‘Krampus The Naughty Cut’ Collector’s Edition Review

Krampus

The Christmas season may be over, but that doesn’t mean the fun has to stop. While not a new genre (the earliest I know of is 1984’s Silent Night, Deadly Night) the crossover between Christmas movies and horror movies has certainly increased in recent years.

Even rarer still is to add a comedic element on top of those. Often you end up with a film that doesn’t know what it wants to be and none of the elements work out very well. The 2015 Christmas horror comedy Krampus seems to have managed to do it and, to be honest, does a pretty good job of it.

If you have never seen Krampus, here’s a little rundown of what it’s about.

Max is a boy that loves Christmas. When his family all meet for Christmas, he starts to realize that his family is dysfunctional and that nobody has the Christmas spirit. This causes Max to turn his back on Christmas and, unwittingly, summons Krampus – a demon that comes and punished both the naughty and nice alike that have lost faith in Christmas. As Krampus picks off family members one by one to take to hell the dysfunctional family must come together and find a way to escape from Krampus as he chases them through the streets in the largest snowstorm in decades.

What I Liked

The detail in this release is amazing, and it really shows through in the special effects. In addition to Krampus, there are other creatures (elves/helpers) and the special effects really hold up.

The cast is also very strong and the standouts in this would be Toni Collette and Adam Scott. (I have never personally been a fan of Scott and always find him very wooden and non-expressive.) In this film, I found that Collette and Scott both delivered strong performances with emotion and realism. Overall, the movie sets a good tone and just really makes the combination work.

What I Didn’t Like

This release did have a lot of new footage but most of it was stuff cut to give the film it’s original PG-13 rating. That means a lot more language and things like that. Some may find it doesn’t add a ton to the story.

Also, this film does have a twist ending that some may not like. It does complete the story but it also kind of does something a little strange that watchers may not feel is a satisfying ending.

Krampus: The Naughty Cut Bonus Features

Disc 1 (UHD):

  • NEW The Naughty Cut with additional scenes and adult languagethat were previously cut for the PG-13 theatrical version
  • NEWDolby Atmos track
  • Audio Commentary with director/co-writer Michael Dougherty and co-writers Todd Casey and Zach Shields

Disc 2 (Blu-Ray):

  • NEW The Naughty Cut with additional scenes and adult language cut to get a PG-13 rating
  • NEWDolby Atmos track
  • NEWA Dash of Mischief – an interview with director/co-writer Michael Dougherty
  • NEW Storm of the Centuries– an interview with producer Todd Casey
  • NEWThe Great Protector – an interview with actor David Koechner
  • NEWSomething Bad Happened on Christmas – an interview with actress Allison Tolman
  • NEWMax’s Journey – an interview with actor Emjay Anthony
  • NEWLord of the Things – an interview with WETA’s Richard Taylor
  • NEWMapping Mythology – an interview with storyboard artist Simeon Wilkins
  • NEW I, Krampus– an interview with performer Luke Hawker
  • NEW A Winter Chorus– an interview with composer Douglas Pipes
  • Audio Commentary with director/co-writer Michael Dougherty and co-writers Todd Casey and Zach Shields
  • Krampus Comes Alive! – a five-part featurette on the making of the film
  • Behind-the-Scenes at Weta Workshop: Krampus
  • Deleted/Extended Scenes, not seen in the theatrical cut
  • Gag Reel
  • Alternate Ending
  • Theatrical Trailers
  • Photo Galleries – creature art, storyboards and more

‘Krampus The Naughty Cut’ Collector’s Edition Review:

Grade: A-

Overall this is a fun movie and the special effects are great but the ending kind of detracts for me personally but probably won’t bother a lot of people.

Krampus: The Naughty Cut is currently available from Scream Factory.

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