The holiday horror film is a rare breed, and good ones are even harder to come by. Michael Dougherty, the man behind arguably the greatest Halloween movie of all time, Trick r Treat, delivers one of those proud few with his long awaited follow-up film, the Christmas creature feature Krampus. Set in the days leading up to Christmas, the film follows a young boy named Max (Emjay Anthony), who accidentally conjures the ancient demon Krampus, an evil anti-Santa who punishes those who lose their Christmas spirit. Half earnest dysfunctional family comedy, half monstrous mayhem, Krampus delivers the seasonal and the scares in equal measure.
In anticipation of the film's theatrical release, I recently spoke with Dougherty and cast members Adam Scott, Toni Collette, and Allison Tolman about their favorite Christmas movies, songs and traditions, their scariest childhood toy, which fictional family they'd most like to see take on Krampus, and which holiday Dougherty should take on with his next film. Watch what they had to say below.
Krampus also stars David Koechner, Conchata Ferrell, Krista Sadler, and Stefania LaVie Owen and is now playing in theaters.
Here's the official Krampus synopsis.
Legendary Pictures’ Krampus, a darkly festive tale of a yuletide ghoul, reveals an irreverently twisted side to the holiday.
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.
