krampus | Screaming Soup!

SCREAMING AT CHRISTMAS HORROR FILMS!

Howdy there, Scream Freaks! Christmas is closing in on us once again, but it’s okay, because everyone’s been preparing for it since September! And while there’s those snuggled in their eyesore homes, eagerly waiting for their annual holiday viewing of the Grinch or Elf, we know you’re spikin’ that ‘nog and poppin’ in something a little scarier. From killer Santas to mutant snowmen, plenty of Christmas lores have been twisted into some form of sick horror entertainment, and we’ve seen our fair share of it!

In the spirit of a Christmas to dismember, we decided to share with you a small list of Christmas horror movies we think are worth your time as you count down the nights ’til you can rip those gifts out from under that tree. They have strong Christmas themes in them from the killers to the music and settings, just enough to keep you in the spirit of the season . . .

JACK FROST (1996)

Not the young’ns’ version with Michael Keaton resurrected as a friendly snowman, but the adult version with a fugitive serial killer transformed into living snow like a comic book villain. Known for its scene with him raping Shannon Elizabeth in the shower with his carrot nose! 4/5!

ELVES (1989)

TV’s Grizzly Adams plays a mall Santa fighting Nazis and their elaborate plans for world domination with a killer rubber elf. 3/5!

SANTA’S SLAY (2005)

Wrestling’s Goldberg gives his greatest performance as a Krampus-like Santa who tears through a small town in search of the angel who cursed him to deliver gifts to good youngn’s for a millennia. Nothing but sick Christmas fun here with great characters, hell deer, strip clubs, stop-motion flashbacks, and over the top kills with one of the best opening scenes you’ll ever see! 5/5!

KRAMPUS (2015)

The best Krampus movie by-far, this hits all the right notes from the humor to the fear, giving off a very Spielberg vibe. Great story, loveable cast, awesome monsters, disturbing scenes . . . we think Krampus looks too much like a deformed wizard but eh – can’t have everything we guess! 5/5!

BLACK CHRISTMAS (2006)

The original Black Christmas was creepier with its unexplained killer, but we enjoy this remake because it treats the killer like a Batman villain with his discolored skin, fucked up origin story, and escape from an insane asylum. Doesn’t hurt there’s plenty of eye candy as well, like Katie Cassidy and Michelle Trachtenberg. 4/5!

SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT 5: THE TOY MAKER (1991)

This film only made our list because of how unexpected it is at times, searing bizarre images in our brain we’ll never forget. A toy maker and his son are terrorizing families with killer toys, and one particular family becomes their target because they’re living in their old house they lost due to hard times. Most memorable scene is when one particular toy tries bangin’ the mom toward the end. 3/5!

GREMLINS (1984)

Do I really need to explain this one? A son gets a magic critter for Christmas that accidentally spawns nastier critters that run amok, ruining everyone’s Christmas in a small town. 5/5!

SILENT NIGHT (2012)

A reboot for the Silent Night Deadly Night series, this version focuses on a hot cop looking for a killer Santa in a festival of St. Nicks. Good actors, slick cinematography, and Malcolm McDowell spits lines worthy of t-shirts and fridge magnets. 4/5!

PUPPET MASTER VS DEMONIC TOYS (2004)

In a moment of weakness, Full Moon let the Sci-fi Channel play with their toys and this guilty pleasure happened. It’s a suck-ass Puppet Master sequel but a fun Demonic Toys story with them trying to take over the world Christmas Day unless the puppets can stop them with new robot upgrades. 3/5!

SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT (1984)

Our favorite Christmas horror film, we watch this every Christmas Eve before hitting the dirt! It’s ’80s, it’s vicious, it tells the story from the killer’s point of view, and you get Scream Queen Linnea Quigley killed topless! Win win! 5/5!

And there you have it. Our favorite holiday horrors to roast your chestnuts over. While they’re not at the very top of our favorites list, we will mention other Christmas horror films worth watching for your sick pleasure like Don’t Open ’til Christmas, Black Christmas (1974), Santa Clause Conquers the Martians, All Through the House, Scrooged, Christmas Horror Story, Santa Klaws, Maniac Cop 2, and Rare Exports. And if you’re really digging deep for more yuletide punishment, I’ll give you fair warning to avoid flops like Silent Night Deadly Night 3-4, Blood Beat, Silent Night Bloody Night, and Krampus 1-2 (2013 & 2016).

Other than that, be sure to watch our epic Season 3 finale with our review of the Basket Case trilogy while having our final showdown with Buzzkill, catch up on all past Screaming Soup! Seasons, check out this week’s Howl’n Hottie, read recent reviews for the newer horror films we’re watching in our R-Rated Reviews blog, and help us get the word out about the web’s #1 animated horror host show! Please use our social buttons in the upper right corner of the site and follow our tweets, subscribe to our Youtube channel, like our Facebook, watch and share all our vids, and keep that fan mail coming.

We’ll see ya later, Scream Freaks!

SCREAMING AT KRAMPUS!

Howdy there, Scream Freaks! With enough sleep and shaman medicine, we’ve defeated the uncommon cold since you last heard from us and are ready to kick off the Krampus season! No, not Christmas – Krampus! That’s right, Michael Dougherty’s Krampus comes out this weekend, and that’s got us more pumped than any Star Wars movie! We remember the first time we heard of the Christmas boogeyman when he made his unforgettable appearance on Adult Swim’s Venture Bros. Christmas Special that had us asking, “What the fuck is that thing?” We’ve done plenty of reading up on this mythical creature since then, and quickly became fans of the original Bad Santa.

For those who don’t know (or can’t use Wikipedia), the Krampus is a creature from German folklore that basically shadows Santa Clause Christmas night, punishing the naughty children while St. Nick rewards the good kids with presents. The punishment Krampus dishes out varies from culture to culture. Sometimes he’s swatting children with birch branches or leaving coal in their stockings, and other times he’s actually snatching kids from their homes to drown, eat, or whisk to hell. Quite the Grimm fairy tale isn’t he?

Somehow the legend of the Krampus was suppressed over the decades (maybe centuries?), and has only recently been making a comeback the last few years, finally blowing up pop culture this Christmas! There’s Krampus Christmas cards, sweaters, t-shirts, dolls, parades, statues, comics, TV appearances, and big budget movies! Yes, Krampus had a handful of humble low-budget breaks into film the last few years, but mainstream movie companies have finally seen the writing on the wall and realized Krampus was movie monster gold and now everyone’s clamoring for him! Even Kevin Smith announced he’ll be starting production on his own Krampus anthology film for next year.

Now, before the movie industry blows up with Krampus fever, the list of his cinematic exploits is still fairly small and easily obtainable for horror fans wanting to collect them. There’s been Night of the Krampus from 2013 which we haven’t seen ourselves yet, and Krampus – The Christmas Devil from 2014 that was, holy shit, a movie bomb that may as well be coal in your stocking. The best thing about that movie was the cover which is really a promise waiting to blow-up in your face as soon as you push play. Then of course, you have the 3 newest entries this year, Krampus The Reckoning, A Christmas Horror Story, and Krampus. We’re not in a hurry to see Reckoning because of the cover but did see A Christmas Horror Story. This anthology was good but not the greatest horror movie in our opinion. We felt the stories lacked a lot of POW! for their endings, not all the creatures were exactly Christmas related, and the Krampus was underplayed and a little too superhero in appearance for our tastes. His segment was more or less an uneventful cat and mouse chase with him pursuing a family of jerks, but the filmmakers did introduce an interesting explanation for how Krampus is summoned which we liked. We’d give it like 3.5/5, and think it makes a great addition to any horror fan’s holiday fright collection.

Krampus is what we’re really looking forward to. From what we’ve seen in the trailers, this should be everything we could ask for; scares, effects, laughs, and (fingers crossed) story. Krampus, don’t fail us now! We’ll definetly be sharing our thoughts on the movie after the weekend. And if you haven’t heard already, there’s also a companion comic that was released in conjunction with the Krampus movie that I’d also recommend picking up.

Enough rambling already! Be sure to catch up on Screaming Soup! Seasons 1-2 before the premier of Season 3 1/20/16, and help us get the word out about the web’s #1 animated horror host show! Please use our social buttons in the upper right corner of the site and follow our tweets, subscribe to our Youtube channel, like our Facebook, watch and share all our vids, and keep that fan mail coming.

I’ll see ya later, Scream Freaks!