Krampus Unleashed
Written & Directed by Robert Conway
Starring Amelia Brantley, Bryson Holl, Caroline Lassetter, Taylor Buckley, Tim Sauer, Emily Aiken, Eric Lettman, Owen Conway, Dujhan Brown, Kerry Keepers
Uncork’d Entertainment | FunHouse Features
79 minutes
Released date: 11/1/2016 VOD; 12/13/2016 DVD

I’m a sucker for Krampus, the horned and hoofed anti-Santa of Alpine folklore who’s been cropping up a lot in Christmas horror movies for the past few years. In Robert Conway‘s new indie feature Krampus Unleashed, the yuletide demon is awoken on Christmas Eve in the American Southwest, where he’ll quench his bloodlust on an unsuspecting family’s holiday reunion.

The film opens with a text prologue that explains that in 1898 after terrorizing the American Southwest for most of the decade, a German-born outlaw by the name of Eric Klaus finally had the law on his heels. Before disappearing, Klaus buried his loot in the desert, leaving with it a warning to those who would follow his trail, heeding them to stay clear of what he’s hidden, for the person who disturbs it will unleash a hell on earth for themselves.

It’s time for my annual look back at my top 10 favorite movies of 2015. While I do write the occasional movie review, I don’t consider myself to be a “film critic,” but rather more of an enthusiastic movie watcher. I enjoy a lot of movies I watch, but not many becomes “favorites.” So, this list here is not my picks for the “best” films of the year; these are merely my favorite movies of 2015.

I do get to see a lot of films every year, and my criteria for a “favorite” typically is one that keeps me entertained and makes me want to see it repeatedly. Admittedly, I tend to be drawn more towards the fantasy/superhero selections, and less towards the Oscar bait pictures. There will be plenty of other “Best Of 2015” lists being published here at Geeks Of Doom in the coming days that will take a more analytical look at 2015’s films, and will likely include more serious dramas. But for now, with me, you’ll get more fun picks than anything else.

With that, here’s a list of my Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2015.

The Art of Krampus
Hardcover
Written by Michael Mallory
Foreword by Michael Dougherty
Insight Editions
Release Date: November 24, 2015

Krampus, director Michael Dougherty‘s new Christmas horror film, centers on the European legend, an anti-Santa Claus who comes for all the bad boys and girls. The Christmas demon has cloven hooves and horns, and drags chains as well as the people he comes to abduct. When Krampus comes to town, he doesn’t travel alone; he arrives with a horde of minions, from dark elves and menacing snowmen to possessed cherubs and demonic teddy bears, and much more, all of which were rendered in the film by Weta Workshop and Weta Digital, best known for their extraordinary work on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.

The Art of Krampus, a 160-page full-color coffee table book from Insight Editions, written by Michael Mallory, delves into the concept and art design, as well as the practical and digital effects for the film. With a forward by Dougherty, who also co-wrote the screenplay, the book begins with the origins of Krampus before moving on to the behind-the-scenes looks at several portions from the film, such as the shopping mall opening sequence, the attack in the fireplace, and the dark elves out in the blizzard.

Krampus
Directed by Michael Dougherty
Written by Todd Casey, Michael Dougherty, Zach Shields
Starring Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Emjay Anthony, Stefania LaVie Owen, Krista Stadler
Legendary Pictures | Universal Pictures
Rated PG-13 | 98 minutes
Release date: December 4, 2015

Director Michael Dougherty previously took the superstitions of the Halloween season and molded them into superbly told stories for his horror anthology film Trick ‘r Treat. Now, the filmmaker takes on Alpine folklore’s anti-Santa in his Christmas horror Krampus. Though it’s a while before the horned and hoofed baddie makes his on-screen appearance in the film, when he does arrive during a massive blizzard, he brings with him an unfathomable reign of terror the likes of which young Max and his family have never seen.

It’s a few days before Christmas, and Max (Emjay Anthony) is finding it hard to spread the cheer this year. After having a physical fight during a Christmas pageant, the prepubescent boy fails at getting his family to follow their usual holiday customs. He just wants things to be the way they used to be before his dad David (Adam Scott) became a busy workaholic; his mom Sarah (Toni Collette) closed herself off and became an overachieving Martha Stewart type; and his stereotypically distant teen sister Megan (Stefania LaVie Owen) hit puberty and stopped bothering with him. Thankfully, Max can still find comfort in Omi (Austrian-born actress Krista Stadler), his homely old bun-wearing grandma who seems very adamant that her grandson finish writing his annual Letter to Santa.

Last week we saw a featurette for the upcoming holiday horror flick Krampus that dove into the folklore behind the demon-like creature who comes to take bad children away.

Another new featurette has now been released called “A Look Inside,” which includes director, writer, and producer Michael Dougherty (Trick ‘r Treat) and some of the cast members talking about the movie.

You can read much more about the movie and watch the video below.