The big trend this year has been Director’s Cuts as filmmakers like Zack Snyder and Sylvester Stallone have managed to go over past missteps in film and corrected course. Or at the very least, offer movie buffs a different look at a classic. This year Michael Dougherty, the mind behind “Trick r Treat,” teams with Shout! Factory to deliver loyal fans the “Director’s Cut” (or “Unrated Cut”) of his Christmas horror film “Krampus.” While I’d be hard pressed to call this a true director’s cut, I have no problem insisting it’s a great horror film, and a fantastic holiday film about family and appreciating the smaller things in life.
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 vindictive demon. As Krampus lays siege to the Engel home with his horrifying Christmas minions, mom (Toni Collette), pop (Adam Scott), sister (Stefania LaVie Owen) and brother must band together to save one another from a monstrous fate.
“Krampus” can pretty much be put up there in the annals of great Christmas horror. It watches like a John Hughes dysfunctional family comedy that suddenly takes a turn in to pure horror. Director Dougherty has a clear cut love for folklore and mythology and he embraces so much of it with his Christmas follow up. “Krampus” is a terrifying figure and here he’s a benevolent and vindictive monster that manages to inflict some memorable monsters on this hapless family. Dougherty’s Christmas minions really are fun to watch wreak havoc, as he unleashes monstrous gingerbread men, creepy jack in the boxes, and there’s even a great demonic teddy bear.
The new cut only amounts to about two minutes total, with some scenes being stretched a big to emphasize the familial tension. Anyone going in to this expecting much more gore or some large scale dismemberment sequence might be disappointed. It’s a good thing “Krampus” is still fantastic and holds up very well, six years later.
“Krampus” comes in 4K UHD and Blu-Ray, with the UHD featuring a commentary with co-writer/director Michael Dougherty and co-writers Todd Casey and Zach Shields. The Blu-Ray includes the aforementioned commentary, and features Interviews with co-writer/director Michael Dougherty, co-writer Todd Casey, actor David Koechner, actress Allison Tolman, actor Emjay Anthony, WETA artist Richard Taylor, storyboard artist Simeon Wilkins, performer Luke Hawker, and composer Douglas Pipes.
“’Krampus’ Comes Alive!” is a collection of making-of featurettes, including “Dougherty’s Vision,” “The Naughty Ones,” “Krampus and his Minions,” “Practical Danger,” and “Inside the Snowglobe.” “Behind the Scenes at WETA Workshop” combines cast and crew interviews with BTS footage highlighting the practical effects used in “Krampus.” There are seventeen minutes of Deleted/Extended Scenes, a five minutes Gag Reel, an Alternate ending, and Galleries that includes “Poster Art” (:22), “Creature Art” (9:17), “Story Art” (2:47), “Michael Dougherty’s Xmas Card Art” (:47), and “Storyboards.” Finally, there’s the original Theatrical Trailer.