Krampus, the year’s most unconventional holiday movie, arrives in theaters this weekend. A campy, Christmas-themed horror movie from Trick ‘r Treat writer/director Michael Dougherty, the film follows a dysfunctional family whose inability to get into the holiday spirit unleashes the wrath of a dangerous creature with the ability to twist even the most innocent holiday traditions into something far more sinister.
Universal Pictures and Legendary Pictures released a new clip from Krampus today, and the brief scene offers an indication of just how crazy things get for the movie’s family as they fend off attacks from all manner of holiday-themed monsters — which apparently includes a trio of malevolent gingerbread men.
The clip features Anchorman actor David Koechner attempting to evade the aim of a group of gingerbread men armed with a nail gun. He soon discovers that his troubles aren’t over when the monsters meet a fiery end, though.
Written and directed by Daugherty, Krampus is based on Austrian folktales about a terrifying counterpart to Saint Nicholas who punished mean children during the Christmas season. Along with Koechner, the film stars Parks and Recreation actor Adam Scott and United States of Tara actress Toni Collette, as well as Allison Tolman (Fargo), Conchata Ferrell (Two and a Half Men), Stefania Lavie Owen (The Lovely Bones), and Emjay Anthony (Chef).
The first feature directed by Dougherty since his 2007 Halloween anthology movie Trick ‘r Treat, Krampus is already receiving praise from critics for its clever spin on the holiday-movie genre. No stranger to fantastic tales, Dougherty also co-wrote the screenplays for 2003’s X2: X-Men United and 2006’s Superman Returns before writing and directing the critically praised Trick ‘r Treat, which didn’t fare well at the box office but later earned hefty praise (and moderate success) once it arrived on the home-entertainment market. A sequel to Trick ‘r Treat has been in the works for a while now.
Along with its accomplished cast and creative team, Krampus is also notable for featuring the work of Lord of the Rings and King Kong studios Weta Workshop and Weta Digital in bringing Krampus and his minions to life on the screen.
Krampus arrives in theaters today, December 4.
