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Critics Consensus: Krampus is gory good fun for fans of non-traditional holiday horror with a fondness for Joe Dante's B- movie classics, even if it doesn't have quite the savage bite its concept calls for.
Critic Consensus: Krampus is gory good fun for fans of non-traditional holiday horror with a fondness for Joe Dante's B- movie classics, even if it doesn't have quite the savage bite its concept calls for.
All Critics (111) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (74) | Rotten (37) | DVD (1)
The fact we care at all about the outcome is a testament to the actors, and only the actors. But buried beneath the Christmas clutter is a much better movie.
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."
Although there are some amusing moments here and there and a couple of nicely effective scary bits, it is never quite as darkly funny nor as frightening as it would like to be ...
The movie sends mixed messages. It's hard, but gooey, too. Trick 'r Treat showed that Dougherty has a mean streak (with wit), but with Krampus, he's clearly been charged with delivering a wide-appeal PG-13 film.
Too many obnoxious relatives, evil critters and weak gags at the expense of fat kids and foul-mouthed old ladies.
Lurches between treacle and terror as it stumbles toward a too-easy ending.
Krampus won't be the perfect Christmas present for everyone, but with its creepy visuals and twisty tale, it's just the thing for those who like some monsters decorating the tree.
Not that scary but Krampus and his murderous gingerbread men are fun. Watch after losing your own Christmas Spirit: when you've run out of sellotape while wrapping presents and then realise someone's eaten all the purple ones out of the Quality Street.
Krampus is a film that will be added to my list of Christmas movies I have to watch every year. It ties in old traditions with how the holidays are today.
The final result is, though certainly flawed, could become an annual viewing pleasure for the more demented Christmas lover.
What draws a family together better than being menaced by an unrelenting demon from Alpine folklore? Nothing, that's what.
Give me the naughty over the nice, Krampus is everything I wanted this Christmas.
The film is trying to be a new Gremlins, using the festive season for some horror and the set up works rather nicely with the arrival of the unloved extended family. The tone is then somewhat undecided, too silly for grown-ups and too creepy for kids, especially when it comes to Krampus' multilpe helper creatures. That's borderline annoying a few times and would have worked much better with the emphasis on the main antagonist. But even he gets silly once we see underneath his hood often enough. At least the final twist is surprisingly evil.
Super Reviewer
Didn’t love or hate this. It was an okay Christmas horror. Dragged out a little long, though it wasn’t.
Michael Dougherty is no Joe Dante, and his attempt to mix horror and comedy is only unscary and unfunny - a perfunctory, predictable and uninspired Christmas movie plagued with characters so hateful that I wanted Krampus to kill them all so that it would be finally over.
A fun, silly bit of holiday horror. This film could have gone much further in several directions: campier, scarrier, darker. There are not many thrills under the tree, but it has some delightful henchmen lurking among the boughs and holly. The film's score is notably clever but not enough that you'll be likely add the soundtrack CD to your Christmas list.
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