Film Kramp'd Up
Generally speaking, my knowledge of directorial style is minimal, and I tend to avoid reviews of a film before I watch it. This allows me to enjoy a film completely on its own merits - at least in theory.
As such, I'd theorized heading in that Krampus was going to be a more serious look at the legend of Krampus. And for the first 20-30 minutes or so, that was correct.
The opening Black Friday scene was poignant, and while light-hearted, definitely set a consumerism undertone that would seem to undermine the spirit of the season. That was followed with an excellent, ominous scene where one of the protagonists was alone and scared outside, and the tension began to mount.
And then... well, the campier elements of the movie came through. Picking up at around the 40 minute mark, it moved sharply aware from genuine horror and well into the goofy/over-the-top gags that quickly stripped any actual possibility of night terrors. There were, however, a couple of good laughs - not least of which was the exact moment that led from the switch of dark and foreboding to "Oh. I see. So it's going to be like that."
The rest of the film was a little shlocky, but enjoyably so. I'm happy enough that I watched it.
Film A campy delight
Krampus may be a horror-comedy, but it definitely leans towards the comedy aspect of it rather than horror. It DOES have very spooky character designs and atmosphere, but if you go into it expecting it to be terrifying you'll be disappointed. It's on a similar level to Gremlins in style and you'll mostly end up watching it for the laughs rather than the scares.
I will say that the family is the most sympathetic group of protagonists that I've ever seen in any horror movie. The family (mostly) acts like real people you would see in real life and they provide most of the scares. Some scenes feel a bit forced, but those are few and far between.
4/5!
Film A Fun Holiday Scare
I grew up hearing the legend of Krampus and was excited to see the film. From the opening scene involving last-minute shoppers and a Nativity play gone to hell, you know this isn't your standard holiday film. While KRAMPUS does diviate from his original myth a bit, (very much playing on the "Anti-St. Nicholas" thing), I don't think fans of the entity will be too upset. I was relieved that the ending was not what I expected it to be and that perhaps made it a very terrifying ending in hindsight.
The practical effects are fantastic, especically a scene near the end that brings memories to FANTASIA's "Night on Bald Mountain".
Film Straight up great flick.
Krampus is such a step up from Trick R Treat. It's probably my favourite Christmas flick of the last couple of years and it gets the feeling of family better than those films too.
That's not saying anything against Trick R Treat of course, but man, Krampus really knocks it out of the park. The set up for the main event alone felt like some Christmases I've had with relatives around, that awful feeling that everything is going to fall apart at any second.
And when it does the comedy and the creepy horror just step it up a notch. I wouldn't call it the funniest film ever, or the scariest film ever, but possibly the greatest blend of the two genres for the purposes of making a dark yet family pleasing horror film.
You can sympathise and relate with the heroes, grin at the jokes and be genuinely creeped out by the brilliant creature designs. They give you a strange feeling of ancient creeping dread and the wrongness of the familiar being twisted as opposed to a more straight horror vibe you'd find with other monsters.
PS: Just comparing Trick R Treat and Krampus, I'd give the reasons for Krampus being superior as follows. 1. Christmas isn't meant to be a dark time, so the horror feels more unexpected. It also does a wonderful job of justifying itself and raising questions about the holiday too.
2. Not being an anthology film it has more time to focus on the characters and tell a focused narrative.
3. It has a more universal appeal than a Halloween flick. I'm an Aussie, so Halloween still isn't really a thing over here.