Krampus will be ruining your Christmas this year

This year horror is overlapping into new holiday territory with Krampus. Krampus is the dark companion of St. Nicholas who rewards well-behaved children with holiday gifts on December 6. Krampus punishes misbehaved children swatting them with switches and rusty chains before dragging them, in baskets, to a fiery place below.

Director Michael Doughtery has now brought this sinister villain to the big screen in a new thriller aptly entitled Krampus. In this film, Toni Colette and Adam Scott struggle to deal with their family’s annual holiday visit when darkness sets in. Critics have been split by the film. Peter Howell of thestar.com says “Ho-ho-horror movie Krampus is not entirely unwatchable, despite amateurish direction, frenzied lensing and bog-level CGI work” while Noel Murray of the LA Times says, “The quality of the cast helps sell jokes that rely on broad stereotypes and even pushes "Krampus" toward genuine yuletide warmth and familial redemption … at least until the monsters come out.” 

In the past, we have seen the horror genre attempt to cover a wide range of holidays including such titles as Black Christmas, Thankskilling, My Bloody Valentine, Leprechaun, and April Fools. Although many believed the trend died in the 80s, we could see a resurge of this synergy event returning to the genre in the not too distant future.

Howell, P. (2015, December 4). Krampus wants you to believe in Santa – or else: Review | Toronto Star. Retrieved December 7, 2015, from http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2015/12/04/krampus-wants-you-to-believe-in-santa-or-else-review.html

Murray, N. (2015, December 4). 'Krampus' kills it with Christmas scares that are all in good fun. Retrieved December 7, 2015, from http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-krampus-movie-review-20151205-story.html

Halloween Returns for More Terror

In 1978, writer and director John Carpenter created an entirely new sub genre in horror, the slasher film, with the release of Halloween. Arguably the best film of his career, Halloween used minimalistic tactic, simplistic effects, and subtle music to tell the horrific tale of a brutal killer named Michael Myers. Starring Jamie Lee Curtis as the unassuming innocent Laurie Strode and Donald Pleasance as Michael’s well meaning, tortured psychologist, this micro budget film became one of the most impactful films in the horror genre scaring audiences to this day. Over the 37 years since its creation, Halloween has seen many straying sequels and reincarnations of the classic story that never truly embodied the power, intrigue, and fear that the original two films created. However in the Summer of 2015, horror fans rejoiced as the news was released that not only was a new Halloween film in pre-production, but also the style of the writing and filmmaking was going to lean heavily on John Carpenter’s influence.

Moviepilot released an article revealing some of the details that hardcore fans of the original two films were waiting for. The design of Myer’s mask will be similar if not exact to the original mask reverting back to a white, William Shatner-esk shape. Also, testing and casting for our main villain has begun even without definite shooting dates. “Michael Myers is subtlety and suspense,” comments director Marcus Dustan. Dunstan also reveals that the timeline of the new film will include the Halloween 3, whose storyline revolved around a demon mask company that would kill the children wearing their product on Halloween night. This is the most surprising detail released and leaves audiences eager to find out how this will incorporate with Michael’s motives and backstory. Rumors are also flying that Gillian Jacobs is being looked for a lead role in the new film. No official word has been released on what role she is being considered for. Dustan commented,  “I really like this actress Gillian Jacobs,” Dunstan said, “She’s known for all this comedy on Community, and yet I didn’t know her from Community first, I knew her from a movie called Gardens of the Night, which is one of the most wrenching dramas, and she’s excellent. I thought, ‘I wonder if this great performer would do that again, would like to go there,’ and I think so.”

Only time will tell how exactly all these pieces will come into and play and how the new film will be received by horror fans around the world. Hopes for this film are high but, as horror fan knows, hopes are more often dashed than they are achieved.

References

Breaking: The Meaning Behind The 'Halloween Returns' Title, New Mask Details, And Much More! (2015, September 7). Retrieved October 4, 2015.

McMahon, T. (2015, September 9). Gillian Jacobs Sought for 'Halloween Returns' Lead Role. Retrieved October 4, 2015. 

Returns, H. (2015, June 22). Halloween Returns - In Theatres Fall 2016 pic.twitter.com/VB8rHyaOJg. Retrieved October 4, 2015. 

The Walking Dead Returns for the Second Half of Season 5

After one of the most shocking moments in the shows history, The Walking Dead went into its usual mid season hiatus with audiences begging for more. The episode, known as "Coda", was viewed by almost 15 million viewers breaking all previous viewership records the show held. The season one finale was viewed by only 5.97 million viewers in 2009. The most important thing about these viewership numbers being that as each new episode premieres at 9pm on Sundays that this milestone was achieved running directly against Sunday Night Football.

Not only was the show breaking viewership records during its midseason finale, it was also breaking viewers' hearts as they killed off a primary member of the core group of characters. SPOILERS AHEAD. After what seemed to be a successful and peaceful prisoner exchange, Beth seemed to be safe in the arms of her friends. However, with a momentary lapse in judgement and rush of boldness, Beth then assaults one of her captors leading to a misfire of her captor's weapon to hit her in the head causing her death. As expected, fan response was intense. No one could have predicting just how intense, however, as fans began writing petitions to return the character Beth to the show and change the end of the episode to a dream or a vision of another character. Unfortunately for fans, even on a show where the reanimation of corpses is extremely common, a bullet to the brain remains the final nail in the coffin and show runners have no plans to change their current course.

No one knows what to expect when the show returns February 8th at 9pm to AMC. How will the group react to the death? Will this incite the travel North Abraham so desires? The only way to find out will be to tune in and see where the group's new insane path takes them.