The Devil of Christmas

Lore & Background

The episode is set in December 1977 and follows an English family arriving at an Austrian Alpine chalet, where their guide tells them the story of the Krampus. It shortly becomes apparent that viewers are watching a film, and a director provides commentary on the events. The critical reception was very strong, with praise directed at the writing, acting and production, with some considering it the best episode of Inside No. 9. As a recreation of 1970s anthology programmes, it was considered a success. The ending, critics noted, was extremely dark; though many offered considerable praise for the final twist, a minority criticised it as gratuitously unpleasant. The episode's ending reveals that the film within the episode was a snuff film, and the main cast were fully aware of this fact.

The episode was filmed on a set constructed at Studio D in the BBC Elstree Centre, using authentic 1970s cameras and lighting equipment. The whole filming process took only two days, with the cast taking minimal breaks.

Reader's Guide

"The Devil of Christmas" is significant as a meta-textual horror episode that blends a period recreation with a modern framing device. Its use of authentic 1970s production techniques—including three Ikegami HK 323 cameras and a single Ikegami HK323P camera—created a deliberately dated aesthetic that critics praised as a successful homage. The episode's legacy lies in its layered narrative: a film-within-a-film that culminates in a snuff film revelation, a twist that divided critics but cemented its reputation as one of the most memorable entries in Inside No. 9. The episode also contributed to the tradition of Christmas ghost stories, updating the format with a brutal, contemporary sensibility. Its strong critical reception and status as a Christmas special helped maintain the series' momentum into its third series.

Did You Know?

• The episode was filmed in only two days, with minimal breaks between shoots.
• Authentic 1970s cameras and lighting equipment were used, including three Ikegami HK 323 cameras.
• Derek Jacobi voiced the director Dennis Fulcher, who provides commentary throughout the episode.

A Love Letter to 1970s Television

The episode was conceived as a deliberate recreation of the classic British anthology horror tradition of the 1970s. Pemberton drew inspiration from programmes like Beasts, Thriller, Tales of the Unexpected, and Armchair Thriller, and insisted the production use authentic period equipment to capture the look and feel of that era. Critics and commentators described the result variously as a homage, a pastiche, a "loving, but merciless" parody, or a spoof of those source materials. Beyond the writers' own cited influences, commentators also identified connections to Acorn Antiques, Psycho, Tales from the Crypt, Dead of Night, Whistle and I'll Come to You, and Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. For Pemberton, the 1970s aesthetic was not merely decorative; he saw it as a literal visual representation of what Inside No. 9 had been doing metaphorically since its very first series. The episode was filmed in the style of a '70s portmanteau horror episode, employing non-standard methods and technologies to achieve an authentic period texture.

Layers of Deception and the Snuff Film Reveal

The episode constructs its narrative through multiple nested layers. On the surface, an English family arrives at an Austrian Alpine chalet in December 1977, where their guide Klaus recounts the legend of the Krampus. But the audience quickly learns they are watching a film, and a director named Dennis Fulcher, voiced by Derek Jacobi, provides running commentary in the style of an audio track, noting continuity errors and actors missing their marks. The story within the film reveals Kathy's infidelity and a sinister twist involving Simon, her lover disguised as the Krampus. Yet the final layer shatters everything: the cameras keep rolling after the scripted scene ends, stagehands prepare an unscripted sequence, and a new Krampus figure armed with a machete approaches a gagged Kathy. Dennis explains that the actress understands what is about to happen and that the audience is witnessing genuine fear. The tape cuts just before the blade falls. Dennis, in what is revealed to be a police interrogation, remarks he is surprised the tape has surfaced again but calls it "one of the better ones." The Devil of Christmas, unbeknownst to its main cast, was a snuff film.

Critical Acclaim and the Weight of the Ending

The critical reception was overwhelmingly positive, with praise directed at the writing, the acting, and the production values. Several critics went so far as to name it the finest episode in the entire Inside No. 9 run, and the recreation of 1970s anthology television was widely regarded as a triumph. The episode also sits comfortably within the broader tradition of Christmas ghost stories, a lineage that stretches back to Charles Dickens and includes the BBC's own A Ghost Story for Christmas series. However, the ending drew a more divided response. Critics universally noted its extreme darkness, and while many offered considerable praise for the final twist and its structural ingenuity, a minority found it gratuitously unpleasant. The decision to frame the horror as a real snuff film, with the director's casual interrogation and the unscripted machete scene, pushed the episode into territory that some viewers found deliberately transgressive. This tension between admiration and discomfort became part of the episode's cultural footprint.

Production Context and the Krampus Inspiration

The third series of Inside No. 9 was confirmed by the BBC in October 2015, following Shearsmith's remarks in May of that year about hoping to make another season. Filming for the series began in January 2016, and "The Devil of Christmas" was positioned as a Christmas special, airing on 27 December 2016 on BBC Two, with the rest of the series following in 2017. The episode was directed by Graeme Harper and written by Shearsmith and Pemberton. The Krampus myth, which forms the story's central legend, came to Pemberton through his own reading. The production employed deliberately non-standard methods and technologies to achieve the period look, and the entire filming process took only two days. This compressed schedule, combined with the use of authentic 1970s equipment, reinforced the episode's commitment to feeling like a genuine artefact from that era of British television rather than a modern production dressed in period costume.