A kid gets possessed by an elf, and gets his dunce of a brother to crawl into an oven where then proceeds to cook him. I say “What the fuck?!!”, and thus begins Elves…a sequel to a film I’ve never seen (The Elf for you keeping score at home)…
Things kick into high gear once a group of friends open a chest-full of elf dolls at a holiday soiree. Each friend takes an elf with them and before long they get possessed by the effigies who make them suffer for their “naughtiness”…with predictably murderous results. Will anyone survive the arcane ordeal to see next Christmas?
First things first, as mentioned up yonder, I had never laid my eerie eyeballs on The Elf, and fortunately Director Jamaal Burden has crafted a simple tale that’s easy to follow for neophytes to the franchise. What you get is a big ol’ slice of fruit cake as our troubled heroes take on the visage of the elves as they create all manner of violence and chaos. Speaking of that “elf look”, it’s decidedly a winner as the victims mouths spread and contort and their eyes grow wide as plates via digital wizardry (and you know how I feel about that CG bullshittery)…it’s an effect both comical and disquieting and matches the movies’ tone perfectly.
On the downside, some of the acting is iffy at best…did that matter to your’s cruelly? No, does it ever? As long as a fright flick has heart (this one does) and attempts to try something new (yup on that one here too), it doesn’t matter to me one wit the technical shortcomings…but I know some of you boils n’ ghouls feel differently…so there it is. Additionally, the narrative seems a bit disjointed as we shift focus back and forth with varying degrees of pacing and effectiveness…a tighter polish on the final screenplay may have fixed that one in my opinion.
Bottom line, if you are looking for something a bit different in the ol’ holiday horror sub-genre, Elves may be just what you are lookin’ for; it’s fun and unique, with decent CG effects…just don’t go expecting a Hollywood level of sparkly tinsel style polish.
Be sure to read our interview with Elves Producer Justin Price right here!
