Krampus – Review

As people in the retail stores duke it out to the point of being tased, Christmas tunes gently play. The melodic tunes are at odds with the crying children and warring parents. As the opening credits roll, the viewer gets the sort of vibes that they are in for with Krampus.

Was drop-kicking the shit-talking bully into the manger the best move for kid Max (Anthony)? Probably not, so his parents Sarah (Collette) and Tom (Scott) dish advice and punishment before his cousins arrive for their annual Christmas visit.

Max’s Omi (Stadler) asks him about his letter to Santa this year, but he’s not sure what to ask for yet. She is sure he will think of something and she believes in the true spirit of the holidays. Max’s sister Beth (Owen) is less than thrilled about the upcoming family staycation, as the cousins are from the shallow end of the gene pool. It appears everyone is in for a spicy time.

The flood of cousins and their parents (Koechner, Tolman) finally arrive along with their beefy bulldog, and nightmare Aunt Dorothy (Ferrell). Naturally next all hell breaks loose as the evil and monstrous Krampus, and his army of Christmas minions are summoned. The crabby and wacky extended family must use their pissy attitudes to deal with this situation, with bloody results.

While it’s not going to win any awards, an okay script is elevated by a good cast and solid direction. There are some nice jokes here and some naughty kills. Consider Krampus if you need a nightmarish alternative to Die Hard this x-mas season.

There is also a “Naughty Cut” in addition to the theatrical, which adds a bit more dialogue, gore and about 4 minutes in total.