When I saw a preview for Krampus, I immediately added it to my queue and moved it to the top. First, I like the idea of movies that take folklore and set it in a contemporary setting. Unfortunately movies like Trollhunter or Thale have a tendency to fall short on the contemporary side and are unable to sustain the tension. Second, I love Toni Collette and Adam Scott from Parks and Recreations. Third, Krampus is a horror movie set at the most wonderful time of the year so the contrast and dissonance are delicious.
Krampus is about one suburban family preparing for a holiday visit from their blue-collar branch. Krampus’ set up is initially promising. There are socioeconomic disparities and male gender norms that lend to tension before Krampus arrives. The youngest member of the suburban family is a sensitive boy who still believes in Santa and is close to his German grandma, but between his family’s preoccupation with the veneer of Christmas and how things should be and his extended family’s callous, loud and mocking presence, he decides to say screw Christmas then terror ensues.
Well, I wish terror ensued. I came for Krampus and was hoping for a terrifying Michael Myers that looked like a demon wreaking havoc. Instead Krampus’ lesser-known minions, toys that didn’t make the cut when Chuckie auditioned so they had to settle for supporting roles in this film, dominate and terrorize the family. A promising dynamic was teased in Krampus between the suburban dad played by Scott and the rural dad played by David Kochner regarding comparing and contrasting who was better prepared to protect the family. Rural dad had guns and bravado, but was more vulnerable and unable to remain alert whereas Scott’s character brought his skills to the table and was better at surviving and protecting the family. In the end, Krampus decided not to pursue this thread to the conclusion and focused on the disillusioned boy, which failed to solve the underlying family tension that existed before Krampus arrived. If the family resolved its issues while being terrorized or at least one side was vindicated, I think the resolution regardless of whether or not the ending was happy or dark would be satisfying. Instead the ending is cool in a Twilight Zone way, but not with respect to actual character development.
The best part of Krampus is the German grandmother’s story, which links the folklore to the present in a region specific way that credibly grounds the story. The German grandmother also roots Krampus’ folklore in a real life horrific time, WWII Germany. Her story of living in postwar Germany, a land drenched in the blood of its own from self-inflicted homicidal wounds and inflicted by US and Stalin, suggests a fertile hunting ground for Krampus, who is attracted to places that lack Christmas spirit. In contrast, her grandson and family’s squabbles are petty.
Even though the filmmaker teases the socioeconomic tensions within white American families that played a part in the Presidential election, in hindsight, there were more parallels to WWII Germany and America (no, I’m not saying we’re Nazis, but Nazis ARE an aspect of our current story) that could have been developed. There is a mass delusional idea in both the US and WWII Germany that if all the others are eliminated, then life would be ideal for those who deserve the land, but the reality is that once all the others are eliminated, the anger and hatred will just turn inwards and destroy itself as the definition of other is expanded to include those that you disagree with. There is no Christmas spirit because Christ is not who is celebrated, but the greedy, consuming destructive natures that will never be satiated until everything but oneself is vindicated when that self is as grotesque as Krampus.
Krampus had its finger on the pulse of the ugly underside of American families, but pulled punches in both its titular horror and the fractured American family. The creator of Trick ‘r Treat failed to sustain his creative streak.