Krampus (2015), directed by Michael Dougherty, stars Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Emjay Anthony, Stefania LaVie Owen, Krista Stadler, Conchata Ferrell, Maverick Flack, Queenie Samuel, and Lolo Owen. The film follows Max (Anthony), a young boy whose severe lack of Christmas spirit summons a terrible demon from German folklore known as Krampus. When his estranged family gathers to celebrate the holiday season, Krampus and his various minions lay siege to their home. This forces the family to set aside their petty squabbles and work together to make it through the holidays alive.

Considering its horror-comedy approach, the film is well-cast. It’s filled with performers who have extensive experience in both comedy and drama which helps to balance the clashing tones. Adam Scott feels authentic as a typical suburban dad – not a coward but has become a bit too comfortable within his bubble. Toni Collette is an entertaining force as always, but she’s unfortunately cast in the kind of role she can’t seem to get away from – The overbearing mother. I had a lot of fun, in particular, with David Koechner who plays the redneck uncle character. He doesn’t do anything particularly new and I don’t think I’d enjoy this performance in any other film; but as I said earlier, this tone fits his charisma as an actor perfectly. Allison Tolman is fun to see, but the film doesn’t give her anything interesting to do. This is disappointing considering that her performance in FX’s Fargo (2014) feels like it could fit perfectly in this setting. As for the younger performers, they’re not bad but they’re not great either. The comedy spawned from their interactions pretty much just cancels out how basic they are as characters. None of the characters here a particularly deep or complex, but the actors are likable enough to elevate them above pure crap.

The film’s premise is straightforward and there is a real lack of thematic depth, so it’s smart that it focuses mostly on monster-movie zaniness. The experience, although unsurprisingly lesser, feels similar to Gremlins (1984) in terms of its ability to provide effective chills without sacrificing comedy and vice versa. This is especially true with the film’s ending which somehow provides ample Christmas cheer as well as a very messed up scare for the viewer to dwell on.

The film often avoids showing the titular Krampus until the third act, and although this could have felt disappointing, his various minions effectively fill the void. Although the movie would clearly have benefitted from an R rating, it’s one of the better examples of pushing a PG-13 rating to the edge. It’s not particularly bloody/gory, but it is often mean. It’s not afraid to kill off characters – including children, and if I had to choose leans more heavily into horror than it does comedy. If the comedy wasn’t occasionally chuckle-worthy, it would just feel like a weight chained to the film’s ankle.

This isn’t a particularly smart or deep film, but it is fast-paced, fun, well-balanced, and filled with the necessary holiday vibes. In my opinion, it’s the perfect example of a “shut your brain off” kind of film.  It features its fair share of small filmmaking blunders and silly script contrivances, but as a whole, it undeniably works as a holiday-horror-comedy hybrid. I see this easily becoming a holiday cult classic in the coming decades, so I really hope Hollywood doesn’t greenlight a sequel; It would only ruin the film’s perfectly subjective ending. B–