stronger. It wasn't in any way scary or even unsettling in my opinion.

e_e

Posted this in the off-topic thread:

e_e wrote: »

It was fun, felt like something out of the 80s with the irreverence and darkness of something like Gremlins. Doesn't add up to much but it's an enjoyable ride imo.

Banjaxed82

Disappointing.

I had no clear idea of what was going on through out. Some good ideas but falls short. The last third picked up but at that stage, I had given up on the film.

Won't be something rewatched over future Christmases.

Fysh

Banjaxed82 wrote: »

Disappointing.

I had no clear idea of what was going on through out. Some good ideas but falls short. The last third picked up but at that stage, I had given up on the film.

Won't be something rewatched over future Christmases.

In relation to the bolded bit - I thought this was pretty straightforward in terms of story, and wouldn't have rated it as being any different to the liked of Gremlins or Jumanji in that respect. What things did you find unclear?

Zombienosh

sonic85 wrote: »

Seen this a couple of nights ago. It was enjoyable but I felt a bit unsatisfied at the end for some reason.

I agree with this, I felt like I never got the pay off I wanted, like it built up The Krampus so much but then he didn't really do much. It can be pretty hard to get Comedy Horrors balanced and this film seemed like it wasn't sure which way it wanted to go.

Mizu_Ger

I watched this the other night and was a left unsatisfied too. It started well and up until the

daughter was attacked on the way to her boyfriend's house, everything was good

. After that the family's apathy to

the daughter's disappearance (they basically give up looking for her) and other family members being dragged away with no will fight back

left me a bit annoyed. and things seemed to be very rushed from there on, with no time spent on the atmosphere.

Gremlins had fun with those guys being bashed and topped in many different ways by the humans, but there's none of that black-comedy playfulness here.

I liked the animated segment in the middle though!

Fysh

Mizu_Ger wrote: »

I watched this the other night and was a left unsatisfied too. It started well and up until the

daughter was attacked on the way to her boyfriend's house, everything was good

. After that the family's apathy to

the daughter's disappearance (they basically give up looking for her) and other family members being dragged away with no will fight back

left me a bit annoyed. and things seemed to be very rushed from there on, with no time spent on the atmosphere.

Gremlins had fun with those guys being bashed and topped in many different ways by the humans, but there's none of that black-comedy playfulness here.

I liked the animated segment in the middle though!

I think there are some over-broad strokes in the script, but I remember having a lot of fun with some of the intermediate bits. The

gingerbread men bits

were great and pretty clearly inspired at least partially by Gremlins, especially the bit with

the nailgun

Mizu_Ger

Fysh wrote: »

I think there are some over-broad strokes in the script, but I remember having a lot of fun with some of the intermediate bits. The

gingerbread men bits

were great and pretty clearly inspired at least partially by Gremlins, especially the bit with

the nailgun

Yeah, I would have liked more of that stuff and also more along the lines of what happened in the attic

where Allison Tolman actually fights back against the creatures

One other thing that I thought was that this would have looked better if shot on film. A bit of grittiness would have helped with the atmosphere. The digital called attention to itself a few times. Some of the panning shots had that super-smooth look to them (which I hate). I had the same feeling about The Revenant. Digital can look too smooth and polished at times.

Roar

Watched last night. Loved it. As mentioned, a real Gremlins vibe to it, with a bit of Christmas Vacation in the mix too. Loved the use of puppetry, it made for a really eerie look. Recommend.