You better watch out because Krampus released in 2015, and you can thank Wētā Workshop for summoning him up from the depths of the workshop floor, along with a cavalcade of bloodthirsty Christmas beasties. 

This black comedy horror from Legendary Pictures was written and directed by Michael Dougherty and features a cast that includes Adam Scott and Toni Collette. The production was principally filmed in Wellington, at Stone Street Studios. The film showcases visual effects from Wētā Digital and practical effects and concept design from Wētā Workshop. All three companies are situated just a stone’s throw from each other on the Miramar Peninsula.

Krampus takes its cue from fun and festive 1980s fight fests like Gremlins, with puppetry, animatronics and sundry other practical effects taking centre stage. The crew at Wētā Workshop embraced the task enthusiastically, providing physical effects for makeup, speciality costume, speciality props and creatures. The crew helped to design, refine and handled the complete manufacture of items including Krampus’ ornate 21-foot-long sleigh, festooned with bells, chains and human remains. 

The crew also helped to craft and manufacture the horrific array of creatures that terrorise the dysfunctional families throughout the film. Included in this monstrous line-up are dark Christmas elves, gingerbread and snowmen, a teddy bear with beastly fangs, a cherub who is anything but, and a jack in the box with a most unpleasant surprise waiting inside.  

And most terrifying of them all? Krampus himself. Standing upright on two cloven hooves, this towering interpretation of Saint Nicholas’ shadow was large enough to have a grown man controlling it from the inside, and Wētā Workshop’s own technician turned actor, Luke Hawker, was the man for the job. 

“Performing a seven-foot demon was not without its challenges,” says Luke. “With leg, arm and finger extensions under a suit that weighed over half my body weight, seeing the world through nothing more than a tiny camera hidden in the head, created some hurdles in terms of performance and balance. But with an amazingly supportive stunt team and my infinitely awesome colleagues at Wētā Workshop, we were able to create a pretty awesome and frighteningly believable creature.” 

Wētā Workshop co-founder, CEO and chief creative officer Richard Taylor was thrilled to have been involved in the production, which took him back to his horror-movie roots. “This is a classic 80s monster movie,” says Richard. “It’s what we live for and what gets us up in the morning. It’s still hand-operated, rod-controlled puppetry. It throws you straight back to the early days of making movies, and that is a special place to be.”