Krampus takes a different spin on holidays

By Daniela Coe-McNamara

Staff Writer

Movies are a great way to get in the holiday spirit, but this year, the film “Krampus” takes a different spin on this time of year, giving off a creepy, ominous feel that spoils the jolly mood of Christmas.

With too much emphasis on scare tactics, “Krampus” focuses too harshly on warning audiences of the loss of Christmas spirit instead of celebrating its existence, without truly explaining the tale of Krampus until it is too late.

Based on the German folk tale of Krampus, the evil shadow of Santa Claus, “Krampus” follows two very opposite families during the stressful time of spending the holidays with extended family. As these opposing families butt heads during Christmas, the youngest boy, Max, loses his faith in Santa Claus, and thus Krampus and his minions are released, killing everyone in their path.

The film is centered around the ominous Krampus character, as his moving shadow is seen throughout the film, but it is rare for a full image of Krampus to grace the screen. By neglecting the titular antagonist, this detracts from the true terror of Krampus as his minions become more and more terrifying, leaving his own goat demon character to seem less intimidating than the giant human-eating, clown-headed worm.

Since the film focuses so much on the terrorizing effect of the minions, it is unclear as to why the character design of the minions is so unsatisfactory and careless. Many of the minions are in cheap, plastic masks, reducing the frightening effect of Krampus and his minions as the rest of the film is elaborately decorated and costumed.

As “Krampus” is intended to scare, it is understandable that the film includes a few stereotypical, yet effective, jump scares. However, having a jump scare multiple times in every scene is unnecessary and excessive, leaving audiences bored as they experience the same predictable scare tactic utilized by every other major horror film.

“Krampus” clearly favors warnings over celebrations, an ideal not held by many in the holiday season, making the film slightly disagreeable. The harsh and cynical story the film is based around is probably the cause behind the overwhelmingly pessimistic feel of the film, an expected result for a holiday fable turned horror film.

Intended as a cautionary tale, “Krampus” desperately tries to incorporate a last minute, feel good moral to the story, yet fails after it’s over the top gore and horror. After emphasizing the tragedy left in wake of Krampus and his minions, the film makes it hard for audiences to find the smallest bit of happiness for the child who lost his entire family before his eyes.

While the folklore “Krampus” is based on is terrifying and admonishing, the film fails to capture people’s true fear of Krampus and the loss of Christmas spirit, as it desperately tries to morph into a non-traditional holiday film filled with excessive scare tactics and too many evil henchmen.

“Krampus” is rated PG-13 and is playing at theaters nearby.