Like most people, I can’t take holiday horror seriously. The latter parts of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol remains the gold standard, and that works because it’s not in anyway “scary” as it is woefully depressing in its implications. It’s not scary because Scrooge is basically forced to walk with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Be (who might as well be the Grim Reaper), it’s scary because the Reaper is warning him what his reality could be if he doesn’t shape up.
But most modern horror set against Christmas fail to understand this. Whether they try too hard or they’re too self-aware or the premise is so flawed it’s downright impossible to make something worthwhile, I’ve been turned off at every effort that envisions Christmas as something sinister. Even after learning the legend of Krampus years ago on Cracked, I knew that a horror tale involving him would find itself in the schlock/B-movie realm. Well, there is a Krampus movie, called Krampus, and it’s doing exactly that. And it also has a comic book, Krampus: Shadow of Saint Nicholas, that also kind of does exactly that.
While Krampus is still acting as some kind of morality tale, the film is looking to put front and center typical Hollywood horror scares in front of whatever their vision of the meaning of Christmas is meant to be. The comic book, Krampus: Shadow of Saint Nicholas, is also acting as a parable for people too pissy around the season to get more festive, but it does so in somewhat unpleasant methods. An anthology collection spearheaded by Michael Dougherty (Trick ‘r Treat) along with Krampus screenwriters Zach Shields and Todd Casey with renowned comic artists Fiona Staples (Saga), Christian Dibari (Hoax Hunters), Maan House (Witchblade), and Stuart Sayger (Bram Stoker’s Death Ship), Shadow of Saint Nicholas is a bit of a bummer read. Krampus the movie already feels like a joke taken way too far, a comic book building upon that mythology just feels needless and unnecessarily a downer. Yes, it’s a horror comic, but if we’re going into something already so absurd, then let us have some fun.
Across three morality tales — a veteran soldier down on his luck as a store Santa is called to action against malevolent spirits, a cop with a grudge winds up caring for the man who killed her sister, and a “Scrooge” with a real hatred for the poor goes on A Christmas Carol journey after a homeless family take refuge in his house — Hallmark card themes like the spirit of Christmas, charity, and reconciliation are dealt with in brute force. The fourth tale, which brings them all together, is jarringly sweet and sentimental compared to the stand-alone chapters which involve grisly death and uncertain fates.
The art ranges from stunning to dirty and rough, which is perhaps the intention but it’s never been my favorite aesthetic. Fiona Staples, known for her work in Saga, shares the spotlight by taking up work in chapter two. As a Saga fan it was wonderful as always to see Staples at work, but I unfortunately couldn’t say the same for the others. I must clarify that review PDFs are often pixelated so the art I see may look better on paper and not via email, but the rough, grotesque style in the other chapters — especially juxtaposed against the more refined Staples — doesn’t inspire any kind of horror or suspense, just unpleasantness.
Christmas remains a frontier for horror exploration, but we’re still years and years away before the holiday can be morphed masterfully into something sinister. Krampus might, but based on what I’ve seen it’s looking unlikely. Krampus: Shadow of Saint Nicholas is no different.