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Christmas horror has become a subgenre unto itself, a refuge for those who love to inject a little Halloween revelry into their holiday festivities. It's home to one of the earliest slasher movies, iconic creature features like Gremlins, and just recently added the gorefest Terrifier 3 to its ranks. But one of the best, and least talked about, examples has to be 2015's Krampus, a film that strikes an ideal balance between its horror and Christmas movie elements.

Directed by Trick r' Treat's Michael Dougherty, the film was a modest financial success, earned decent reviews upon its release, and has developed a small cult following in the nine years since. But for those who've never seen it or haven't in a while, its critiques of rampant consumerism and ideological divides have only become more relevant in the almost-decade since its premiere. Movie fans looking for an antidote to all the warm and fuzzy Christmas classics,...

Here are the films opening theatrically in the U.S. the week of Friday, December 4. All synopses provided by distributor unless listed otherwise. Wide Chi-Raq Director: Spike Lee Cast: Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Hudson, Teyonah Parris, D.B. Sweeney, Harry Lennix, Steve Harris, Angela Bassett, John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Piven, Common Synopsis: "After the murder of a child by a stray bullet, a group of women led by Lysistrata organize against the on-going violence in Chicago’s Southside creating a movement that challenges the nature of race, sex and violence in America and around the world." Criticwire Grade Average: A- (4 reviews) Krampus Director: Michael Dougherty Cast: Adam Scott, Toni Collette, Allison Tolman, David Koechner, Emjay Anthony, Stefania Lavie Owen, Queenie Samuel Synopsis: "A horror comedy based on the ancient legend about a pagan creature who punishes children on Christmas." The Letters Director: William...

Despite early hesitations, I’m thankfully here to preach the good word about Michael Dougherty’s Krampus. After slapping a PG-13 rating on their snowy thriller, part of me expected Universal to roll out a watered-down version of Trick-r-Treat-Meets-Christmas – but damn was I proven wrong. With a pinch of Amblin and a dash of Joe Dante, Michael Dougherty finds a style deserving of his own name this holiday season.

For those of you who’ve been complaining about the non-existence of Trick ‘r Treat 2, I promise that Krampus will provide the gleeful holiday chaos that makes your patience for more of Dougherty’s Halloween horrors worthwhile. The film might start a bit on the slow side, but when Dougherty’s fantastically fucked-up fairtytale hits its stride, oh what a winter slaughterhouse this picturesque Martha-Stewart-display becomes.

Krampus starts like any typical Christmas Eve meal between family members. Sarah (Toni Collette) prepares...

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Trick 'R Treat's Michael Dougherty returns with Christmas horror, Krampus. Here's our review...

You don’t have to look hard to find a creepy side to Christmas. There’s the whole idea that Father Christmas is making a list of naughty boys and girls, who’ll be punished rather than treated on December 25th; there are those weird elves that parents are meant to put up on shelves to keep an eye on their kids; and, well, there’s Carol Of The Bells, which is most sinister piece of supposedly festive music ever written. Horror films haven’t been slow to pick up on it either and this year, to add to an already fairly long list of Yuletide horrors (Black Christmas, Silent Night Deadly Night, Saint, Santa’s Slay…) there’s Krampus.

Directed by Michael Dougherty, the man responsible for the Halloween-themed anthology Trick R Treat,...