Customer Ratings & Reviews

There's a sort of set of horror films I try desperately to avoid. There are a few types of horror movies I avoid: the truly bad kind (that people only like ironically, or with post-modern post-irony: "I find the failure born of hubris endearing"), the bad kind some think are okay because the effects are at or near believable (even if everything else about the movie is awful), the kind that most horror fans I run into tend to like (like the former, but about gore/murder setpieces), and the most cynical kind (that often fits with any of the previous groups) that seem to just by soulless exercises in creating setpieces, cheap scares, and/or cult-followings. That inauthenticity is the worst, especially for its periodic successes. I long thought--perhaps muddling the idea with another movie or such-like--this was somewhere in the middle there: a decent budget, but somewhere along the spectrum from "truly bad" to "enjoyed because ideas/effects, with no regard for anything around it". Perhaps something like a SyFy original movie, which often seems to brush up against a fictional version of "ripped from the headlines" ("What's trending in horror?"). I heard a few solid reviews, then found Adam Scott was one of the leads and thought, "Eh, I could use some greater variety in my 'off' Christmas movies". Max (Emjay Anthony) is a young boy set to spend another family Christmas with his mother Sarah (Toni Collette), father Tom (Scott), older sister Beth (Stefania LaVie Owen), aunt Linda (Allison Tolman), grandma "Omi" (Krista Stadler), uncle Howard (David Koechner), and cousins (Howie, Jr. -- Maverick Flack, Jordan -- Queenie Samuel, and Stevie -- Lolo Owen). A Christmas play gone wrong, friction between his parents, his critical sister, and his bullying cousins cause Max to finally break down and reject his love of Santa Claus and Christmas. Unbeknownst to him, this sets Krampus loose on the family: a malevolent spirit that comes out something like a twisted, darkened mirror of Santa Claus. Through intense disbelief--justifiable, under the circumstances--the family slowly realizes they are under threat from something truly malicious. Director and co-writer (with Todd Casey and Zach Shields) Michael Dougherty has tried to revive the spirit of bigger budget horror from the 1980s (Gremlins, Poltergeist, etc), their mentality, effects (the practical kind), and senses of humour. As I often appreciate, this turns out to be not only generally successful, but also turned just-modern-enough to hopefully satisfy the kinds of people who refuse to accept a movie that's neatly linear and "predictable". The threat is made quite real--something the aforementioned movies were successful at achieving, but tending toward unstated shields around a group of core characters--without drifting into utter nihilism, that I also find rather frustrating. WETA Workshop, enlisted for effects, put in great work, that not only helps to easily suspend disbelief, but is creative, interesting, and as high quality was one expects from that crew. The envisioning of this iteration of the Krampus legend is so focused on Krampus as anti-Santa that it can't resist almost all the elements being nudged at, but especially choosing to make the assistants of Krampus not only (rather dark) elves, but also sentient, aggressive, bloodthirsty toys, like a jack-in-the-box, or teddy bear, hideous and monstrous in design. The quality of actors (Scott, Collette, and Anthony, especially) alongside those effects is married to a script that manages to nicely align the triangle between melodramatic conflict, realism, and exaggeration for humour's sake. The in-laws are the greatest tug on exaggeration (a given, I'd almost think due to Koechner), but even on their own will keep things in the right range. This is the most successful element of reviving 80's-style films I can think of, trapped just past the center of the tilt from decreasingly stagey (or "freed-from-the-stage") kinds of characters to "meticulous realism". We can laugh at the absurdities of a character because they're so clearly from a reasonable range of archetypes, tweaked just enough to give us that sense of depth and "don't judge a book" kinds of tentative movement the 80's showed so much of, as a greater trend in writing toward shaded character rolled over things. The setting and design choices are quite good as well, capturing everything the film wants to, from nods to and proof of issues characters bring up, to hitting the mark on the tone and atmosphere intended--from a relatively wealthy home at a modern Christmas, to a hellish tundra devoid of other life, near-apocalyptic from both violent-intruder and climate-wasteland perspectives, holing up not just for safety from the evil forces afoot, but also the bitter, freezing cold enhanced by their presence.  Throw in some good character moments and development, some brave choices that feel neither rote nor "anti-rote", and a good sense of humour, and this may well start to enter my annual end-of-year rotation.

Krampus is not one to be missed for not only the Christmas movie lovers,but also those who like a little horrific twist. A fun and engaging story that keeps you going up until the very end. Krampus has become a favorite in our home during the holidays,a nice change up from the usual holiday fluff.

Like the movie. It looks great. Returned it because there was no slipcover.

Like a good old fairy tale, this movie explores the mysterious role of Krampus... Santa's helper during Christmas. The lore of Krampus has long been forgotten but this movie will definitely delight you.

It’s got some good actors in it, but if you’re looking for a seriously scary story and plot, this isn’t it. It’s the perfect B movie with a few jumps, laughs, and a decent plot.

Great job of providing the Christmas atmosphere, fun story, the humor landed for me for the most part but didn’t like some of the characters and i prefer the alternate ending.

It has enough personality and ambition that it could easily become an annual tradition for those who prefer "Silent Night, Deadly Night" to "It's a Wonderful Life."

Finally, a decent holiday horror movie. This movie definitely helped me stress the importance of good behavior throughout the year to my kids-LOL!

A unique experience for a holiday film, a unique blend of horror and comedy with a good dose of character and family.

When I think horror and Christmas I think Nightmare Before Christmas. Well this movie is more like the Nightmare during Christmas. I assumed with a movie like this the plot would be very simple and it was. Family comes to visit. Young boy is losing faith in Christmas. Family pushes him over the edge. Boy gives up on the holiday. Enter Krampus. What I was not expecting form this movie was the work put into Krampus and his creatures of torment. The special effects for this kind of movie are superb and the story moves along never really losing any pace. If your looking for a different kind of horror/drama movie or even Christmas movie this is it. This movie will have you invested in it right from the beginning all the way to the end with a very interesting ending and may even have you looking at how you celebrate this holiday. Christmas or horror fans do yourself a favor and check this one out!

This is Christmas horror at it's best some good scares and comedy mixed in ,definitely worth a watch.

This movie is a fun Christmas horror movie. Not any real surprises - just done well.

Of course the trailer showed all the best parts. But there were a few funny one liners.

This is a low-budget, Christmas themed horror/fantasy/creature-effects-driven/dark humor film that I was pleasantly surprised by. The film really hones itself in peeling back the family tension of Christmas, while weaving a strongly stylized monster movie, along with dark humor. If you go into watching the movie for the really well done creature effects, and deglorified view of being forced into spending time with family members that, outside of family relation, there aren't any real bonds, this is a well done picture. I did find that, while they did a fantastic job of stretching their dollar in the creatures and special effects, I had a real problem with the main creature's (Krampus) lack of automated mandible, though there could be an argument made that it's more mask donned by Krampus than actual face. If you enjoy creature driven films and done mind a bleak message about being forced to spend time with relatives during the holiday, you'll enjoy this film.

I love this movie. It's fun, creepy and funny. I watch it every Christmas.

I think it was $7? But it came with the digital copy so I bought it.

Movie little confusing at times but overall not that bad

I liked Krampus. It was scary and funny. Good stuff

I have to admit, when I saw the trailer for this I was super excited. Upon viewing it I felt slight disappointment. You may take that as I didn't like the film, but that's not true. The film is great for what it does, but the moment I saw the trailer I was expecting a modern day Gremlin's vibe from this movie. Though it delivers to some extent, especially with the mischievous nature of the film, I felt the humor and fun of Gremlins was not there. Now that's no fault of the movie. That was just my expectation. The film tells a great story and does it well. I just wished it balanced a little more lighter tone with the darker tone. If you like refreshing horror/holiday themed films that don't rely on gore check it out. Recommended.

If watched as a "fantasy" with horror aspects, this film is a fun, and an enjoyable experience, complete with "practical" visual effects. The cast is rather good, Toni Collette and Adam Scott work well together, and bring subtlety to a film that would have sufficed without, but it is nice to see those moments among a macabre Christmas tale. Allison Tolman is the best present under this horror tree, and Krista Stadler showcases why she is a top talent in her native Vienna. The disc release does contain an alternate ending, but the theatrical ending is left to interpretation as it stands. Krampus will scare the younger generation, but will entertain as a nice fantasy film for the adults.