Scary Christmas

Krampus-themed movie marathon offers holiday scares

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The second annual Krampus Recommends Movie Marathon is coming this weekend to Thomas Branigan Memorial Library.

On Saturday, Nov. 30, the Las Cruces Public Libraries will host free screenings of four movies “in honor of Santa’s scarier and more violent partner from central European folklore,” per a news release.

The first two films are rated PG-13, while the latter two are rated R.

The marathon begins at 10:30 a.m. with “Black Christmas,” a 2019 slasher film in which a group of female college students during Christmas break confront a serial killer operating from a secret society on their campus. The film is rated PG-13 and runs 92 minutes.

Krampus himself takes center stage for a 12:15 p.m. showing of “Krampus,” a 2015 release about a young boy who unwittingly summons a demonic Christmas guardian who unleashes monsters and mayhem on a family that has lost its holiday spirit. Rated PG-13, the film runs 98 minutes.

A darker comedy follows at 2 p.m. with “Bad Santa,” a 2003 film starring Billy Bob Thornton about a con man who works as a department store Saint Nick, but robs the stores he visits. The cast also features Bernie Mac, Lauren Graham (of “Gilmore Girls” fame) and John Ritter in his final live-action film appearance. “Bad Santa” is rated R and runs 95 minutes.

The marathon concludes with a 3:45 p.m. screening of “The Ref,” a comical crime caper in which a burglar on the lam takes a bickering married couple hostage on Christmas eve and comes to feel like he is their referee. One reviewer described the 1994 release as “a Christmas movie for people who don't like Christmas movies.” It is rated R and runs 97 minutes.

The movies are showing for free in the Roadrunner room at Branigan Memorial Library, 200 E. Picacho Avenue. Attendees are welcome to bring light snacks, the city stated.

More information is available via librarian Deanna Duffy at 575-528-4005 or dduffy@lascruces.gov.

Krampus, Gruß vom Krampus

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