Advent (2024) Review

In Advent, folk horror meets social media with disastrous results for a desperate YouTuber. Two things associated with the Christmas holiday are combined: the mythological Krampus, traditional tormentor of bad children, and the Advent calendar, with its format of a surprise for each day.

There’s something very wrong with this particular Advent calendar. Because it’s really a Krampus calendar. This gateway to hell is not located underneath a remote monastery or abbey. It’s right there in the home.

Hayley, an unemployed young woman interested in folklore, and a small following of social media subscribers, announces new content. For 25 days in December, she will follow the instructions of the weird calendar sent to her by a mysterious figure.

Instead of candy, the calendar offers a daily challenge, perfect for social media. And a Krampus calendar as the villain may be preferable to someone romping around in a Krampus costume.

While Advent does have some good things going for it, the drama is undercut by the predictable structure dictated by the calendar. Some variations of the Krampus legend tie the Krampus figure to a particular night in December. Twenty-five days of Krampus is a lot.

No, you won’t see all 25 posts. But a professor of folklore character reveals upcoming plot points in short documentary-style segments. While the amiable professor gives some of the protagonist’s backstory, unfortunately, he provides too much front story.

The low-budget film is shot in and around a single home and succeeds in creating a claustrophobic feel. The lead character’s isolation fits in this small space. She has only one friend, has a poor relationship with her alcoholic father, and her daily posts are the only contact she makes with anyone outside of her tiny orbit.

Confined to the small house and immediate surroundings, Advent is fraught with “paranormal activities” and spooky object permanence distortions.

While the overly structured storytelling doesn’t succeed, leads Rasina Pavlova and Cory Peterson (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) are quite good. Their portrayal of the tension between the father and daughter adds emotional depth. Nicholas Vince (Hellraiser, How to Kill Monsters) chimes in as the folkloric professor.

The drawings accompanying several of the calendar challenges are creative and entertaining. Composer Will Gold (Punch) provides a bonus: a score good enough for a bigger-budget film.

Movie Rating:

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