Loot Crate’s Loot Fright crates are one of the most popular crate lines we offer. Lovers of horror usually start young (I saw Alien when I was 7 years old), and that love will stay with us until we’re a handsome pile of bones hanging outside someone’s door every Halloween (that’s actually in my will).
Our new Loot Fright crate theme – Roasting on an Open Fire – introduces Monster Seasons by artist Alex Pardee. Monster Seasons is a series of holiday-themed figures created from the mind of Alex. For the first figure, Alex gave us his spin of Krampus, the mythical Christmas creature who punishes children that have misbehaved. Alex’s take on Krampus is both unique and exciting. We had a chance to interview Alex about his partnership with Loot Crate, his creative process, and what his favorite holiday-horror themed movies are.
Check out this exclusive interview with Alex and grab your Roasting on an Open Fire Loot Fright crate before they sell out!
How did your partnership with Loot Crate begin?
I got the opportunity because I have worked with some of the Loot Crate team in other aspects in the past, and kept in communication with them over time as they grew to where they are now. Loot Crate actually approached me to collaborate on their Loot Fright Crate, and I jumped at the chance. At first, because they do so much cool licensed stuff, we were considering teaming me up with another horror property and making something that people may already be familiar with, but the more we talked, the more it made sense for me to pitch them something more personal and original, which is where my “Monster Season” series came into play. And that seemed like a great fit all around because on one hand, you have these holiday icons (Krampus, The Easter Bunny, etc) that fans are familiar with, but on the other hand you have my demented little weird spin on the folklore and the designs. That made it really fun.
How did Monster Seasons come about?
I’m always looking for an idea that FEELS like it’s always existed, but for the most part, it hasn’t. Like I imagine when Peanut Butter and Jelly was discovered, whoever ate it was like “C’mon, this HAS to have already been a thing for while, right!?” And MONSTER SEASON was kind of like that for me. I absolutely love most holidays, and the lore behind a lot of the iconic characters has always been really interesting to me. Seeing how the lore usually started hundreds of years ago from other cultures and then twisted and deformed into the more commercial lore that we all know about today, made me interested in imagining if that lore got twisted in a different direction. A direction that fit the other type of mythology I admire, which is monsters. There has definitely been loose similar concepts over the years, and I’m not comparing this to peanut butter and jelly (which is pretty incomparable) but what interested me about creating this was that I got to use very loose and scattered existing lore as an inspiration to create MY versions of what these holiday icons might be if they existed in some parallel universe.
What was your creative process in designing Mr. Krampus?
In terms of the actual design and “look” of Mr. Kramp, I wanted to keep a similar spirit to the iconic physical traits of Krampus: Horns, fur, hoofs, a bag with a kid in it, etc. But a lot of the existing Krampus designs portray him as this cool, badass demon, almost muscular and vicious. The lore that I created around Mr. Kramp involves a portley high school teacher getting BITTEN by a Krampus and thus, evolving into a Krampus himself, so I wanted the design of his body to be all different than usual.
Regarding the approach to the design of the TOY, however, was very different than when I’m just scribbling or splattering paint. In my case, I’m a mess when I draw or paint. Not just a mess, like there’s garbage all around and paint splatters. More like I just scribble and scribble and make up these shapes and forms that couldn’t really exist in real life, but they aesthetically work on paper in two dimensions. But when I am designing a toy or a sculpture, I have to keep in mind that at least SOME rules of physics have to exist. So I still approach the design similarly. I scribble until something looks and feels right. But then, I spend days pulling the 3 hairs I have left in my head out trying to figure out how that one weird scribble would look from the front, back, side, etc. Which is very hard for me.
What future seasons can fans look forward to?
We’ve talked about some obscure holidays, which I have some fun ideas for but not sure if I can discuss them. But we will for sure explore some of the more iconic holidays, like Easter, and Valentine’s Day, that are RIPE for making more demented versions of.
Are there other genres besides horror you’d like to make designs for?
I love horror, but also I love sci-fi and fantasy. There’s a big crossover there so its not that much of a departure. I would LOVE to design some cute children’s toys though, non-horror, G-rated. I think that would be a fun experiment since I have no idea when I’m being demented.
With the mixing of horror and holidays, what is your favorite horror and favorite holiday film?
I think my favorite Horror-Holiday film will have to be the anthology film TRICK r TREAT. It has such a good Halloween vibe and it has a lot of FUN, which seems to go missing from a lot of horror movies these days. But I love the original BLACK CHRISTMAS film too. It’s so messed up.
Thanks to Alex for the interview and we’re really excited about Monster Seasons and the awesome creatures he will be designing for future crates.
Don’t forget to grab your Roasting on an Open Fire Loot Fright crate before they sell out because once they’re gone, they’re gone. And that’s one nightmare you don’t want to experience!
