Edited by annehuda at 4-12-2015 08:02 PM
There’s something genuinely delightful about taking the cheery commercialized abundance of Christmas, and contrasting it with the darkest, creepiest things imaginable. FromGremlins to The Nightmare Before Christmas— even Spinal Tap’s “Christmas With the Devil” — there’s a tongue-in-cheek subversive thrill to the idea; a little bit of naughty when everyone’s supposed to be nice. Mining that most specific of veins is clearly what’s on the mind of Krampus, the latest film from writer-director Michael Dougherty (Trick ‘r Treat, X2).
The film is loosely based on the eponymous figure from German folklore, a sort of dark-mirror version of Santa Claus who, instead of bringing gifts and delights to good children, shows up with cloven feet and horns to drag the bad ones down into the underworld. Plop the figure into the middle of a suburban family Christmas, replete with bickering in-laws and dead-eyed cousins straight from Christmas Vacation, and it’s easy to see the opportunity for fun, satire, and some real holiday scares. They’re not actually there inKrampus, mind you, but you can certainly see the opportunity.
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