It’s September, so of course shops have had Christmas items on the shelves for a while. The perfect time, then, for the first look at a film based on an ancient seasonal myth. Hang your stockings for images from Trick ‘r Treat director Michael Dougherty’s new stab at holiday horror, Krampus.
The film, which stars Adam Scott, Emjay Anthony, Toni Collette, David Koechner and Fargo’s Allison Tolman, follows Max (Anthony), a kid around the age when Santa’s magic still has a grip on the imagination, but only just. When his dysfunctional family gathers for Christmas, he’s given even more reason to stop believing, but then a blizzard and a power outage hit their neighbourhood, which signals that Krampus and his nasty hench-creatures are on their way, looking to punish those who’ve ended up on the naughty list. And yes, it comes screaming straight out of actual lore. “It’s one thing to be terrified or enthralled when you’re watching a film,” the director tells USA Today. “To then leave the cinema and realise it’s based on real myths and legends only makes it sink in even deeper.”
Just don’t go thinking this is your basic horror bogeyman. “He’s not Freddy or Jason or Leatherface, this unstoppable monster that kicks down your door and rampages and grabs you,” he says. “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.”
Hopefully that tone will translate to the movie. Krampus haunts both US cinemas and our screens on December 4. We'd expect a trailer in the next week or so, but for more images, head to USA Today’s site.
