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Krampus (2015) Review | Christmas Horror Movie & Festive Monster Mayhem | Half Hour of Horror Podcast
32 Plays5 months ago
The frights you forgot — revisited in half an hour.
In this episode of Half Hour of Horror, the horror film podcast from Love Horror, we revisit Krampus (2015), the Christmas horror movie that blends festive cheer with monstrous folklore and dark comedy.
Directed by Michael Dougherty, Krampus puts a sinister twist on holiday traditions when a young boy’s loss of Christmas spirit summons an ancient demonic figure to punish his dysfunctional family. Mixing creature-feature chaos, wicked humour and impressive practical effects, Krampus has quickly become a modern Christmas horror cult favourite.
Nearly a decade after its release, we return to Krampus to explore why this festive nightmare continues to delight horror fans every holiday season.
In this horror podcast episode you’ll get:
• A spoiler-filled synopsis of Krampus (2015)
• Our honest horror movie review and discussion
• Behind-the-scenes trivia and production facts
• A look at the film’s use of European folklore, creature design and dark festive themes
• Our final verdict and horror rating out of 5
Plus: a bonus Christmas horror quiz to test your festive fright knowledge.
If you enjoy horror podcasts, monster movies and seasonal horror films, this episode explores why Krampus has become one of the most entertaining Christmas horror movies of the modern era.
Half Hour of Horror is a horror movie podcast presented by Love Horror, the UK’s home for horror reviews, interviews and features.
Subscribe now for new horror podcast episodes revisiting classic horror films, cult favourites and forgotten genre gems.
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Transcript
Introduction to Half Hour of Horror Podcast
00:00:13
Speaker
Welcome to Half Hour of Horror, presented by Love Horror, the podcast that reviews the films we missed the first time round, all within half an hour, or thereabouts. Or thereabouts, yes, please. Thank you for that caveat. Well, we try.
00:00:27
Speaker
um I'm Tom Atkinson, and on my left, I'm joined by... Alex Humphrey. Hello. It's Humphrey. Hello. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. It's our Christmas special, or at least as is as close as it's going to get. um Are your presents all wrapped and under the tree? Are you ready for festive season? Some of them.
00:00:48
Speaker
Some of them presents are wrapped. Some of them are ready. Yeah. the Everything's up. Decoration. Not here in this stark white cell that I live in, but um in the other rooms of this house. ah that It's very Christmassy. Yeah. so confess yeah i'm ready how about you you i can see some lights behind you there i can see you're getting ready this is yeah this is this is just the the tip of the iceberg yeah the rest of the house is just crazy this is but i thought for the sake of the podcast i would actually make a real effort with a background this time because you usually put me to shame so i've got the christmas jump on the other way around now yeah now i just didn't start quite room and yeah you who knows what happened in the next one
00:01:25
Speaker
good So I love your Christmas jumper, by the way. That's Michael Myers. Well, hey, I mean, don't want to skip to tributes, but yes, this this is my tribute. Oh, okay. All right. Oh, well, I mean, yeah. Should we do tributes before I do an introduction? What are we here to talk about? What are we here to talk about?
What is Krampus about?
00:01:43
Speaker
Today we're looking at Krampus, the horror comedy created by Michael Doherty in 2015. Obviously it wasn't just him, him and his fellow writers that um he's worked with on a few projects and things. So when Krampus landed in cinemas in 2015, quietly upended the cozy traditions of Christmas horror films, Christmas films, Christmas time films. True. Directed and co-written by Doherty, fresh from the cult success of Trick or Treat, the film transports ancient Central European folklore into suburban holiday nightmare.
00:02:19
Speaker
into a suburban holiday night And um you're to have to talk about the folklore aspect in a minute now because I know you're a specialist on Krampus. Oh, I don't know about that. Well, in my mind, you are.
00:02:31
Speaker
um Trading tinsel and carols for horns and chains. At the heart of the chaos is young MJ Anthony as Max, the sceptical child whose loss of festive spirit triggers a descent into horror. Around him, the cast includes Toni Collette,
00:02:45
Speaker
Fabulous actress who's been in a ton of stuff. there Lots of good horror films as well. yeah um As the mother, Sarah. Adam Scott as the father, Tom. And Stefania Lovie Owen as his sister, Beth. Each pulled reluctantly into a domestic war zone when the monstrous titular figure shows up at their door. Well, chimney. I like that. ah Financially, Krampus delivered more than just a seasonal scare.
00:03:08
Speaker
It was produced on about 15 million. Yeah, 15 million it was is what it cost. And it grossed about 65 and half. 61 and a half. no sixty one and a half um And even got nominations for ah Best Horror Film at the Empire Awards and the Satins as well. So yes' highly thought it was kind of highly thought of then. i think it's gone on to be more highly thought of now. What do you think? Yeah, I think i feel like it's one of those it's one of those things that people didn't really... It's one of those horror films that kind of crossed over, didn't it? It was one of those horror films that...
00:03:44
Speaker
it was talked about by by mainstream media, mainstream film reviewers. It wasn't just a horror film it because it had, you know, like you say, the cast has got some kind of comedy actors in it. It's got like Tony Collette in it. um And it it yeah had, it it just, I think it just captured people, just got people because it is a bit different. It's a bit, bit interesting. And I think it was, yeah, people weren't expecting something like that. And just kind of shook people up a little bit in a really good way. And that's why we're talking about, and i cannot believe we didn't review it.
00:04:14
Speaker
But then again, I can a little bit because I didn't see this when it came out. I saw it maybe a couple of years after. Yeah, me too. It passed me by, I think.
00:04:25
Speaker
Maybe the PR company that was promoting it got on nerves, we refused to review it, and then we also abstained from watching it as a protest. Maybe. it's possible i Well, I will tell you something about me. i If a film gets too overhyped,
00:04:39
Speaker
I sometimes avoid it a little bit because think when you can get films coming out and then they're so overhyped. And I think with Krampus, it really
Krampus: From Mixed Reception to Cult Favorite
00:04:47
Speaker
did. People did really go on about it. A lot of people went on about it and I may be a little bit like, Oh, I know about that. Maybe I'll leave it. But then that said, we both do love, um, Mike Doherty. We love trick or treat.
00:04:59
Speaker
That's like yeah up there. It's always in our list of yet best Halloween films. You watch it every Halloween. Exactly. So Like I probably should have checked it out. So yeah, but I did see it yeah after. yeah It's funny. But it was nice. It was nice to revisit because I hadn't seen it for quite a long while and I'd forgotten quite a bit about it really.
00:05:18
Speaker
Yes, funny you should say that, actually, because I watched it, I think, a ah bit after, again, delayed delayed viewing after the release. But um when i watched it when I first watched it, i wasn't that impressed because, i think like again, I think it was a hyper-related thing, exactly like what you're saying, probably a trailer that gave too much away. And I just felt like I already knew what was going to happen. And then the film played out a lot. It is quite a predictable film. There are few twists. Yeah. but Yeah, yeah um yeah. So I think for me, it didn't really get its claws. It didn't get his Krampus claws into my brain and stick with me like that. But um ah I'm happy to say, I think my views have changed a little bit, but that'll come out as we talk this. Interesting.
00:06:00
Speaker
in um So tributes. Let's talk about tributes before we dive Well, I'm wearing these horns. Well, I've got these horns on Krampus. Krampus horns. Yeah. Krampus horns. Yeah. With little ears. I love the Krampus horns. Yeah. But yeah, this is my real tribute. This is my Christmas jumper.
00:06:16
Speaker
I mean, it's a sweatshirt. Oh, it's pretty as well. It's not knitted. it's got And Jason. is that Jason as well? Yeah. Can I see hockey masks? Is there? Hockey masks. It's got all of them. It's got, yeah, knives, got everyone on it. Yeah, it's pretty, it's pretty, it's a pretty good jumper, this. And it'll kind of, it's even got a little,
00:06:36
Speaker
Little snowflakes on the arms. So it's not a tening it's not jumper, is a sweatshirt, but it's a a horror a horror yeah horror Christmas jumper. I also have a Gremlins ah horror Christmas jumper as well.
00:06:48
Speaker
Well, it's funny you should mention gremlins because my tribute, very small and simple, but it's one of my favorite favorite Christmas tree decorations. Can see? for the people at home who can't see this, it's a a gizmo in a stocking Christmas tree decoration. It always sits on our tree. And I was going to try and find a way to wear it for this podcast, but...
00:07:11
Speaker
dangle it off your mic it's noise i was gonna maybe do it i could probably maybe here and it won't even fit on once you fit around my Santa hat ball thing whatever you call it ball your ball you ball your ball ball yeah that's that's a good one that is a good to that is a good one It's good. he's He's here with me.
00:07:34
Speaker
He's here with you. about the film. um So do we usually start the timer before you do the full synopsis hour? Yeah, I thought i thought intro. but Yeah, I mean, thank you. know Hey, folks, we are still trying to work this one out. We're four in, aren't we? This number four? Yeah, so we this is episode four.
00:07:51
Speaker
This is and real episode four because we don't really count that minus one or that zero episode where we just talked about the No, is the real four. So we've done it. We've broken our record of three podcasts. We've got to number four.
00:08:03
Speaker
Phew. We've succeeded where so many others have failed. Well, where we failed, where we failed ourselves. Well done us. Yeah. And well done to everyone listening, who's still here. Thank you. listening Thank you for staying.
00:08:17
Speaker
That's very true. um I think, yeah, we I think now we start the timer and then I'll do a synopsis because that's within. yeah And I mean, ah as we say, we should probably always say there'll probably be spoilers. We're going to talk about the whole film. So you can maybe listen to the ah ah synopsis that doesn't have any spoilers in it.
00:08:34
Speaker
But, you know, if you haven't seen Krampus, go watch it and then come back again. That's always a good thing to do. That's really good bit of advice. I think that's a good one. Pause, back. Yeah, exactly. But, yeah. Before I start the timer.
00:08:45
Speaker
Yeah, i was going to say, was got what's the noise? So, earlier this week, I had a visitor. Krampus popped in he pumped because it's tonight is not Krampusnacht. It's after Krampusnacht. He came over on Krampusnacht, which is the my German pronunciation is terrible. I'm sure. The 5th of December, he popped over and I just got him to record a quick thing on the mic. So when the timer runs out, we're going hear this.
Recording Krampus' Voice: A Humorous Anecdote
00:09:15
Speaker
Merry Christmas.
00:09:22
Speaker
there we go. Krampus himself. That does sound like Krampus. Listen up for that and we'll know that our time's up. Yeah. So you just let me know when you're ready and when you when you're steady and we'll jump on this festive fight fest. Let me have a little sip for my... Have another sip.
00:09:39
Speaker
I'm going to be sipping a lot. I've got a bit of a tickle. Apologies if I start coughing mid recording. Okay, why cool I'm ready. I'm ready. Start the clock. Go.
Krampus Synopsis: Max's Loss of Spirit
00:09:48
Speaker
Okay, so here's my synopsis. Max used to love Christmas, but in the run-ups of festive season, it seems that everything around him has been falling apart. His teenage sister ignores him. His parents are the verge of splitting up and his awful aunt and uncle and their nasty hick kids are on the way to spend and spoil the holidays in his home. The only person who seems to understand his sadness is his grandma, Omi, who reminds him that the true spirit of Christmas is giving and sacrifice, something she learned growing up during World War II in a small village in Europe.
00:10:16
Speaker
Having written to old Saint Nick to ask him to fix the failings of his family, an incident at the dinner table with his cruel cousins proves to be the final straw, and Max yells at everyone that he hates them and Christmas and rips up his letter to Santa.
00:10:30
Speaker
That night, a blizzard moves in, cutting off the power and all communication in the area, and strange snowmen suddenly appear in Max's garden. Things go from bad to worse when his sister heads out into snow to see her boyfriend, but instead encounters Santa Claus's dark doppelganger,
00:10:46
Speaker
Krampus, a monster of ancient European folklore that comes to town when you're on the naughty list. The hoe-footed, horn-headed man-beast and its army of twisted fairy-tale toys has been called to collect Max and his kin, and there is nothing they can do about it.
00:11:03
Speaker
There you go. that's my synopsis. There you It's beautiful. same Thing of beauty, thank you I would say. But it's got of a kind of that synopsis, probably like the trailer for Krampus, does ruin the film a little bit because the opening isn't actually any of that,
Commercialization Critique and Folklore Parallels
00:11:18
Speaker
is it? The opening, which is one one of the things I like about this film, the opening of this film for the first maybe 15 minutes, 20 minutes, it is very much like a kind of holiday comedy, isn't it?
00:11:29
Speaker
Yes. Reminded me of National Lampoon's Christmas vacation. Did it remind you of that? Yeah, definitely. Like it's, there's no, I mean, you get these really cool, like frozen universal and legendary logos, but then you have this brilliant kind of slow mo,
00:11:45
Speaker
like montage of, of a shopping mall on black Friday. And there's like kids crying and people being tasered and the Santa looking really, the people that can, there's a Santa, isn't there a mall Santa and there's people looking depressed at the tills, giving this money over and, and, um, yeah, the shop's called mucho Mart. Um, and then you get the, there's a nativity going on with the main character, Max, like beating the hell out of ah another, another, um,
00:12:11
Speaker
kid in the play and it's all like really really slow-mo and all over this kind of like Christmas music over the top and it's really i think it's if you didn't know what this film was you would just watch that and think oh it's like a horror it's like a you know it's horror you would just think it was on a Christmas comedy movie like you know from that point you can see how it's going to be oh they all hate Christmas but then they learn the real spirit of the season but and and I like that i like that opening I think it's a good opening i think it does It sets the comedy. that It's quite um quite a dark comedy, this film. It's kind of a bit edgy. Like you said, that opening is like a bold statement about commercialisation and stuff if you want to really read into it, how we've all lost the true meaning of Christmas and we're all just all about yeah consumerism and um yeah all that stuff instead. so and yeah And I guess that's at the heart of why Krampus comes back, isn't it, ultimately? Yeah, and also, i think it's also interesting because later on,
00:13:07
Speaker
Jumping ahead a little bit when you see that when Omi tells a story about her, about really about Krampus and about the real, about her experience from her village, it's all animated, but there are echoes of this opening within that because there's people fighting over food. There's, there's kind of like the,
00:13:23
Speaker
it's people wanting, taking and not giving. It's people being like, you know, arguing in their homes and stuff like that. So I think it's quite, it's a it's a good, it's a good beginning. it kind of sets, it sets out the tone for the comedy of this, which is a bit dark, a bit nasty, you know, a bit kind of, definitely a bit of a satire, I would say, on kind of Christmas, Christmas movies, isn't it?
00:13:44
Speaker
Yeah, it's a really funny film for that, actually. It does really straddle that line of comedy and horror. And it doesn't, there are no real laugh out loud moments, but there is just a kind of like a tongue-in-cheek kind of all the way through it. Yeah, yeah. It's some quite good lines, I think, in it.
00:14:02
Speaker
Yeah. And then obviously, like moving on from that, the next thick big thing that happens is that the you get, you know, this yeah like you say, there' Max and his sister and his mum and dad. And then you have his aunt and uncle and their kids. And they're much more like, as I said, to my little thing. They're kind of hicks. They're from the country. they turn up in a massive um RV. The, the, you know, the, the dad who's played by the guy out of Anchorman, isn't it? It's the sports guy, the Texan guy. Yeah. um Yeah. i love him though. He's in a few good films, isn't he? Will Ferrell films. It's David, David Kichner, Kichner, David. Yeah. Yeah. He's, yeah, he's really funny. and um And then like, yeah, and they've got these like, they want the the kids, there's two sisters who are like real tomboys. And then there's the son that just doesn't talk. He's just like a mute, just doesn't even speak. and then never That just really reminded me of National, when was the last time you watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation? Yeah, a long time ago, but I know what you mean. The characters are so similar. Like they must have, it does, it it feels like ah Doherty and his friends that wrote this, like did just borrow loads from your classic,
00:15:09
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Even like, it's home alone-y. There are a bit aspects a home yeah, yeah, definitely. No, definitely home alone, yeah, definitely. National Lampoons. Yeah. Yeah, and then they're all like, they're all awful and they make they kind of make it all horrible and there's all this stuff about like, you know, like he's like, why are they even here? And the dad's like, oh, you know, family is people you try to be friends with even though you don't have a lot in common. And it's like all this, all this stuff's building in this beginning and it is like,
00:15:39
Speaker
it isn't really, like I say, there's not really any horror elements at this point at all. It is just feels like a kind of, kind of comedy, Christmas comedy, isn't it? Um, totally apart from, I guess the only horror element you've got is the kind of the army character, the kind of grandma that I think I'm assuming she's supposed to be Austrian because Krampus is an Austrian, uh, Austrian tradition, isn't it? Austro, Austrian and German.
00:16:01
Speaker
I think you tell me you're the Krampus expert. Well, I believe that's where it started because, but there's a few, isn't it? It's not just Krampus because there's things like, um, I think it's Black Peter. That's another one, which is he's the one who comes. So Santa comes along and then there's Black Peter comes along if you've been naughty, as it were.
00:16:19
Speaker
right So Santa's going along bringing presents and I think Black Peter's coming along and he's getting kids and putting them in sacks and just taking them off. I think that's his thing. That's another European one. Yeah. I think that's another one that they have, but yeah, the Krampus, as you say, there's the, that, that kind of festival they have where in Austria, the people dress up and like with all the hooves and stuff like
Pagan Horror Elements and Narrative Depth
00:16:40
Speaker
that. And it's, I think it's, um again, I think one of the things I like about this film is it's taking,
00:16:47
Speaker
you know, we've done a lot of film reviews on the website and like we're both big fans of kind of pagan horror, especially like British pagan horrors, things like, you know, with a man and you know, that that that kind of pagan horror in England is a real tradition and you don't really get pagan films in in America, they don't really have a pagan culture because obviously there, that would be the native people's culture. That would be maybe if you had like a, you know, like ah from those, those, those tribal communities have pagan cultures, but it you don't really get it the way we have it. I guess the nearest you get to it is the kind of witch films with witches like Salem, which trial things are a bit pagan, but Krampus is a real pagan celebration, a real pagan deity, this kind of,
00:17:32
Speaker
ancient European god that's kind of, you know, that people worshipped in these dark times. And I think what makes this film, gives this film a bit of elevation above other Christmas horrors is that it's taking this, it's taking something like a European...
00:17:48
Speaker
kind of folklore and legend and horror and kind of slamming it into this kind of very hollywood american kind of family family christmas movie construct and i think that's what it's got as an edge definitely you know well the funny thing is that did you hear how the whole idea popped into doherty's um brain So I think he'd been thinking about doing a Christmas horror for a long time because he, you know, obviously had trick-or-treat sorted. I think he wanted one for all the holidays probably. That's probably on his checklist there. So he'd been thinking, oh, Christmas horror, Christmas horror.
00:18:23
Speaker
And it was way back, I think in like 2011 or something, a friend sent him, you know, the sort early-ish days of the internet where people used to send e-cards to people. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So one of his friends sent him an e-card for Christmas, but it was like a Krampus card.
00:18:41
Speaker
And I think like the the figure that was in the e-card like just struck him. He sort of immediately fell in love with how this character looked. And then he just thought, wow, that's the idea. That's what I've got to use for a Christmas horror. Yeah. And then obviously just by having this Austrian, German, yeah European grandmother in it, you do then give yourself the excuse to, like you said, ah transplant something that wouldn't normally be possible into an American film, tweak it a bit so it's actually Christmas Eve rather than Krampus Nacht.
00:19:15
Speaker
um yeah So they played a little bit with the timing of it all, but ultimately, yeah, to um yeah a good effect though. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, definitely. I think it works. And yeah, so yeah, like I say, with my synopsis, you've got you've got this, you know, he he wants to believe, but he's lost his faith in Santa and he's lost his faith in in his family and and in everything. And kind of, yeah, his cousins kind of tease him, don't they? But then the joke, the irony of that is he actually was wishing for everyone to be happy. Like he was even wishing for... like their family to have more money because they're but you know they're hard up and he wants them to be happy but it's just too much and yeah he tears his letter up and then it kind of blows out the window doesn't it and then it's that b but you see this is when the film kind of like i say about 20 minutes in the film then has this turn you get this blizzard comes in and yeah it does happen he looks out the window and there's those the snowmen are really good they are really creepy they're not
00:20:12
Speaker
There's not much them. You can't really say why they're creepy, but they are just a bit weird. And that's kind of another thing. I think that the the creature design in this and the invention of the, you know, because as it goes on, you've not just got Krampus, you've got a whole other, a load of other monsters in this, which you wouldn't, again, wouldn't really expect. um You'd think, oh, it's about Krampus. It's just going to be Krampus is the main figure. But you get all these other kind of elements to it that really heighten it as a
Practical Effects by Weta Workshop
00:20:40
Speaker
horror film. um and the fact that yeah practical off effects oh yeah yeah yeah yeah definitely yeah they look really good it's a wetter wetter workshop is that how pronounce wetter famous yeah they did lord of rings and tons of other but i mean yeah it ah it was a very early um plan with this whole project to use as little kind of cgi as possible and stuff and make it all practical effects and things so um yeah so that's that's why um like you said it's just those nice little subtle twists and um like the snowmen with their little slightly evil looking smiles and i think all like the blizzard stuff looks really good like when like say when when the sister goes out and like the it's like that all the houses look abandoned and everything it's like Even some of the houses, when they go inside them, the the frost and all the snow, it's come inside. So the houses are all destroyed, but everything's frozen and inside it. look That looks really good. And that, I mean, I think that first, when she first sees Krampus and it's on the roof and just the kind of weight of it and the... I think the sound design's really good. Like, it's it's kind of chains, isn't it? Hooves and chains. it' and it's horrible breathing. And, um yeah, because she hides under the the truck. And they do really well to not show you too much in the first in the first moments. um Which is, i mean, yeah. And then from that point, like you say, it happens quick. But then from now, you're kind of into...
00:22:05
Speaker
I do agree quite a standard horror film now, but you are into the horror, which I think is like, now you kind of know where you are. It's now, this is what it's about. This is what's going to happen kind of thing. Um, and I think that was, I think that was probably yeah where I had issue with it when I first saw it.
00:22:20
Speaker
And, um, yeah, I think just fresh off the back of that, um, yeah, that bit of early ah propaganda for it and stuff. Yeah. Yeah. What i saw was something that was stealing a bit from, you know, Home Alone and stuff. And then, yeah, just giving us then a bit of a generic horror film after that.
00:22:39
Speaker
But I think, i think, I think this, this, I think that this section from, from, I think you a really good
Full Horror Shift: Snow Monsters and Minions
00:22:46
Speaker
opening. That first introduction to Krampus is really good. I think now when you're in the, from this section where they're kind of the, the two dads go out to look for Beth and,
00:22:56
Speaker
um And then they kind of have, there's a, they have run in with, it's something under the snow, isn't it? There's some, yeah ah you never see what that even is. Yeah. No, I was going to say that. That's a really good thing.
00:23:09
Speaker
It's like snow being used as a device. It's like, but um not only is it just like a really good thing for like isolating them and cutting them off from all the comfort and the safety and each other and stuff and starting off the sort of different storylines because they're all,
00:23:25
Speaker
you know, far apart and can't quite reach each other or communicate. But then underneath you've got things hiding in the snow as well that, yeah, you're not really sure what they are, but just like pull people out and whisk them away and you don't know where they're going. Yeah.
00:23:38
Speaker
Yeah. But that that first initial when they go out and it's, you're still in this, in the section of like the, the, the parents are trying to hide it from the kids and you know, like that, that is, I, that bit does feel quite generic and like they're looking for, you know, they're looking for the Beth for the system. They don't really find her and, like that bit isn't so good i think it it kind of it it it kicks up again when you get the story that omi tells like the the the story of her childhood i think it's really well done it's really nicely animated and like i say it seems to be maybe like it's some east some european village around around world war ii or after world war ii and and it's um like i say she tells the story that
00:24:18
Speaker
it's that she did the same thing as Max, that she kind of like didn't believe in Christmas anymore. She she kind of like was, she she wanted her family to go away and for everything to go away. And then because of that, the dark Father Christmas turned up, Krampus turned up to kind of remind you of like, a reminder of what happens when hope is lost, when belief is forgotten and the Christmas spirit dies. so that's kind of it. So yeah, you see him in that, you see him trying to take her whole family away, but then leave her alive with the bell that really cool i love that bell it's a really cool little i like one of them yeah they're really cool yeah do you think they had those as like uh merch when the film came out i don't remember yeah looks really great like a black bell with like the crampus thing on it yeah it looks really good really like that um so yeah and then yeah so then i like that bit and then ah say i think then the next bit is is really good so
00:25:15
Speaker
the next bit that really works is when you get all these, the weird, the kind of attack on the house, which where, where you have like, you have these, it's a ton of stuff, isn't it? It's like evil gingerbread men. It's like a home invasion element, isn't it? Yeah. So you the kind of evil gingerbread men who are very funny.
00:25:31
Speaker
And like, they're almost like out of Shrek, aren't they? They're like, he's ridiculous. Yeah. Yeah. Kind of quite cute, quite funny. Like, uh, did you know, do you know the voices are for the evil gingerbread men? Yes. It's Seth Green. One of them, one of them Seth Green. Yeah. One of them is just someone from Rick and Morty. Is he the creator? Yeah. yeah The creator Rick and Morty. And another person is from the, uh,
00:25:55
Speaker
Brian Burns which is someone from the trick-and-treat art department basically so mean you wouldn't know wasn't sure about him was the one I wasn't sure about yeah yeah he's just yeah but yeah so you've got yeah you've got the the uncles fighting these gingerbread men which is kind of funny it's almost very like it's very like army of darkness isn't it it's like when Ash is fighting the little mini versions yeah yeah that's funny but then meanwhile upstairs the rest of the adults are fighting these I mean, the monsters in this are horrible. That Jack in the Box thing is really terrifying. Like, it's so horrible. It's the isn't it?
00:26:32
Speaker
It's got that sort of jaw that sort of, because it's like a big anaconda, isn't it? Yeah, it's like swallowing the, it swallows the two sisters, doesn't it? Oh, that's horrible. And then there's this kind of like bird doll doll hybrid thing which is quite creepy there's a kind of killer um a killer teddy bear as well which he's kind of in between isn't he he's kind of cute I don't mind him yeah um so yeah so like that and I think that whole that whole attack really works I think that scene is really well done it's it goes a bit
00:27:04
Speaker
further than you think again like I was I hadn't remembered any of those creatures and I think the design of them is really good like it's it's a lot kind of scarier than I thought it was yeah like you know I like definitely that's that is where it sort of sets itself up because I feel this film all the way through it feels like it struggled a little bit because you can tell they probably wanted it to be made for younger audiences I think in the US it's a PG-13 and I think it got a 15 rating over here. Yeah. So, uh, I think in America they really wanted it to, yeah you know, be more of a kind of family film, but you know, with a bit bit of parental guidance and and, and in fact they cut like quite a lot of stuff out of it. It was particularly bad language and stuff to really try and meet that bar. But, um, it, it didn't matter in the UK. Yeah.
00:27:52
Speaker
But they did later on release an extended version ah through Shout Factory that had like yeah four minutes more stuff. But mainly it was like swearing and stuff. So um not anything particularly important. but um yeah But yeah, so all the way through, it feels like it's...
00:28:09
Speaker
almost like a kid's film but like you say that that attic part that's where it's actually quite dark and like yeah you're a bit like oh hold on this isn't just like one those kid films where the bad guys come in they beat them all off and then they're like oh yeah everything's fine yeah this they're actually one of the kids goes like straight off Well, yeah. So, yeah. I mean, at this point, so you've got his sister's been kidnapped. the The mute cousin's gone. One of the two the two twin toy, ah the the kind of um ah tomboy girls has been taken as well. Like, ah doesn't the baby gets kidnapped as well, I think?
00:28:43
Speaker
But yeah, soon after the attic scene, that's a lot a lot has happened like a lot of people have kind of been bumped off and not in a kind of, not in a horror movie way of like,
Omi's Heroic Confrontation with Krampus
00:28:53
Speaker
oh, they were bad. So it doesn't matter. Like these are, there's nothing really, I mean, it's kids as well. It's not really. Yeah. This is why i kind of think it's shocking if they thought it'd be a family movie. It's not, you know, it's not. there um And then obviously, yeah, then, they I think that then their only plan is basically to like escape, isn't it? Escape the town. um But they leave. Omi stays behind and she faces off against Krampus, doesn't she? And and that's ah quite like that. like you see ah That's the kind of first time you see his face, I think, in that bit.
00:29:24
Speaker
Yeah, it's horrible. He's got a big tongue, hasn't he? Did you read as well what like they said about how he looks? that that what is said is that that isn't his face. That's him wearing oh it's like a mask of a person. yeah So it looks like an old man's face. Because he's got like goat eyes, doesn't he? His eyes look like goat eyes. Yeah, that isn't his face. It's a kind of leather face thing. He's got someone's face on his face, which makes it even horrible. He's got a horrible tongue. Yeah. horrible tongue and everything. I think that's really, really well done. The design of him as a character, think, is really well done. think it looks... Because, mean, most traditional Krampuses, it's like a goat person, isn't it, really? It's like It maybe looks like kind of what you think of the devil to look like. It's kind of a black-haired goat person thing, really. But they go really far with this, yeah, with the bells and the chains and the big red coat and... you know, I think the design is really good. Really, good. love how when he comes down the chimney, it blows out the brickwork and stuff. Like you get the big crack all the way down and like the whole fireplace like gets like distorted. So when they go into the other houses where he's already been, like you can see that he's been there because like the fireplace is all like exploded out and they think it's because of like a gas explosion or something, but it's just him like squeezing his way down or whatever. So nice touch. And then basically the rest of the parents, everyone gets bumped off at this point. The parents all get sucked under the snow, don't they? And it ends up with just Max and one of his cousins.
00:31:01
Speaker
And that's when, and she gets taken. And that's when you see Krampus. And you think surely they're going to get away at this point, right? At least Max and the cousin, and you think yeah they're going it, right? Yeah, they'll escape, but no. um And then you see the, I really like the sleigh with the yule goats. They're really cool as well. That's very like pagan.
00:31:19
Speaker
you were saying about all that pagan influence and stuff that scene there where you wait where you see the slay and stuff yeah that's pure pagan imagery like just really dark really like yeah and that goes a lot more back to the sort trick-or-treat kind of yeah design and stuff as well yeah definitely yeah and the elves as well because they just look like people with kind of masks on and wearing rags they're not really Again, they're not designed. They could be kind of anything underneath, which again is a bit more scary because you don't really know what you're looking at. Like it's, uh, yeah. And then, yeah, he opens this kind of portal to hell, doesn't he? Like just appears.
00:31:58
Speaker
Um, and, the whole thing so yeah like you say it's kind of it feels like you should be getting there should be some confrontation but you're not really sure where it's going and then he kind of what's he gonna do what is this kid gonna do to save the day how's he gonna defeat this thing and he's all like oh take me instead doesn't he and like you know like oh you know i just take me and then you think it pauses you're like oh that was it and then they laugh and just throw the girl down the thing And then he does a big, like he apologizes. Oh, that's what it is. He needs to say sorry. He just needed to say sorry, right?
00:32:36
Speaker
Yeah. and And then no, he just kicks gets kicked into the portal of hell and he's just like falling and falling.
Ambiguous Ending: The Snow Globe Fate
00:32:43
Speaker
And then you get this kind of him waking up. It was all a dream.
00:32:48
Speaker
It was all a dream. Well, here's the, so what do you think of the ending? So yeah the ending is he wakes up. it was all a dream where it looks like it's all dream Christmas day goes downstairs everyone's happy everyone's there they' all being nice to each other it's a kind of soft focus tint over the scene which is suspicious look it's like the end of Carrie isn't it and it's like the end of a Nightmare on Elm Street as well yeah exactly everything's too perfect Yeah, and then he opens his present, which is the bell, and you kind of do this brilliant um zoom out of the window, and you see that his house is in a snow globe, which is on Krampus' – like, in his lair with all these other snow globes, loads of other snow globes. And it's like – yeah, it zooms, zooms, zooms all the way out, and it's like he's been captured. So do you –
00:33:39
Speaker
I see because I didn't know because, you know, there's a couple of theories about what that ending means. that Are they in a perpetual Christmas? Is that it? Do they just get Christmas forever? Whether it's good or bad, basically, there's theories to whether that ending is a good or bad ending. So there's a theory that they're now yeah trapped and condemned to repeat that morning forever in hell, that that's a bad thing. That'll teach them. That's not very nice. Or they've been given a second chance, but they're being watched by Krampus. So they're given another chance to live, but they are being observed by Krampus. So it's almost like a spyglass rather than... Rather than being trapped, yeah. And in fact, actually...
00:34:24
Speaker
Although no one would really say which was the real one, there's a tie-in comic book Shadow of St Nick confirms the happy ending is the true one. Krampus is willing to give people a second chance as long as they prove they've learned their lesson.
00:34:39
Speaker
ah Unlike his grandmother, Max was brave enough to confront Krampus and prove he's learned his lesson, which is why his family are returned to him but the grandmother didn't have a family return to her because she wouldn't face she didn't face grandpas in the end so the kind of yeah tie in stuff to it says that it is a happier ending i don't know i like to think of it as being a like a mucked up ending that they're just trapped yeah that i did initially because that's exactly what i thought i thought they're just trapped there forever and wow what a dark ending that's that's quite horrible ending to a christmas and i prefer that i think you can have that if you want sort think that's a you know i think it's fine if you want to have that
00:35:15
Speaker
And then you get a really good final jump, don't you? You get a bit of a a jump scare at the end, which is good. Yeah. Well, I mean, what would have been nice is if Krampus could have been a bit more, you know, explanatory. He could have said, look, I'm going to throw you down here. You're going to wake up, right?
00:35:31
Speaker
And going to keep an eye on you. I'm going to keep an eye on you. So, you know, enjoy Christmas. I think he might be a bit less scary if he did a big exposition at the end of the film. Yeah. Sat him down and said. Either that or just, I don't know. Yeah. Just a little something. Help us out.
00:35:47
Speaker
I mean, the worst thing is that there's no, as as far as I'm aware, there's no plan for a sequel. Not that it needs one. I think there might have been some spinoff like a comics and stuff like that. I don't know. I don't think there was. it yeah it's weird that they didn't make a sequel considering how popular it was. You'd have thought they would make it. This feels like the kind of film you would make a sequel to. um Sadly not. um I don't know. I think it could have worked.
00:36:11
Speaker
you know, i think there's worse films they've made sequels to. um Oh, we've got three and a half minutes left. Oh, wow. I think we're doing well for time at the moment. as We did very well this time. relax I mean, should we, this should we go into the, I mean, I've got some love horror links. you want to, have you got any more trivia you wanted to share? I was just thinking, is there any more trivia about it? ah to to to to do Oh, ah it came in at number two when it opened in the box office. So it did really well, actually, for a Christmas film, particularly Christmas horror film.
00:36:40
Speaker
And, ah yeah, it was only behind Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2. So, uh, and I think, yeah, I mean, it's not so much of a, um, bit of trivia as such, but, um, I think it's definitely worth sort of thinking about that.
00:36:58
Speaker
This is probably, ah even though, you know, a lot of people enjoyed it and maybe forgot about it for a while, it has achieved a bit of a cult following. And I think now it has become one of those kind of Christmas tradition films that people want to watch every year.
00:37:12
Speaker
So it's done really well to make its way into that because um there are a lot of Krampus films out there. And I'm going to be completely honest with you. I've not seen any of the other ones. I've seen films with Krampus in which might end up coming into your links. But um there are a lot of Krampus titled films out there. And um were they after this?
00:37:33
Speaker
Were they after this? Around and after. yeah so yeah yeah you know just It is funny, actually, because this is ah this is a decent cast. You've got quite a lot of comedy actors in this, or but known actors. And it is interesting because they obviously, I know it didn't cost much, but they were willing, Universal and Legendary, were willing to put an amount of money into this.
00:37:56
Speaker
without really knowing whether it was going to be successful or not. So like, well done.
Production Quality and Budget Utilization
00:38:02
Speaker
It's, it's an above, it's got good production values. You know, can see where the money's been spent, you know, on the, on the, on the sets. The soundtrack's really good. There's a brilliant, um, the, um, Carol of the Bells. There's like a Krampus Carol of the Bells in the credits. Yes. Whether they change the lyrics. Yeah. I love that. That's really good. I really love that. That's really good. But yeah, i think you can see the money. It's in one of those films where you can see where the money was spent in a good way. And the fact that it did really well as well, I think that's quite good. I mean, it you know, hopefully. Yeah, the cast is amazing.
00:38:33
Speaker
Yeah, very good. But then he managed to get a good cast for Trick or Treat as well. So, you know, people have put a lot of trust in him. Somehow he's managed to all the way through, like get the right balance and stuff and get the money yeah behind him. I think it's one of those films that shows that sometimes you can get comedy actors in horror, they do do very well. You would think it wouldn't work, but it does actually work. Like, you know, they're comedy actors are actually a lot better actors than you think sometimes. Like comedy is hard. And the, you know, the fact that they're, they're kind of doing both things. there's a lot of emotion in this. there's a lot of stress in this. there' a lot of people being like, you know, yelling and screaming and like losing their kids and their families and stuff like that. But it, it's not unconvincing. It's not, it it doesn't feel cheesy, does it? It's like, you do believe it. You do believe the, you know, the relationships, I think.
00:39:24
Speaker
um And as the film goes on, that that the the the adults kind of all start to like each other a lot more, don't they? Like the two sisters, Toni Collette and and her sister, they kind of start getting along more. The two dads get along more like it's,
00:39:40
Speaker
you know, it's they like they kind of come together. Yeah, that what's important ultimately, yeah which is a nice message for most Christmas films really, isn't it? but um Yeah. Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!
00:39:56
Speaker
um i'm I'm impressed we've done well this time we did it if we did it we've come nice we've finished talking about the film we'll talk about a few links there now like what if you like this what what what else would you like so I've got ah so it's film called Rare Export you ever heard of that oh yes yeah so there is a full review on Love Horror but it is about it's set in Lapland it's about ah it's kind of It's not Krampus, but he he has this ancient book of Christmas folklore, which kind of seems to say Santa isn't what you think Santa is. It's a bit different. And there's also this mining going on as well. And it's very odd film. It's very, you know, I'm not being rude. It's a very European That's one of your favorites, isn't it? I do really like it. It involves a Christmas horror, right? Yeah, it is one of my favorites. It does involve naked Santas. um It is very weird and it is quite scary.
00:40:51
Speaker
ah Yeah, and it's 15, but it is actually a really good fan like it is a really good Christmas film as well. And it's very different and it's kind of oddball, but a bit of real drama in there, but kind of oddball elements that sit really well against this kind of fantasy elements as well and magic. And it it really does work. It's very worth seeing. If you've never seen it, worth checking out, definitely.
00:41:13
Speaker
um I've got Violent Night on here. did you Did you see Violent Night when it came in? Yeah, I like Violent Night as well. I really like that. I thought it was better. that it was I watched that last year and it was way better than I thought it was going to be. It was really good fun. It's basically just Die Hard with Santa, isn't it? I mean, how can you get who who could not like that?
00:41:32
Speaker
Which is good because Die Hard's already a Christmas film, right? so Exactly. Ultimately, half the work was done. i think I think maybe where I agree with you with where Krampus maybe fails is it's not funny. It's not like laugh out loud funny. Whereas Violent Night is kind of laugh out loud funny. And if you like gore and you kind of find that kind of thing funny, it's definitely got that. And it's like, you know, he's very, it's David Harbour as Santa. And he's he's kind of, there's a cheesiness of him taking people out with like, you know, like Christmas decorations and stuff like that. It's, it's got, it's got a lot of legs. I like it a lot. Um, yeah, and another more it's been a while since I've watched that, like rewatched it and this year is going be the year I do it. So, good you know, thanks for the reminder. Yeah, you should. Another one I watched last year that I loved is it's a wonderful knife. Have you seen that?
00:42:21
Speaker
Oh, no. not So it's like a, it's a slasher movie based on its wonderful life. And it's, there's a it's a, it's a small town where there were these murders by this, this serial killer called the angel.
00:42:35
Speaker
And I think the main girl, they, her best friend was killed. But the per the the killer was like unmasked and it the the killing stopped. And she years later, she's like, everything's mucked up. She can't get over the trauma of what happened. She's just like, you know her life is terrible. So she wishes she'd never been born. But by wishing she'd never been born, the killer basically succeeds and carries on. So when she comes back to the town, it's been years, but the but the murder is still, the guy's still stalking and killing killing people in the town. So the town has gone to this kind of twisted, darker version. wow And it's exactly the same. She has to go around, try and convince people that she's from this alter alternate reality and all that. And it's a good slasher film. It's a good Christmas film. It's a bit, you know, it's just, it' it's, you know, I don't think it's got it in... It's got the guy in it out of, ah he was in Tusk and he's in, um oh, he's in Wrong Turn. Jeepers Creepers.
00:43:39
Speaker
Jeepers Creepers, that's it. Jeepers Creepers. That guy, think he's it. He's on the tip of my tongue and I can't remember his name. He's great. He's really good it. listeners right now will be shouting at the out there. Sorry. But he's in it. he's it he's like the only He's the main famous person in but he's in That's really good. um Anna and the Apocalypse. Have you seen that?
00:43:58
Speaker
No, I've not seen that either. oh that Is it good? Is it good though? It's not brilliant. It's good. It's not bad. zombie movie, right? Christmas zombies? Yes. So it's a it's a Christmas, it's a Scottish Christmas horror musical about a schoolgirl who wants to leave a small town, but then a zombie apocalypse happens at Christmas and she has to fight a way through it there's a full review on love horror it's not brilliant i think if you you we've got if there's anyone listening out there who's like a teenagers a teen audience i think it's a good one for people kind of teenagers or younger younger horror lovers because they'll associate with the main characters quite a lot the songs are not bad in it they're not brilliant they're not bad like it's it's it's not it's it's something different i think if you're looking for something a bit different i think that's definitely very different yeah then you should get musicals with zombies in
00:44:48
Speaker
this what do I think of them or how many are there? No, you don't you don't usually get those. No, no, you don't usually get that. Name me three. can't. One. No, I can't. I can't name. No, I can't.
00:45:01
Speaker
I'm sure they're out there, though. they but They must be out there. People love zombies. um My only other one I've got, and it is linked to this quite heavily, is the Inside No. 9 Christmas special, The Devil of Christmas.
00:45:14
Speaker
Oh, yeah. so that You love Inside No. 9, don't you? do like Inside No. 9. It's like a it's the it's really, really clever one. Without saying too much, it's the...
00:45:25
Speaker
director's commentary of an old 1970s horror TV series and the episode is about Krampus so you're watching this 1970s TV horror thing and you get the director's commentary over the top of like oh we were making this and so it's like that's the kind of setup of it but the the story is Krampus I've not seen that It's really good. Yeah. Devil of Christmas, it's called.
00:45:51
Speaker
It's very good. Very worth seeing. And Krampus. Really good. yeah Yeah. Have you any? a bunch stuff I need to watch this year then. I suppose yeah you've given some amazing ones there. I don't can top any of those, but I suppose what i would say to anyone who has watched Krampus or is thinking about watching Krampus, if you haven't seen Trick or Treat, it's not
Recommendation: Trick or Treat by Michael Doherty
00:46:10
Speaker
Christmas film. yeah, definitely. Yeah.
00:46:12
Speaker
If you haven't, you should definitely check that out. 100%. It's pretty much a perfect anthology. great. Yeah, it's great. And you know, hey, if they want any other tips of ah Christmas horror films, there's a Love Horror Top 10 Christmas Horror Films on our website. Go check it out. Christmas Horror Films, yeah. Yeah, Christmas. Got some pretty big hitters in there. Pretty sure Gremlins is in there. I'm sure you'll find the ones that, you know, most people know. They're all in there.
00:46:38
Speaker
yeah So yeah, check that out too. So the big question is, Al, your verdict on this film, where yeah mean ah what you thought of it and what you'd score it. Yeah, so i think I think Christmas horror films are quite hard to do. I think that a lot of Christmas horror films can be very gimmicky.
00:46:57
Speaker
I personally didn't like terrifier three because I didn't think the Christmas element of that works. I thought it just became, it's just everything you've seen, but it's Christmas related. And I, I find Christmas horror when all you're doing is repeating the same thing you would, but there's, Oh, he kills him with a Christmas tree. He kills him with a candy cane or he kills him with a tinsel. I don't, I find that bit boring. I think you need to innovate more. You know, i think if you want that, you go right back to things like that Christmas or, um,
00:47:26
Speaker
um Oh, um what's the other, the really, really famous one with the mall center, that that one? there's you know there's and There's some very old 80s great slasher films, Christmas-related ones. You go to that. I think modern Christmas horrors can be gimmicky. And I think Krampus, by using these ancient traditions, by using this paganism in a Hollywood film, I think that's interesting. I love all the creations, the the killer toys and stuff. I think there's a bit of a... yeah i think there's maybe a bit of a weird... negative or worrying message within this film of um and unfortunately you get it in a lot of American films where you know Adam Scott is this kind of quite like liberal like city dad no it's bit political isn't it
00:48:15
Speaker
Yeah, the other guy turns up and he's got his guns in the car and you've got to protect your flock and like a shepherd needs to protect his flock and all that. and And then everyone basically by the end of it, everyone's got guns, even Toni Collette and the guns are like what saves them. And by being, you know, American way, baby. Yeah, and I don't like that element of it. I think that's the bit.
00:48:35
Speaker
But then, as I say, that's in a lot of American films and that you can't escape. America has a very strong gun gun culture and it seems to even creep into Christmas films, which is slightly worrying.
00:48:46
Speaker
yes Because most Christmas films, if you think about it, have a gun involved. It's true. you know yeah even Even to comedy value, even if it's just the BB gun that Kevin uses to defend his house. Yeah, true. It's surprising how much that happens in American films. but yeah no but so how would you score it out five?
00:49:06
Speaker
Yeah, i I think I would give it, I think it would it's not it's not a five star for me. I think we're going to go 3.5 4.
00:49:15
Speaker
Probably four. That's fair. I'd say probably a four because I do like it and I think it is important. And I do think that you're right. It did kind of kickstart this Krampus thing, um which a lot of other people then copied, but did badly.
00:49:29
Speaker
um But I do think, and I do, I just think the creature design alone, um is is what i was very I'd forgotten how good the the monsters look in this they really look good really and they are kind of disturbing I like the figure of Krampus as ah a villain I do think that's a really good horror iconic horror villain but what about you what's your kind of summary what's your thoughts I would agree with the
Final Thoughts and Rating for Krampus
00:49:52
Speaker
score. So i'm going to work in reverse. So i would I was definitely thinking of four, but it's it's funny because as films go, it might not be four worthy, but as Christmas horror films go, it's definitely up there because there's lots of Christmas horrors. There are loads of Christmas horrors. Lots of people are trying cash in on Christmas yeah and and horror.
00:50:12
Speaker
um a lot of them are old um which this isn't very old obviously a lot of them bad and a lot of them are old and bad so like for this to be like relatively new and pretty good is like yeah does put you know head and shoulders yeah above most of them krampus is great character ah obviously been ripe for horror film for a long time that's yeah worthy and um you know this is this is worthy of that um And ah yeah, anything with Toni Collette and she's just fantastic in whatever she does. i love Adam Scott as well because he's in Step Brothers, which is one of my favourite comedy films, which I can watch endlessly. And he's really funny in that. He's in Severance. that what you're going to say? He's in Severance. He's in another horror comedy, which I watched last Halloween, in fact.
00:51:05
Speaker
called Little Evil. It's like a kind of riff on Damien, basically. It's like this they so they have a kid and he's them he's Satan, basically. yeah It was quite funny. but yeah Yeah, I think he's quite good. He's a good to yeah he's quite good. So a sit in a similar vein to Krampus, is it that kind of It's like a comedy horror, yeah. is a It is a comedy horror, but yeah, around the kind of like yeah the kind of omen style idea.
00:51:30
Speaker
more than yeah one slightly negative thing about this film i would say like it's the one thing that does take it away from being perfect and getting a really good score is that i think it probably does spread itself a bit too thin because of the amount of characters it's got a lot of characters in it yeah and it does that typical thing that many films that try to appeal to lots of people uh mass audiences where you go off and and TV shows actually where you go off and you've got lots of different sort of side missions going on. Yeah. Going to join to accomplish one central goal.
00:52:04
Speaker
And this does that a bit, but it kind of, yeah, I think it just kind of, it just means that it's harder to get really ah engaged with characters individually. We don't get to know them all that well. So when they do go, you're not that fast. No, you're not bothered. No, I do agree with that. I agree with that. Yeah, definitely. But yeah yeah, good film. So as it's Christmas oh yeah and as you did such a good job, ah Halloween for oh oh june Halloween 3, Season of Witch. I did a quiz for you. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. You did a quiz. You quizzed me up and you gave me some really good hard questions. on I thought I'd go ahead and put together some quiz questions. Oh, I don't want it to be hard. Yeah.
00:52:46
Speaker
Sadly, well, it's two things. Sadly, it's not as clever an idea as a quiz. It's just a straight up quiz that's related to Christmas fire. Okay. And another thing that's come, because guys, we do this completely, you know, like blind. Alex and I haven't talked about the quiz, the questions. Have I named half the films that you were talking about? You may have already talked about some of the films. So, you know, oh without giving too much away. I've given myself clues. Yeah.
00:53:12
Speaker
You've given yourself clues. I think this, I will be very surprised if you don't get 10 out 10. There are 10 questions. Oh, wow. Everyone at home listening, watching, play along. See if you can get 10 out of 10 too. And if Al doesn't get 10, then, you know, we' we'll have a good laugh and at him at the end. Oh, no. You should do. Okay. Okay, are you ready? Okay. I'm not going to sign it.
00:53:33
Speaker
Okay, no, don't. So in the original 1974 Black Christmas, which actress who later played Lois Lane in Superman appears as one of the sorority house residents?
00:53:46
Speaker
Margot Kidder. Is it? Amazing. you Beautiful. Yeah, that's one. You keep the score. That's one. Hold out your fingers or something. we got There's no techie way of keeping the score.
00:53:58
Speaker
In Gremlins, this is another very easy one. In Gremlins, what are the three rules that must be followed when caring for a mogwai? Don't feed them after midnight. Yeah.
00:54:09
Speaker
Yeah. Don't get them wet. Yeah. Oh, no. What's the third one? Feed them after midnight. Don't get them wet.
00:54:20
Speaker
I don't like bright lights. I didn't think it was to do with the light, though. Is it to do with the light? Is it light? It's thing about bright lights. Bright light, bright light. Sunlight. Sunlight. sunlight. Yeah, yeah. Right, good. Well, sunlight. They don't like light anyway, but yeah, that's good. You made it. It's good. Good too.
00:54:37
Speaker
Make sure you keep your fingers. Keep keep the finger score. Got two. Which Christmas horror film was banned from cinemas in the US after its initial release? Oh.
00:54:49
Speaker
have i said have i said Have I said it already? No. You may have talked about it, but I don't think you've mentioned its name.
00:54:58
Speaker
If you need a clue, I might give you a clue. Yeah, give me a clue. What's the clue? it's It was in the 80s, this film was released. think I think it's the one I was talking about with the mall Santa one, and I can't remember the name of it. Yeah, maybe.
00:55:19
Speaker
what is it called it's like some it's either some terrible pun or like you better watch out or something like that oh silent night deadly night silent night deadly night that's it oh okay i think you were thinking of maybe christmas evil which i i don't know which i think christmas evil was also called don't know hope i'm not spoiling it i've not mentioned christmas evil anyway so i'm not anyway But yeah, I think, I think it was mainly the, the, the, it was the reaction that caused the kind of, there's more people coming out and being shocked at this kind of Christian, very Christian holiday, having something evil associated with it. Anyway, question four.
00:56:01
Speaker
What does Jack Skellington hold? What position? Sorry, what title does Jack Skellington hold in Halloween Town in the film A Nightmare Before Christmas? what's but What is he what role does he play the town? mayor, isn't he? He's the mayor of Halloween Town.
00:56:16
Speaker
Is he not? he's not. Is he the king? The king of Halloween Town? No? it The Pumpkin King? I'll take The King. He's the king of Halloween time. The Pumpkin King. Yeah, yeah, okay.
00:56:27
Speaker
I haven't watched that for ages. Is that a Christmas film or a Halloween film? Yeah. Both. it's Both. okay That's what I say. It's it's the one one of the very few films that is a both Christmas and Halloween You're watch it both times a year. Okay, fair enough. Everyone out there, twice a year, please. Twice a year.
00:56:45
Speaker
Watch Nightmare Before Christmas. Which recent Christmas action movie stars an actor best known for his role in the Stranger Things franchise? Ah, got it. Violent Night. Got it. Got it.
00:56:56
Speaker
Got it. I did say this one. Darn you. Darn you in your research beforehand. Okay. Which Christmas horror movie famously made members of the audience throw up in an early screening?
00:57:08
Speaker
Oh. Throw up? Oh, Terrifier 3. Yes. We've talked about this more than once now on podcasts. I thought it'd throw you because you'd be like, it's not a Christmas, but you just said it was. No, no, no. i already yeah and I remember. We were given sick bags when we went to see it in fact.
00:57:27
Speaker
It wasn't at Christmas, though, was it? No. It came out in October, I think. but Did um yeah it? Yeah, it was intended as a Christmas release. Oh, okay. Yeah, in some areas. Okay.
00:57:39
Speaker
This one's quite a hard one. I'm not sure if you get this. The star antagonist of the 2005 horror comedy Santa's sleigh is played by Bill Goldberg.
00:57:51
Speaker
Outside of acting, what is Bill best known for? Is he the is he the the voice of something? No. Can have a clue? i good I'll give you a clue. It's a sport.
00:58:06
Speaker
Actually, think he's been involved in more than one sport, but there's one sport in particular that he was famous for before that film. Oh. Like baseball? American football? No? No, I don't know.
00:58:19
Speaker
wrestling wrestling he's wrestler yeah i think wwe and wcw he's uh they love the acting oh now you're saying i've heard of him yeah i've heard of him it is a sport it's real it's not it's not all made up it's not pantomime Okay, you'll like this one as well. Let's see how much you love rare exports. Which country produced rare exports, making it one of the most internationally successful horror films to ever come out of that nation? Is it Lapland?
00:58:51
Speaker
It's set in Lapland. Is it not made by people from Lapland? Lapland's not a country. a Lapland's ah an a a part of a country. oh Which country? Looking for the country.
00:59:07
Speaker
No, I don't know. Where is it from? Finland. Finland. Which is where Lapland is. so Yeah, my geography is not good. Yeah, I'm sorry. So close. sorry, Finnish listeners. You get ready for the next quiz. You'll just get a globe out. Which future American Pie star appears in Jack Frost, the horror film, not the Michael Keaton comedy one. and Well, comedy, family film. Oh, I used to love that film.
00:59:33
Speaker
So which future American Pie star appears in Jack Frost in one of her earliest film roles? Is it what? Mira Severe? severey Not her?
00:59:44
Speaker
No. Mira Severe? Oh, God. What's the other one? Is it the flute one? Is it her? No? Not the one with the flute? Do want a clue?
00:59:55
Speaker
Yeah, I do want a clue. She's appeared in a few horror films and even a parody. She's been in Scary Movie. She starred in Scary Movie as well. Oh, God.
01:00:07
Speaker
Oh, what's her name?
01:00:11
Speaker
No, it's gone. it's I know you mean, I know it is. i can see, ah i can't remember her name. Shannon Elizabeth. Oh, yes. Shannon Elizabeth. Yeah, the Doom. I used to have that VHS. I wish I still had it. i The VHS of ah Jack Frost. And it had like a yeah it had a yeah thingy, like a hologram. And the nose, when you moved it, the nose. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. It looked really it looked more evil, didn't it, when you like moved it or something? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It sort of looked evil and then looked even more evil. Yeah, kind of like, yeah, it's mouthful. I've done very badly on this quiz.
01:00:46
Speaker
I've lost count of the scores, so God knows me. think I've only got half of them right. Got one more question. Question 10. Okay. Finish strong, Al. Come on, you can do it. We're all rooting for you.
01:00:58
Speaker
Okay. The 2022 horror, The Mean One, features a twisted take on the Dr. Seuss character, The Grinch. Yeah. The actor playing The Mean One is best known for playing which other horror character?
01:01:13
Speaker
Is it the bloke? that Oh, were um ah Art the Clown. Is it him? Yes. It is. It's ah David Howard Thornton. And he also played the the mouse in Screenboat.
01:01:28
Speaker
Screenboat. Yeah, Screenboat. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, he did. Yeah, he loves playing characters. So well done. You ended on a high That's good. think only half right now. That means you get your Christmas wish. Oh, I don't know. don't know what that is. but I wish we'd carry on this podcast forever.
01:01:43
Speaker
Well, that has beautifully taken us over the hour mark for the half hour of horror. um I have lost track of what we might even be doing next month. so I can tell you, we're doing Terror Train, 1980.
01:01:56
Speaker
Oh, Terror Train. Is that the one that stars Jamie Lee Curtis? I believe it is. I don't think I've ever seen Terror Train. Oh. and that's going to treat so that's gonna we're going to watch that over the Christmas holiday holidays go in blind in january and then we're going to like come back hopefully with a post Christmas classic to share with everyone exactly something from the 80s we haven't had a of bit of an 80s 80s movie 80s horror that's where it's at definitely some bit more retro yeah good to do something we've not seen as well
01:02:29
Speaker
Exactly, man. Totally. I'm really looking forward to it. But thank you for coming down to this Christmas podcast, everyone. And and you, Al. Thank you for joining me for this. Thank you. And for giving me up.
01:02:41
Speaker
It was so much nicer to be the quizzer than being quizzed. Yeah, I bet it was. power it's very stressful i don't think i'm ever going to do a quiz again because it's too stressful to get them back in my face i don't want that but i will never quiz you again i promise and this is particularly uh fitting yeah okay keep them coming yes yes thank you thank you for loving horror as much as we do listeners remember to uh you know send us some suggestions of films we're as we said we're open to to uh you know something we haven't ever watched before or um just check our site out see what we haven't reviewed and we'll Maybe give it a watch. Some classics. Good if they're seasonal. as We like a bit of that.
01:03:17
Speaker
But yeah, well we'll we'll be back in January for more horror. And yeah, in the meantime, have a Merry Xmas. A horrible, or horrible holiday. So I don't know. Have a great Christmas, guys. Enjoy it. And yeah, hopefully it's a bit creepy.
01:03:31
Speaker
A bit creepy and Christmassy. Creepy Christmas. Have a creepy Christmas. See you in the new year. Bye.