Christmas may be just a few weeks away, but if you’ve been naughty Santa may not be the one coming down your chimney on Christmas Eve. The dark comedy Krampus hits theaters in just two days, and the director slash co-writer, Mike Dougherty, has just released this behind the scenes featurette that shows one family’s not-so-happy holidays. Krampus is Santa’s dark side; a demonic anthropomorphic creature of Alpine folklore who snatches the children on the naughty list. A tradition thought to go back to the holiday’s Pagan origins, the creature is gaining popularity once again, as this film shows.
In the vein of movies like Gremlins and Trick ‘r Treat (Also written by Dougherty), Krampus looks to have some genuine scares mixed in with the edgy bleak humor, and a fantastic cast to pull it off. I’ll watch Adam Scott in almost anything, but put him in a film where he has to protect his family from the Christmas demon and I’m all in. This featurette gives a good idea of what to expect from the film, and damn if it doesn’t look good.
Here’s the official synopsis:
While the holiday season represents the most magical time of year, ancient European folklore warns of Krampus, a horned beast who punishes naughty children at Christmastime. When dysfunctional family squabbling causes young Max (Emjay Anthony) to lose his festive spirit, it unleashes the wrath of the fearsome demon. As Krampus lays siege to the Engel home, mom (Toni Collette), pop (Adam Scott), sister (Stefania LaVie Owen) and brother must band together to save one another from a monstrous fate.
The horror-comedy stars Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Emjay Anthony, Stefania LaVie Owen, and Krista Stadler, and was co-written by Dougherty, Todd Casey, and Zach Shields.
Krampus invades theaters just in time for Krampusnacht on December 4th.
