Even though Kevin Smith already announced he’d be directing his own Christmas horror anthology Anti-Klaus, originally titled Comes The Krampus, Legendary has decided one movie about the hellish Bizzaro Santa Claus wasn’t enough – so they greenlit their own! Yup, throwing their hat into the holiday horror ring, Trick ‘R Treat director Michael Dougherty has been tapped to direct Krampus, a “a twisted horror comedy” said to be reminiscent of Dougherty’s Halloween anthology Trick ‘R Treat.
Dougherty has been hired to direct and co-write the project along with scribes Todd Casey and Zach Shields, a decision that will surely upset Trick ‘R Treat fans who have been patiently waiting for their long-teased sequel. While it was announced back in October that Dougherty would in fact be writing and directing Trick ‘R Treat 2, his involvement with Krampus is sure to push back any sequel work he’d previously planned.
While horror community members are already starting to wish he’d quit stalling and just make Trick ‘R Treat 2, I can’t say I’m too disappointed to hear Dougherty will be taking his talents to a different season. He’s already dominated Halloween, creating the iconic cult figure Sam, but setting his sadistic sights on Christmas opens a whole new universe to play with. As we know by this point, Krampus is an evil figure you’d rather avoid during Xmas activities – a character begging for a true horror adaptation. Looking back on Trick ‘R Treat, Dougherty’s focused anthology format should work wonders by making Krampus a central character who interacts with numerous no-goodniks, and I’m excited to see his originality flourish before sticking razors in candied apples once again.
I’m also wondering if Kevin Smith heard about Dougherty’s next project before we did, because originally Clerks III was on his slate first – until he decided Anti-Klaus was more important. “Nobody but me can make a Clerks film, but ANYONE can make a Krampus picture!” It looks like Smith’s wintery nightmare has come true, but Smith should be beating Legendary to the punch on this one as I can’t see Krampus hitting theaters before Christmas 2015.
As someone with a fondness for blood-splattered snow (in movies), adoring such films as Black Christmas (the original), Silent Night, and Jack Frost (no, not the Michael Keaton one, either), I say the more Krampus the better. There’s no doubt in my mind Michael Dougherty’s Krampus will not resemble Kevin Smith’s Anti-Klaus in the least, and as long as Dougherty is working on SOMETHING, I’m a happy horror fan.
What do you think – which Christmas horror anthology are you looking forward to more?