JP Nunez
What is it about Christmas that makes it such a great setting for horror movies? While I think there are a few reasons, one of the biggest has to be the imagery. Other than Halloween, no other major Western holiday has such a rich cornucopia of visual traditions as Christmas, so filmmakers have no shortage of characters, creatures, and objects to put to horrifically good use. For example, we’ve seen horror films about Santa Claus, about snowmen, and about gingerbread cookies, and now Netflix is turning another beloved Christmas icon into a deadly monster. They just released a trailer for their upcoming series Elves, and if you like creature features, you’re going to want to check this one out. Here’s what the show is going to be about:
“Hoping to reconnect over Christmas, a family of four travels to a remote island in the Danish archipelago, only to find it controlled by members of a strongly religious community living in balance with fierce creatures in the woods revealed to be…elves. Real, monstrous beings that inspired the folklore and myths we all know. When the girl in the family finds and brings home a baby elf, she inadvertently disrupts the balance and throws everyone on the island into a life-or-death battle for faith, family, and pure survival.”
There are two things in particular that really intrigue me about this trailer. For starters, the elves themselves seem pretty cool. Admittedly, the baby looks a bit generic, but the adults are a different story. They’re not the friendly helpers we know and love from Christmas lore and cookie commercials. No, these elves are terrifying, human-sized monsters that can blend in with the woods around them, so I can’t wait to learn more about them and see what they’re capable of.
Secondly, the mythology here looks pretty interesting as well. The trailer tells us that the villagers used to live in harmony with nature and the elves, but now there’s a wall separating the two species. That tidbit of information raises a ton of questions, and there’s a myriad of great ways the show could explore and deepen that history. Sure, I don’t want the series to pull back the curtain too much, but if it finds the right balance between mystery and history, it could be really fascinating.
All in all, Elves looks like it could be a great addition to our Christmas horror watchlists, and luckily for us, it’s coming out at just the right time. It’ll be hitting Netflix on November 28, so we’ll all be able to sit back, sip some hot cocoa, and kick off the holiday season with some murderous woodland creatures.
So what do you think of the trailer for Elves? Do you agree with JP that it looks like a cool new addition to our Christmas horror watchlists? Let us know in the comments! And if you’re looking for more horror trailers we’ve got you covered:
“The Blazing World Trailer Highlights an Eye-Popping Visual Feast”
“Netflix’s Night Teeth Trailer Has Bite”
“Midnight Mass: Mike Flanagan’s Ultimate Mashup”
“Censor Trailer Takes On the Video Nasties”
