KRAMPUS (Rated PG-13)

For the first scene of “Krampus,” don’t be fooled by Bing Crosby’s classic holiday song, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” blaring in the background of a big box story opening its doors to Christmas shoppers on Black Friday.

Based on ancient folklore traced back through centuries of European culture, a horned beast named Krampus captured disobedient children during the Christmas season. You could say that the nasty demon with cloven-hooves was the anti-Santa Claus.

It is also possible to think that Krampus might find Black Friday his favorite day of the year, if the European myth should somehow take hold over here. After all, the frenzied scene of deranged shoppers mauling each other for toys would be fertile ground for the demon’s mayhem.

Somewhere in snowy Pennsylvania, the Engel family is only days away from Christmas.

Patriarch Tom (Adam Scott), a workaholic, constantly travels or stays on the phone. His wife Sarah (Toni Collette), a harried mom, strives for Martha Stewart-like perfection.

Teenager Beth (Stefania LaVie Owen) is looking for ways to escape the family to spend time with her boyfriend.

The pre-adolescent yet sensitive Max (Emjay Anthony) wants to believe in Santa Claus but has become disillusioned after too much squabbling with family members.

The Christmas spirit at the Engel household is about to be crushed with the arrival of dreaded house guests, namely Sarah’s sister Linda (Allison Tolman) and her extended family.

A loutish brute, Uncle Howard (David Koechner, always ready for this type of role) is perpetually loud and obnoxious. It might have something to do with the fact that he’s a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, though being a Philadelphia Eagles fan would do just as well.

Howard and Linda’s brood of three bratty children are equally abrasive and insufferable. The chubby Howard Jr. (Maverick Flack) just might eat everything in sight. His sisters Stevie and Jordan (Lolo Owen and Queenie Samuel) dress like tomboys and lack good manners.

But the icing on the cake is taken by the clan’s Aunt Dorothy (Conchata Ferrell), a politically incorrect, hard-drinking naysayer who makes it clear she didn’t even like children when she was one. It doesn’t take long for the cranky Dorothy to complain about the food and decorations.

Tensions flare at the first family dinner when Max’s cousins make fun of his letter to Santa Claus, causing him to bolt to his room. Tearing up the letter, he tosses it into the wind outside his bedroom window.

Of course, this is a big mistake. A freakish blizzard soon arrives to cut off electricity and heat. Cell phones and the Internet get no service. The suburban neighborhood becomes a ghost town. And then ominous snowmen appear in the front yard.

A delivery man shows up with strange packages. Against common sense and everyone’s wishes, Beth decides to go looking for her boyfriend. When she fails to return, Tom and Howard set out as a search party, only to encounter true menace in a subterranean monster.

Retreating back to the Engel home, Tom and Howard warn the others of what becomes readily apparent. Strange, unexplained events are leading to palpable fear that something has gone terribly wrong. Soon enough, the house is under attack from the weird minions of Krampus.

Only Max’s immigrant grandmother Omi (Krista Stadler), who speaks German most of the time, is able to explain that the chaos is caused by the mythical Krampus, who comes to punish the naughty and unleash darkness and mayhem.

All hell breaks loose as the twisted doppelgangers of beloved holiday icons, from frost-bitten snowmen and cherubs, taken on a monstrous life of their own, laying siege to the fractured family’s home and forcing them to fight for survival.

Cuddly teddy bears turn feral and cute little dolls become satanic creatures bent on killing. Even tasty little gingerbread men come alive, gleefully using a nail gun as a nasty weapon. A jack-in-the-box stages a real fright.

Touted as a horror-comedy, “Krampus” lives up to its billing, with some amusing humor interspersed with the family quarrels and the need to take caution with certain holiday baked goods. The horror part is nicely delivered by the imaginative use of making toys deadly dangerous.

But the siege by demonic cookies and toys is just a prelude to bigger things to come. As if to signal Armageddon, the house is invaded by evil elves bent on a deadly mission. And then, Krampus, a hulking beast, finally makes his presence known.

“Krampus” aspires to be a dark and subversive alternative to traditional classic holiday fare, and it does have something to offer if you are game for some twisted holiday fun.

Yet, “Krampus” is not likely to be a holiday classic in its own right, and it certainly is not the type of family-friendly entertainment designed for the enjoyment of younger children.

After seeing “Krampus,” I am taking no chances. A letter to Santa Claus is in the mail as soon as I find a stamp. And I am not asking for anything for myself, for fear of a strange package showing up at my door.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.