Michael Dougherty’s Krampus starts principal photography

Last Updated on July 22, 2021

The only thing that could possibly make me wish it were December already is this naughty little bastard!

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 (TRICK R TREAT) 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”, Academy Award nominee Toni Collette (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.”

Coming from that man, those are serious words!