The New York Times calls it “Occasionally funny, intermittently scary, but mostly hectic and sloppy.” Clearly, their minds cannot fathom the greatness of this masterpiece. “Krampus” is about a family that loses their Christmas spirit and consequently gets attacked by Krampus, the Austrian anti-Santa (and before you ask, no, they did not make that up. It’s an actual legend) and his terrifying, Christmas-themed minions. I’ll be honest: this is one of those movies that changes you on a fundamental level. You inevitably walk out of the theater a confused person saying: “what, in the name of Rudolph, did I just watch? And can I watch it again?”
But I know the question you’re all asking right now: is this a feminist film? Well, it’s a toss-up: this is your average Hollywood horror movie, after all. An Austrian Grandma is the closest thing we get to a woman of color, and a lot of the women are blatant stereotypes, but we at least get a lot of women with a variety of personalities. Here’s a rundown of the female characters in this movie:
Sarah
Sarah is a typical soccer mom, except that she doesn’t hesitate to shoot scary things in the face, or stop a mini killer robot from boring a hole into her husband’s back. She’s definitely a character we’ve seen time and time again, but kicking Krampass is a nice addition to the trope. She’s got agency, but in the end nobly and confusingly sacrifices herself to save her son and niece.
Also, for some reason, she lets her teenage daughter walk to her boyfriend’s house in a blizzard. What kind of parent does that? Krampus aside, a blizzard is not the kind of weather you go for a stroll in. Regardless, Sarah is slightly more than the typical mother character. Still, the butt-kicking is a nice touch.
Jordan and Stevie
Here’s where we get into questionable feminist ground. Jordan and Stevie are sisters whose dad apparently wanted them to be boys. They’re tough, into football and camo, and are supposed to be incredibly unpleasant at the beginning of the movie. This does not seem like good representation initially, but they get better as the Krampus attacks continue, bringing the family closer together.
Grandma
She is the classic wise old woman… except, instead of providing life changing wisdom, she offers life changing facts about demon Santa. Good thing she ended up… well, you’ll find out when you watch the movie.
Linda
Linda is not particularly remarkable. The only information we get on her is through conversations with Sarah, her sister. Unfortunately, Sarah and Linda aren’t close anymore and they constantly judge each other’s life choices, in addition to having deep conversations about their dead mother. Oh, and neither of them like their aunt. Their conversations make this movie pass the Bechdel test, at least, so that’s something.
Aunt Dorothy
One of several points of comedic relief in this film. She’s the annoying alcoholic who drives her nieces, Sarah and Linda, insane. Yeah, we’ve all got a relative like that and so does every movie ever. She’s the anti-mother and cannot be trusted with children, so, of course, she frequently takes care of them. For instant comedy, just add alcohol.
Beth
There is little to say about Beth. She’s a teenager. She has no arc and she really doesn’t go anywhere as a character. Something makes her think walking through a blizzard is a good idea, though.
All in all, we’ve got more women here than your typical horror movie cast, so that’s something even if none of them are diverse or particularly original. I guess you could argue that the feminist interpretation of this movie is kind of good and kind of bad, much like the movie itself.
Image sources: IMDB, Halloweenlover.com