On my interpretation of the ending of Krampus, a reader has given a thoughtful commentary that deserves to be quoted in full:
A Christmas Carol can be seen as an early post-Christian artifact, with firm roots in Christianity that late Victorians and early Edwardians were beginning to see, in the light of scientific materialism, as a mythology like any other. This idea of religion as a source of moral guidance, exhortation, and cultural identity is the reason, in my opinion, for the enduring appeal of Dickens’ tale for us today. We are all post-Christians now, [or] at least we swim in a sea of post-Christianity. If we are anti-spiritual, we tend to be children of de Sade, doing good or bad depending on how we feel, because nothing is true and everything is permitted. If we figure “there must be something out there”, we are usually children of Crowley, and we syncretize whatever myths and legends suit us so we can justify whatever we want to do. We can dream of heaven, and aspire to be angels by our own efforts, but our home is hell, really, and most of us make our peace with it sooner or later.
Krampus is clearly a post-Christian film, and eager to mine the riches of Western Christianity for entertainment. As our culture falls further and further from the idea that there can be such a thing as the truth, and a God who is merciful enough to guide us to it, my hope is for signs of Grace. Will God truly lead the blind on their journey, by paths unknown? In presenting a version of hell as a place of punishment for evil, even in jest, does even a trashy movie like Krampus serve the truth unwittingly?
I don’t want to trivialize the plight of atheists and modern pagans who have no malice, but are simply following the indications of intelligent people who have concluded that there is no God. In the face of a seemingly meaningless universe, is the basis of morality simply the skill and persuasiveness of one’s own meta-narrative? One of our foremost moralists is Oscar Wilde, who wrote one of the best post-Christian fables ever written—”The Selfish Giant.” He converted on his deathbed, but during his life, he could not gather the strength to fight past the prevailing materialism of his day. As our peers engage in the same struggle, it seems heartless to think that pop art cannot have some role in turning our thoughts to the eternal. Maybe Krampus can do that, in a way, while not pandering to “Hallmark” Christian sensibilities.
My Comments:
There is a lot to unpack there. However we approach these dense three paragraphs, I think he is correct that Krampus is a “post-Christian” film. As I argued in my last commentary upon it, Krampus is a deeply Christian character (hypothetical pre-Christian roots notwithstanding), but the film is careful to avoid mention of any specifically religious purpose to the holiday that celebrates the birth of Christ. The movie also deliberately detaches Krampus from the plainly ethical purpose that he previously served: His job, as with most of the companions of Saint Nicholas, was to whip or at least threaten naughty children. In the horror movie, however, his job is to mercilessly destroy anyone who loses some nebulous “Christmas spirit.”
Ironically, this revamped and secularized role for Krampus is more in keeping with the maudlin and commercialized notions of Christmas that the movie artfully skewers in its opening scenes than it is with the original purpose of the holiday. After the filmmakers mock Christmas for becoming crass and commercialized, they might have pointed out what Christmas is really about—and what role Krampus might play in it. But they didn’t have the guts for that, or maybe didn’t have the knowledge or insight, so the result is a schlock horror film with a few laughs and a few thrills but not much of a point.
As for the notion in the final sentences of the comment, that Krampus might turn our thoughts to the eternal, I will say that I found its image of the mouth of hell to be quite frightening—but I am also aware that I say that as a Christian. I similarly found the image of hell at the end of The Mummy Returns frightening. Someone of a different background and different viewpoint, however, might find these images of hell merely thrilling in a theme-park or horror-movie kind of way.
Yes, we can maybe dig some deep themes out of Krampus, but I think it is next to impossible if we don’t already have an understanding of the mythological character and the religious basis of the Christmas holiday. As it stands, the movie is mostly an undemanding and shallow thrill ride.
