By Rob Hunter
“To make a Krampus movie without a sense of humor would be stupid and not in keeping with the spirit of the movie.”
Yesterday was international Krampus Day or some such thing — the running of the Krampus maybe? — which means it’s as good a time as any to bust out the second best Krampus-related holiday horror movie. It’s an enjoyable romp even on a re-watch, and after doing just that I decided to give its commentary track a listen as well.
Keep reading to see what I heard on the commentary for…
Krampus (2015)
Commentators: Michael Dougherty (director/co-writer), Todd Casey & Zach Shields (co-writers)
1. They wanted to use Universal’s opening logo from 1982 “because this was done in the style and spirit of 80s horror movies, but we were denied.”
2. The opening credits sequence — a slow-motion look at Black Friday mayhem — was the only scene shot on location. It was filmed in a New Zealand department store.
3. The glimpse of A Christmas Carol playing on the television is meant as foreshadowing to this film’s end.
4. The kid who plays Max, Emjay Anthony, apparently flirted with every female who visited the set. “He’s a little player.”
5. Ninety-five percent of the film was shot on sound stages.
6. The film’s storyboard artist was drawing David Koechner into the drawings before the actor had even been considered or cast. “He happened to be watching Anchorman in the background.”
20. Dougherty got a phone call from Los Angeles just after filming the demise of Rosie the bulldog saying that his own bulldog back home was dying. His beloved Java died within the hour.
21. The film’s Krampus is intentionally designed (in its shadowed and cowled face) to resemble death.
22. Yes, Krampus is wearing a mask — not the performer, but Krampus himself. Dougherty won’t say who’s face he’s wearing
23. They won’t confirm what the ending actually implies. They definitely survived the encounter, but are they now safe while Krampus simply keeps an eye on them? Or are they now stuck in Krampus’ hellish collection? Dougherty says the latter is a cynical (albeit still possible) interpretation, but I’d argue it’s the only one that works as otherwise we’re stuck with a lame “it was all a dream” type of ending.
24. Hidden among the various snow globes at the end are the Psycho house and Dougherty’s own.
25. The early shots of the other houses in the neighborhood are all digital, and they took that opportunity to design some of them after famous houses from 80s movies. They neglect to identify any. Similarly, the film apparently features some subliminal imagery, but they choose not to point them out either. Also, they added “secret occult imagery” into the movie… but again decide not to share any of it with listeners.
Best in Context-Free Commentary
“The other big challenge of the scene was finding minorities.”
“I love Polish-sounding names.”
“Please tell me this ends in diarrhea.”
“I don’t want to shit on Christmas.”
“Most PG-13 movies do suck.”
“I could do a whole spin-off movie just based off the gingerbread men.”
“I love the clown because the clown is being puppeted by two babes.”
“From craft service to stunts to the art department everybody had somebody pass away, which just felt odd.”
“Do we have to make it to the end?”
Buy Krampus on Blu-ray/DVD from Amazon.
Final Thoughts
Krampus is a fun monster flick, and the filmmakers reveal the enthusiasm and knowledge that led to its creation. They offer some fun anecdotes and details, but the list of things they tease but never explain or detail is a lot longer. Commentaries are pretty much the ideal place to spill the beans on a movie’s secrets, but whatever!
Read more Commentary Commentary from the archives.
The article 25 Things We Learned from the ‘Krampus’ Commentary appeared first on Film School Rejects.
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