Earlier this year, director
Kevin Smith revealed that another
feature film project had surfaced following an idea that came about during an episode of Smodcast's EDUMACATION podcast with Andy McElfresh. The
Clerks and
Dogma director intended to co-write the script for a film called
Comes the Krampus, which was proposed as a holiday horror anthology that would have Smith directing a segment. Now the film is making moves towards a reality as
THR reports XYZ Films will be selling the project to foreign buyers at Cannes, and
Justin Long,
Haley Joel Osment,
Genesis Rodriguez and
Michael Parks are on board.
For those who don't know, the film will tell the tale of the centuries-old, devil-like creature known the world-over as the Krampus – the “Anti-Claus” of Alpine country folklore, infamous for eating naughty children during the season of giving. And that's why the film has been given the new title of
Anti-Claus. Here's a first look at the terrifying old holiday creature by way of some pretty creepy, gothic concept art:
Smith says, "When I was a kid, if they wanted to make a Christmas horror movie, they’d stick an axe in Santa’s hands. In Anti-Claus, we leave Santa alone and creep with the Krampus through twisted tales of holly-jolly murder, desire, desperation and despair. Just in time for the holiday season.” The filmmaker mentions several tales, and while first word of the project had Smith listing his wife Jennifer Schwalbach, Jason Mewes and Carol Banker as directors for segments, this latest report doesn't mention their involvement in that capacity. However, Mews is listed as executive producer and Schwalbach as producer.
However, it's still believed that Smith will shoot this first before proceeding with his plans for Clerks III, just as we heard in February. And for those keeping score, all of the aforementioned cast members appear in Smith's latest film Tusk, which is slated for release later this year by A24. In addition, Smith is also bringing Tusk's make-up artist, the legendary sound effects man Robert Kurtzman, to help bring the Krampus to life.
As Smith says, "In America, we’re taught that nice kids gets presents from Santa and naughty kids get coal. But in countries like Germany, Austria, Bavaria, Romania and Hungary, Christmas is more metal than merry: Saint Nicholas brings a sack full of toys for good kids and the Krampus carries an empty bag for taking away the bad kids. I wanna see that Christmas movie. So rather than wait for it, we’ll make it instead.” We're definitely interested, but we want to see Tusk first before getting too excited. Sound good?
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