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First Look at ‘Krampus,’ From the Director of ‘Trick ‘r Treat’!
Be nice… or he’ll be naughty.
Legendary Pictures’ Krampus, in theaters December 4th, a darkly festive tale of a yuletide ghoul, reveals an irreverently twisted side to the holiday.
USA Today has premiered the first images from Trick ‘r Treat director Michael Dougherty’s latest holiday offering that suggest you don’t end up on “his” list. And a quick search online found us the international trailer for the holiday horror film that looks absolutely bonkers!
“It’s one thing to be terrified or enthralled when you’re watching a film,” the filmmaker told the site. “To then leave the theater and realize it’s based on real myths and legends only makes it sink in even deeper.”
In Krampus, “When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max (Emjay Anthony) is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus: a demonic force of ancient evil intent on punishing non-believers.
All hell breaks loose as beloved holiday icons take on a monstrous life of their own, laying siege to the fractured family’s home and forcing them to fight for each other if they hope to survive.“
Just the thought of Santa is creepy, Dougherty says: “That there is some sort of supernatural entity that keeps an eye on you all year long and determines if you’re naughty or nice.”
The look and character of the film’s Krampus was distilled from various postcards and illustrations of the creature over the years, adds the site. He was historically tied to St. Nicholas beginning in the 17th century, and that’s the interpretation Dougherty is going with, that Krampus is “judge, jury and executioner” but also the “shadow” of Santa.
Just don’t call him evil, the director says. “He’s more complex and nuanced than that.
“He’s not Freddy (A Nightmare on Elm Street) or Jason (Friday the 13th) or Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), this [isn’t an] 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.”
Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Emjay Anthony, Stefania Lavie Owen with Krista Stadler star in Krampus.
Exclusives
‘Dead Mail’ Exclusive Images: SXSW Horror Movie Begins With a Blood-Stained Postal Box Delivery
One of the genre films we’re looking forward to checking out at SXSW this year is Dead Mail, written and directed by Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy and premiering on March 9.
Meagan Navarro will be reviewing Dead Mail for Bloody Disgusting as part of her SXSW coverage, and she writes in her preview for the upcoming fest: “Dead Mail leans heavily into the ’80s analog aesthetic, delivering a unique crime thriller unafraid to get offbeat with its dark narrative. Expect its characters to be as atypical as Dead Mail‘s sense of style.”
In the SXSW 2024 horror film…
“On a desolate, Midwestern county road, a bound man crawls towards a remote postal box, managing to slide a blood-stained plea-for-help message into the slot before a panicking figure closes in behind him. The note makes its way to the county post office and onto the desk of Jasper, a seasoned and skilled “dead letter” investigator, responsible for investigating lost mail and returning it to its sender. As he investigates further, Jasper meets Trent, a strange yet unassuming man who has taken up residence at the men’s home where Jasper lives.
“When Trent unexpectedly shows up at Jasper’s office, it becomes clear he has a vested interest in the note, and will stop at nothing to retrieve it…”
Sterling Macer, Jr., John Fleck, Susan Priver, Micki Jackson, Tomas Boykin, and Nick Heyman star in Dead Mail. Preview the film with an exclusive image gallery below.
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