Michael Dougherty made a name for himself with his Halloween horror omnibus Trick ‘r Treat, which has become something of a cult film after being released on DVD in 2009. While it never received a proper theatrical release, obviously someone at Universal Pictures and Legendary Studios saw potential in him, and set him to direct Krampus, another seasonal tale about the spirit of Christmas, rendered through purely nightmarish proportions.

From the opening scene, in which a horde of holiday shoppers burst through the doors of a Wal-Mart-like superstore, aggressively fighting amongst one another under the spell of consumerism, it’s clear that Krampus is taking aim at the deep cynicism which has slowly but surely become a fixture most Americans are bound by. Our central cast of characters are the Engel family, whose youngest child Max is at the age where he’s not supposed to still believe in Santa Claus or the sentimentality that flows through the season. Tensions run high between him and his parents Tom and Sarah, who are also dealing with the visit of Sarah’s blue-collar relatives, who directly oppose their quaint liberal leanings.

Krampus comes across as a typical family Christmas film from the start (akin to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation for the twenty-first century), and unfolds to include a range of dynamics between each in-law and cousin, though gradually the dark, frightening presence of the titular folklore takes over. The story doesn’t settle into its fantastical side until roughly the 20 minute mark, but once it does, it becomes something quite noteworthy in the realm of holiday horror. When a letter Max writes to Santa is read aloud at the family dinner table to his embarrassment, he tears it up and throws it to the howling winter winds. The next morning, a blizzard of epic proportions cuts off all power throughout the neighborhood, and while at first it seems like something with an explainable basis, soon enough the force of Krampus invade the Engels’ home, and a fight to survive Christmas is underway.