Take one part mythical, German, devil-like creature, mix in some holiday cheer as well as two parts of a should-be horror film, and you get Krampus: the Christmas movie that did not make me believe.

As the folklore goes, a “Krampus” is an Austro-Bavarian, German-speaking, Alpine, horned goat-devil.

He originates from pre-Christian traditions and his motive is to visit around Christmastime and beat children who have misbehaved or are on Saint Nicholas’ naughty list.

Learning this prior to seeing the movie, I was ready for a hilariously scary combo.

An extended family gets together right before Christmas to celebrate.

Mom Sarah, played by Toni Collette, and Dad Tom, played by Adam Scott, have two children: Beth, played by Stefania LaVie Owen, and Max, played by Emjay Anthony.

This year, the holiday cheer has fizzled, leaving some other family members to have distance between each other.

Max is determined to bring back the love but ultimately changes his mind when his nosey cousins get a hold of his Christmas wish to Santa and read it out loud at the dinner table.

Livid, Max rips apart the letter and throws it out the window.

As if Santa himself was watching Max, suddenly a large snowstorm appears and cuts out the neighborhood’s power.

Mysterious things begin to happen afterward: a snowman appears in their front yard out of nowhere and a sack of presents are left on the front porch.

Beth then gives up on her family and the weird happenings that are taking place and heads to her nearby boyfriend’s house.

While walking, she hears sleigh bells and is caught off guard as she looks up and sees a horned figure on a rooftop.

Krampus and  his posse of possessed toys and gang of evil gingerbread cookies are here to make the family have good Christmas faith.

The story is original and I haven’t seen a Christmas horror concoction like this since the 1996 film Jack Frost.

That being said, Krampus left me wondering at parts: should I laugh or should I be scared now?

That teetering of emotions is what ultimately killed it.

The movie was average, at best. Krampus has a solid group of actors and actresses, but they seemed so uninterested that a horrifying creature is looking to beat the crap out of them, that it left me uninterested, as well.

It speaks volumes of a Christmas horror movie if I am more afraid of the Grinch rather than the spooky, larger-than-life goat playing the main character of said Christmas horror movie.

I give Krampus 3 out of 5 stars.

Rose Sacco can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]