Have you been nice this year or have you been really mean?
Santa Claus will be coming to town in a few more months and he’s gonna check his list twice to find out who’s naughty or nice. However, being in Santa’s naughty list isn’t as bad as getting punished by Krampus for the lack of festive spirit.
Universal Pictures has offered us a first look at Legendary Pictures’ upcoming holiday horror movie, “Krampus”, through a series of official movie stills and a trailer.
The film stars Emjay Anthonhy (of “Chef” fame) as young Max, who has reached the age where he clings to the idea of Santa. However, he is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas when his fractured family clashes over the holidays. The lack of festive spirit in Max’s family unleashes the wrath of Krampus, a horned-and-hooved anthropomorphic figure that punishes non-believers every Christmas.
All hell breaks loose as Krampus and his mischievous helpers lay siege to the dysfunctional family’s home, forcing them to fight for each other if they hope to survive.
Co-writer/director Michael Dougherty told USA Today that he has “long wanted to make a scary movie that embraced the magical aspects of the season”, just like how he focuses on Halloween through his 2007 horror film “Trick ‘r Treat”.
For “Krampus”, his focus is on “the bearded guy living at the North Pole and elves that make toys for all good little boys and girls”. He said, “There is some sort of supernatural entity that keeps an eye on you all year long and determines if you’re naughty or nice.”
Dougherty’s inspiration on the look and character of “Krampus” was retrieved from some postcards and illustrations of the horned figure over the years. His take on Krampus is that the creature is not just “judge, jury and executioner”, but also the “shadow” of Santa.
However, Dougherty said that Krampus is “more complex and nuanced”, rather than just being evil. For this film, he wanted to keep the antagonist’s mischievous side from the Krampus mythology.
He said:
He’s not Freddy (“A Nightmare on Elm Street“) or Jason (“Friday the 13th“) or Leatherface (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”), this unstoppable monster that kicks down your door and rampages and grabs you.
He added, “If you study the myth, there’s something darkly playful about him. He’s having a good time doing what he does and he enjoys the cat-and-mouse aspect of it.”
The heartwarming aspects of the Christmas season will be featured in this film, as Dougherty said:
“A Christmas Carol” and “It’s A Wonderful Life” are kind of nightmares that show you these broken characters who experience a darker side of divine intervention. They need to be scared straight. So it was important to elevate it.
He also added, “If you do a horror film without an emotional core, you don’t really have much.”
“Krampus” stars Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Stefania Lavie Owen, and Krista Stadler. Krampus and his sinister underlings are created by the combined efforts of Weta Workshop and Weta Digital, both renowned for their epic work on “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies.
Besides Dougherty, “Krampus” is also co-written by Zach Shields and Todd Casey. Alex Garcia serves as the producer alongside Dougherty and Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni.
Watch the first trailer below:
The film is slated for release on 3rd December 2015.
For more information, visit the movie’s official website and Facebook page.
Source: USA Today.
