Mike Dougherty and David Koechner Turn Tradition on Its Head in ‘Krampus’

Director Mike Dougherty has already delivered a Halloween classic. Now it’s time to see what he can do with Christmas. It’s been six years since Dougherty’s feature directorial debut, Trick ‘r Treat, hit DVD and gained a massive following, but he’s finally back behind the lens with Krampus. The movie centers on a dysfunctional family who just can’t get along, even during the holiday. When all the fighting causes young Max (Emjay Anthony) to lose his Christmas spirit, he winds up unleashing Krampus, an evil creature that targets and punishes the non-believers.

Krampus isn’t hitting theaters until December 4th, but Universal held an early press day at the ScareHouse in Pittsburgh where I got the opportunity to sit down with Dougherty and David Koechner to discuss making the movie. Check out what they told me about the Krampus mythology, the creature’s scare tactics, the exhausting experience of being dragged through the snow, how Dougherty made ADR a terrifying task for Koechner and much more.

By Perri Nemiroff

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