Luke Waxman David Koechner is the worst but the movie is okay over all. I think the elements that look visually dark and twisted are awesome. Everything with gingerbread men and David Koechner and just all the goofy stuff is garbage.

Coventry I must admit that I originally hadn't planned to ever watch "Krampus", due to the assumption that it was more of a dark Christmas tale for children (like "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" or "Gremlins"), but then it suddenly became my "annual Christmas horror back-up plan"! For you see, I have this stupid but inescapable tradition of watching at least one Christmas-themed horror movie per year and I still hadn't found a suitable title around new year's! Since I've already seen all the classics and couldn't get my hand on the ones that I initially planned to see (either "Better Watch Out" or "All Through the House"), I purchased a copy of "Krampus" that was on promo-sale at my local supermarket. And I must say that I'm very glad it turned out this way, as this is seriously one of the biggest pleasant surprises I encountered in years! "Krampus" is child-friendly but not childish, and it contains far more suspense, creepy imagery and grisly monsters than I've seen in any other horror film lately. The opening sequences are downright fantastic: to the tunes of a golden oldie Bing Crosby carol, we see a compilation of less joyful holiday sights like crowded supermarkets with people fighting over presents and little kids crying on Santa's lap. It's a nice change from all the usual and fake merry scenes in movies and immediately sets the tone for a different kind of Christmas story. The film further unfolds like an old-fashioned folklore/fairy-tale, with young Max tearing up his letter to Santa Clause and cursing Christmas because his family is fighting at the diner table. By doing so, however, Max summons an ancient creature from the Austrian mythology. Krampus, the evil shadow of Saint Nicolas, punishes the unbelievers of Christmas by covering the entire landscape in ice and unleashing his monstrous toy creatures. "Krampus" feels like a mixture between the comedy classic "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" (dysfunctional family spending the holiday period together) and the Dutch horror flick "Sint" (demolishing the image of children's heroes), and the result is a fast-paced, atmospheric and beautiful film. There's even a terrific animated flashback interlude, explaining the origins of Krampus and the grandmother's first encounter with him. A lot of time and effort was also put in special effects and monster designs. It takes a while before we get to see Krampus but, luckily, he has an army of creepy minions, like evil gingerbread men, elves and scary dolls. With the excellent "Trick 'r Treat", co-writer and director Michael Dougherty already showed his great potential and with "Krampus" he forever proved that he's a multi-talented storyteller. Recommended!

Mr-Fusion . . . says David Koechner as he's being attacked by evil Christmas cookies with a nail gun. It's a great line in a demented scene, and that's the kind of thing I was hoping this movie would have more of. It's seldom that I see a movie that leaves me unaffected, but "Krampus" fits that mold. It's pitched as a horror comedy, but it doesn't do either very well. It's passable.It's those opening scenes that held promise. The department store melee set to Christmas music; heavy-handed, but entertaining enough. 5/10

Tim If the Brothers Grimm & Dr. Seuss wrote the story of Krampus we'd get this movie.Black comedies are hard to pull off, add Christmas expectations and it's a recipe for disaster in the wrong hands. Luckily, Krampus (with tongue planted firmly in cheek) pulls it off. From the slow-mo opening of the horrors of holiday shopping to the twist at the end. The play on Christmas traditional expectations are on full display. What Daugherty did for Halloween he has now done for Christmas, and gives us a movie that, like its near cousin, descends into the wilderness of visual and dark comedic excess in order to deliver its players to a moral that, somehow, manages to be universal and thoughtful. The methods at which he goes to make the point will be at odds with what you anticipate when going to a movie about the good old holidays, but that's precisely what makes it so distinctive.Many will perhaps find the tone unsettling and imbalanced for the nature of this premise, but "Krampus" is much smarter than it lets on This is everything that a holiday fable should be: brooding, cautious, dark, humorous and thoughtful.