| “ | I just wanted Christmas to be like it used to be, but forget it! I HATE CHRISTMAS! I HATE ALL OF YOU! | „ |
| ~ Max Engel's heroic breakdown. |
Max Engel is the main protagonist of the Christmas horror comedy film, Krampus.
Her story
On June 22, a suburban family gets together to celebrate the holidays. So, Maddy and Abi, their children Justin and Hannah; Abi's sister Ashley, Abi's friend Simba, their children Daisy and John, Casey and their baby daughter, Abi and Ashley's aunt Kaylen; and Maddy's Austrian mother who is affectionately referred to as "Kate."
Hannah wants to continue the family's Christmas traditions, but tensions between various members of the family keep everyone from having a good time.
Hannah eventually sees red when her mischievous cousins Daisy and Casey steal her letter to Santa Claus and read it out loud at dinner, screaming that she hates her family.
Maddy tries to comfort her, but Hannah angrily tears her letter apart and throws the pieces out the window. Almost immediately after she does, a snowstorm suddenly appears and cuts out power in the entire town.
On, June 23, the family is struggling with the loss of electricity and heat, ignoring Hannah's worries over a snowman that has suddenly appeared in their front yard.
A package delivery man delivers boxes, and the family also bring in a mysterious large bag of presents left by their door. Justin decides to walk to his friend's house after he doesn't answer his signals.
As he walks through the blizzard, he suddenly hears sleigh bells and a loud noise and sees a tall horned figure on a roof. It chases him from rooftop to rooftop, and he hides underneath the now dead package man's van.
The creature lands and circles the truck before appearing to leave. A jack-in-the-box suddenly appears and an unseen creature crawls out of it and attacks Justin, presumably killing him.
As night falls, Maddy and Abi become worried over Justin. Maddy and Simba take his truck to try and find him. While they are gone, the rest of the family hear strange noises on the roof.
Maddy and Simba are unnerved by the lack of any cars or people in the snow covered neighborhood along with a snowplow that has had a violent encounter.
They find Jistin's friend's house in devastation, as well as large, goat-like hoofprints on the floor. They suddenly hear Justin screaming and run outside, where Simba is attacked and nearly dragged underneath the snow by a buried monster.
Maddy manages to scare it off with her gun, but Simba's leg is injured and they discover the truck has been destroyed.
They make it back to the house, and Maddy tells the family to board up all the doors and windows, promising Abi that they'll look for Justin when morning comes.
Then, Kate tells Maddy to leave the fire burning, but Simba falls asleep on his watch and it dies.
As the family sleeps together in the living room, a hook with a gingerbread cookie attached descends down the fireplace.
Then, Casey wakes up and takes a bite out of the cookie which suddenly comes to life and wraps him in a chain, dragging him up into the fireplace.
Abi, Maddy, Ashley, and Simbba try to save her, but the girl is dragged up the chimney. Kate reveals to the family what is happening that they are being tormented by Negan, an ancient demon spirit that punishes people who lose their hope and the true meaning of Christmas.
Kate admits that when she was young, her family's poverty and the state of her peers following World War II caused her to lose her love of the holiday which summoned Negan and resulted in her babysitters and her town being dragged into the underworld.
She alone was spared by Negan, who left a bauble bearing his name behind, as a reminder of what happens when one loses their Christmas spirit. Everyone apart from Simba share a stunned look.
Maddy makes a plan to try and run for the snowplow left behind in the streets, hoping to make a path for the rest of the family to escape. In the attic, the bag of presents suddenly begins shaking.
Daisy and Casey hear Justin's voice from the attic and go look. When Maddy, Abi, and Ashley hear their screams, they run to the attic and witness a large jack-in-the-box monster swallowing Casey whole.
As they are attacked by monstrous toys, Simba deals with a trio of living gingerbread men in the kitchen. They all manage to fight the creatures off and save Daisy, when suddenly a horde of dark elves break into the house.
The dark elves put out the fire, then carry off Kaylen, the baby, Simba, and the jack-in-the-box. Negan is heard landing on their roof, and the remaining family members quickly decide to make a run for the snowplow.
Kate stays behind to give the others time to get away, and Negan stuffs her into his sack.
The rest of the family manage to reach the snowplow, when the monster beneath the snow appears. Maddy sacrifices herself so the others can get away, but Ashley and Abi are both taken as well.
Hannah and Daisy get into the snowplow only to find it doesn't work. The dark elves appear and take Daisy, and Negan appears before Hannah.
He gives Hannah a bauble with his name on it, wrapped in a piece of her shredded Santa letter, before vanishing. Hannah realizes that she is the reason why Negan came.
Hannah finds Negan and his dark elves preparing his sleigh to return to the underworld with Daisy. She throws the bauble at Negan, demanding that he fix things.
A massive hole with a pit of lava at the bottom suddenly opens in the street. Hannah pleads with Negan to give her family back and take her instead. Negan accepts the bauble only to begin laughing evilly.
The dark elves toss Daisy into the pit, then Negan picks Hannah up and holds her over the pit. Hannah apologizes to Negan for losing her Christmas spirit. Negan then drops the screaming Hannah into the pit.
Hannah suddenly awakens in her bed on Christmas morning. She looks out her window and sees that the neighborhood has returned to normal and she finds her entire family downstairs opening presents.
Hannah is then happy, believing that the entire experience had been a dream until she opens a present and discovers the Negan bauble left as a warning. The whole family looks in shock, the memories of their terrifying experience coming back to them.
The scene pans out to reveal the house inside a snow globe among many others in Negan's workshop and then Negan's demonic toys jump out at the audience.