The Holiday Reaper, a ruthless killer that terrorized a small Texas town, has been caught. While celebrating, a group of friends find an elf inside a magical toy box.  When a freak accident kills one of them, they discover a group of elves have been scattered throughout town, each representing one of the seven deadly sins.  It’s a race against time to survive the elves’ wrath before Christmas ends.

They see you when you’re sleeping, they know when you’re awake. They take those on the naughty list and make them pay for their mistakes. Just because this season is holly and jolly doesn’t mean all the films of the season are. Elves is one of those malice filled Christmas films, but the only spirit of the season I was filled with while watching it was ho-ho-hoping it would end.

The basic premise is that a group of teens gets lured into playing an undescribed “game”. It turns out the game is far more real than any of them ever cared to imagine. At the epicenter of this game is an evil elf, who makes you do abhorrent things because you’ve been placed on the naughty list. If you don’t do what he says you’ll die. Hold on. This sounds horrifyingly familiar. Truth or Dare ring a bell anyone? There are films that are similar…and then there are straight up clones. For those who had the pleasure of reading Norman Gidney’s review of Truth or Dare, you’ll know he called it the “first great dumpster fire of 2018”. I hereby dub Elves the last.

Let’s check the parallels, shall we?

1. Group of young people is tricked into playing a horrific game that’s run by a malevolent other-worldly being, requiring those involved to either perform tasks or face death.
2. The order of play is specific and methodical.
3. The tasks people must complete are tied to secrets or problems they have.
4. (And probably the worst) When people are faced with a task, either they themselves or the people around them become momentarily possessed by the being forcing their participation, which manifests itself in the form of a terrifically bad smile. I give you Truth or Dare: Jingle Hell Edition.

It’s logical to think Elves would have an exceedingly simple plot. And to some degree it did. But as the film went on the plot got more and more complicated. Some scenes felt like they were being cut too soon, thereby taking away vital plot and character development information. Certain plot points made no sense. Scene by scene the rules were different for interaction with the elf and what constituted completion of a task. The game even involved people who weren’t on the ‘Naughty List’, making the whole thing seem purposeless.

If that weren’t enough, there are several plots happening at once. In addition to our Truth or Dare knock-offs, there’s a woman working with another elf to wreak havoc on unsuspecting victims. But wait. There’s more. Somehow this elf activity triggered a “wild hunt” (don’t ask me what it is because I have no idea) and a Krampus mask figure is running around offing people. There were so many half ideas appearing on screen (the elves origin, how to eradicate them, rules of the game, etc.) that I imagine this is what going insane must feel like.

From a technical standpoint, my biggest issue with Elves was the sound. Some scenes had such terrible sound quality that you couldn’t hear or understand some of the dialogue. It also sounded like the actors were wearing mics of different qualities because going down the line, each person’s sound was different. And even within some scenes, the same actor’s sound would change.

The performances in this film was fairly unimpressive, although I am thankful that the leads Clover (Deanna Grace Congo) and Leah (Stephanie Marie Baggett) were more tolerable and endearing than the others. The special effects were pretty awful as well. The only exception is one death by a Christmas tree. That was awful and glorious for all the wrong reasons.

Despite all of these reindeer droppings, there were a couple redeeming moments in the film. The opening credits featured festive music and title design. Simple yet effective. Also in the film was a bit of meta-humor. While discussing the game, one of the players suggests that this, “sounds like that movie Truth or Dare…except with Snapchat filters” to which another player replies “no Truth or Dare is like that movie It Follows”. It’s clear that Jamaal Burden is aware his film resembles its two predecessors, making the film’s similarity to those films less of an issue. I think the concept could have been much more promising and original had some writing and plot kinks been worked out or removed entirely.

While reviewing my notes for this film I realize I had far more questions than comments. Looking for my answers in this film was like circling a mall parking lot on Christmas Eve. I am initially hopeful, but I don’t find what I am looking for. I begin to grow frustrated and look harder. Still nothing. Now I am wrought with anger. Unsuccessful in my quest I high tail it to the bar-restaurant across the street to recover. If you are a fan of holiday horror films, then maybe give it a try. But you have been warned. Otherwise, this is one elf you might want to leave on the shelf.