Every holiday has a dark side and Christmas is no exception.  German and Austrian legends hold that “Krampus” lurks about, ready to punish naughty children.  Now there is a film about this particular Grinch, and while it has some areas of merit, mostly it’s a shaggy dog tale.

Michael Dougherty’s film is strong on atmosphere, as an extremely dysfunctional family triggers the arrival of Krampus, described as “the shadow of St. Nick.”  But just exactly what Krampus wants, or does, with the family members he and his grotesque minions abduct is more mystery than horror.  One child is shown being swallowed by an ugly clown toy, but we never see anyone else actually come to harm.  Instead, they simply disappear, which is admittedly creepy.

Some of the crude humor is amusing, yet the best thing about Krampus is its most artistic facet.  Granny tells the story of the devilish spirit back in Germany, illustrated through a basic but very evocative style of animation.  That was easily the coolest thing in the movie.

Despite the film’s low-level logic and rather stupid, annoying characters I was kind of enjoying Krampus as a guilty pleasure — until the ending. Anyone who has ever seen Wisdom will understand the total, utter frustration of devoting an hour and a half to a movie, just to learn . . . well, I’ll let you figure it out.  It isn’t difficult.  ☆ 1/2.  21 Dec. 2015.