Principal photography is set to begin on Legendary Pictures’ Krampus, a horror-comedy feature film that reveals an irreverently twisted side to the Christmas holiday. This darkly festive tale of a yuletide ghoul is co-written and directed by Michael Dougherty and stars a stellar ensemble cast, who are supported by the Oscar-winning creature-effects wizardry of Weta Workshop and the Oscar-winning visual effects of Weta Digital. Krampus will be released on December 4, 2015, by Universal Pictures.
A humorously creepy alternative to the traditional holiday classic, Krampus features a stellar cast that includes Adam Scott (“Parks and Recreation,” The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), Academy Award-nominee Toni Collette (Little Miss Sunshine, The Sixth Sense), Golden Globe nominee Allison Tolman (“Fargo”), David Koechner (“Anchorman” series), Emmy nominee Conchata Ferrell (“Two and a Half Men”), Emjay Anthony (Chef), Stefania Owen (The Lovely Bones) and Krista Stadler (Lena Rais).
Krampus tells the story of young Max, who turns his back on Christmas as his dysfunctional family comes together and comically clashes over the holidays. When they accidentally unleash the wrath of Krampus—an ancient entity from European folklore—all hell breaks loose and beloved holiday icons take on a monstrous life of their own. Now, the fractured family is forced to unite if they hope to survive.
Krampus and his mischievous underlings are being created by the combined efforts of Weta Workshop and Weta Digital, both renowned for their epic work on “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies and “King Kong,” among many others.
Weta Workshop is responsible for manufacture and puppeteering for the creatures and specialty costumes for the film. Weta Workshop co-founder and creative director Richard Taylor is very excited about the project. He said: “Krampus is the kind of ‘once-in-a-blue-moon’ project that the creative teams at Weta Workshop relish and that, on a personal level, makes my heart beat a little faster. The preproduction phase on this film has been one of the most enjoyable of our career.”
The ancient legend of the iconic Christmas demon Krampus, whose notoriety grows yearly around the world, is brought to the big screen by writer/director Michael Dougherty (writer/director of Trick ‘R Treat; writer of X2: X-Men United, Superman Returns). The film is co-written by Dougherty, Zach Shields and Todd Casey; produced by Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Alex Garcia and Dougherty; and executive produced by Danny Stillman.
Jules O’Loughlin (“Black Sails,” Wish You Were Here) serves as the film’s director of photography, while Jules Cook (Chappie) is its production designer and Bob Buck (The Hobbit trilogy) designs the costumes. John Alexrad (Crazy Heart, Slither) edits, while Douglas Pipes (Trick ‘R Treat, Monster House) composes.
