The Art of Krampus by Michael Mallory

The Art of Krampus Reviews

• 
  Art of the Film

  The new film "Krampus" provides an original and terrifying perspective on the Christmas season. I am a fan of director Michael Dougherty, whose last film "Trick 'r Treat" was immaculately designed - and it looks like he has done it again here because the film looks great.
  
  The book
  "The Art of Krampus" allows fans to delve into the designs of the film. Inside you'll find wonderfully creepy designs of holiday icons - including snowmen, elves, and gingerbread men. It's fascinating to see something so innocent - such as a teddy bear - turned into something evil and quite scary. Then there's Krampus himself: the book discusses all aspects of the character (including casting an actor to inhabit the role; and designing his look and costume). Because Krampus is well-known in European mythology, the character already had certain defining characteristics (the horns, for example). But the filmmakers also had freedom to make their Krampus slightly unique and specific to their story. I love the final look of the character in the film, but it's also fascinating to see early concept art and variations of the character in this book.
  
  Author Michael Mallory chronicles the entire journey of the film - script development and design work all the way through shooting and scoring. It was interesting to read about the challenges of filming and trying to capture as much in-camera as they could. The film utilizes practical effects, makeup, and puppetry whenever possible - digital effects were a last resort for things that could not be achieved another way. Given the quality of work on display, I wasn't surprised to learn that Weta Workshop was responsible for much of it. Weta is the best in the business, and the book shows the complexity of the animatronics and makeup effects used to bring the characters to life.
  
  The book is full of imagery - this includes conceptual artwork and character sketches; storyboards of key sequences; and behind the scenes photos from the set and the creature shop. Photos are high-quality and the overall layout of the book is very pleasing. It all comes together to make "The Art of Krampus" a very interesting read for what is a compelling movie from a visionary filmmaker.
  
  Review originally published on
  MovieArtBook.com
• 
  Horror DNA

  You've seen the Krampus movie, right? Because getting
  Michael Mallory's The Art of Krampus, or even looking through it, before you've seen the film is going to ruin quite a few spoiler moments. So if you haven't seen the flick then go check it out in the theater. It's a good bit of holiday horror fun.
  
  That out of the way, this coffee-table book is a handsome companion to the movie. It starts with a foreword from director Michael Dougherty about some of his earliest Christmas memories to how he decided to finally do a Krampus movie.
  
  What follows is a detailed, comprehensive look at the behind-the-scenes of the movie. From early concept photos right into the production, which was shot primarily in New Zealand, the book doesn't skimp on artwork and photos. If you know anything about Dougherty then you know he's a great artist – check out some of his art from his first flick Trick or Treat to see what I mean – and you can find plenty of his artwork inside.
  
  You can read R.J.'s full review at Horror DNA by
  clicking here.
• 
  B.

  I loved the concept art, especially the outdoor scenes, but I found the writing somewhat frustrating. There are multiple pieces of information and verbatim text that get repeated twice or a few times, both between the introduction and the main text and within the main text, more so than I think I normally see in such books. And there are several errors (none of the monsters can be called "cannibalistic" for eating humans as they are not human themselves, and gingerbread men, monstrous or not, cannot be "crisp dough" because...that's not dough anymore.) I felt like it needed just a bit more editing to bring the text up to the level of the images.
  Also, I do not like it when art-of books refuse to discuss the film's ending. The idea that anyone reads these BEFORE the film with the expectation that they won't be spoiled is a tad silly. (And the book does spoil everything else...)
  
  Still, it's a worthy book for any fan of the movie or of Krampus. It isn't as elaborate as other releases from Insight Editions--it hasn't got any inserted bits of paper or foldouts--but that also means you don't need to deal with any obscured text.
• 
  Dan

  One of the best Making of/Art of books that I've ever read. Beautifully done, and extremely informative.
  
• 
  Eve

  Written by Michael Mallory, this 160-page full-color coffee table book from Insight Editions delves into the concept and art design, as well as the practical and digital effects for Michael Dougherty’s new Christmas horror film, Krampus.
  
  Read my full review of The Art of Krampus here:
  
  
  http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2015/12/07...
  
  
• 
  Don

  Beautifully done look at the art design from the Movie