Duendes

My review was written in January 1990 after watching the movie on AIP video cassette.

Boasting one of the nuttiest premises in recent fantasy film history, this direct-to-video release is an easy-to-watch spawn of the success of "Gremlins".

Proper title would be "Elf" rather than "Elves", since low-budgeter coughs up only one puppet creature. Impossible-to-swallow plot hook is that a group of neo-Nazis, living in Colorado Springs (!) is planning a Fourth Reich based on mating an elf with a special virgin girl to create a new master race.

Supposedly those mystical Nazi scientists during World War II stored the genetic information in a two-foot tall elf, awaiting their big chance. Borah Silver plays Grandpa, a Nazi who impregnated his own daughter (Deanna Lund) to produce a supposedly perfect offspring, lovely Julie Austin, who's poised for the grand experiment that has to take place on Christmas Eve.

Dan Haggerty plays a down-on-his-luck security guard working as a department store Santa Claus (!) who tumbles on to the weird scheme and strives to save Austin and the world. Open ending predictably is a shot of the etus, a result of a puppet raping her (!).

This sounds silly and is, though director Jeff Mandel manages to keep things interesting despite the hokum. The incest subplot is handled quite well for dramatic impact, and the effects, designed by VIncent J. Guastini for Fantasy Workshop, are okay. Script is not above making fun of star Haggerty's real-life problems, but he seems a good sport about it.

Acting is variable, with Austin's sympathetic performance the glue that holds one's attention. Lund, a former starlet familiar from Jerry Lewis films and tv's "Land of the Lost" series, is effectively cast against type as the mean mom/half-sister. Silver's accent as Grandpa is a joke and Allen Lee takes the student-acting booby prize as a goofball professor.

Not much of a Christmas horror outing, just that it's set around that time. Nonetheless "Elves" (when there really is only one elf) is z-grade, low-brow shot-on-video schlock that surely entertains in its cheap, stagy execution and downright daftness, although surprisingly Dan Haggerty puts in a solid showing (and definitely the best of the performances) as a store department Santa Clause caught up in the madness. What's going on is truly oddball and baffling, but it's a ridiculously fun idea that has Neo-Nazis using the occult in trying to create the perfect soldier and this involves an genetically created Elf (who no way can be considered Santa's little helper) impregnating the chosen virgin on Christmas Eve to create the master race to take over the world. What a way to celebrate Christmas. Nazis, Santa, numerous sexual themes (from perverted to violent), a sour-face blond virgin, crazily neurotic mother (Deanna Lund) and a hideous 2ft elf with murderous impulses. Yeah it's a soap opera of sorts with a poignant cruel streak and laughable dialogues. The creature design looks decent enough, despite the stiff movements and we get moments of blurry elf vision.

"When there's no more room in hell. The elves will walk the earth."

From the wacky side of the 80's dtv realm, 'Elves' would have angered me had I seen it when I was younger & my tastes were much different. I'm not going to go as far as to say it's worth your time, but I enjoyed the fun insanity now. A borderline tasteless story, cuckoo with enough laughs and decently made. If you're in the right mood, you won't be bored.

Three young women do a seance in the woods using a stolen book and unwittingly unleash a demonic creature. Kirsten (Julie Austin) is still a virgin who lives with her little brother, twisted Mom (Deanna Lund) and creepy semi paralyzed "Grandpa" (Borah Silver) and key to a Nazi plot to create the super race. As ex-cop Mike (Dan Haggerty) working at the same dept store as her slowly finds out what the heck is going on.

A finale that stops just short of spelling out what's going on, but still gross. Gratuitous nudity from Austin and Lund. "Gramps" in a category all to himself that I won't spoil. Add in offscreen kills, poor "Elf" effects (though they try to keep it confined to the shadows) and info dump scenes. LOL trips to the library, a local know-it-all professor and even a doctor who spells it out while his young daughters listen in.

A parade of perverts, Nazis, cocaine, lust, incest & the bizarre. 'Elves' is a crazy time that you're not supposed to take at face value ... at least I hope so. The filmmakers treat the material seriously and even drop a sequel smelling ending (for which one never came? Shocker). Supposed to be horror with sci-fi tones, but so crude, unintentionally funny that it's more of a trainwreck than anything else. Bad movie fans might have a new Christmas classic.

Let's face it, with a title like Elves I expected to see, well... elves. This movie should more accurately be called Elf. That's right, there is one, count him, ONE elf. I suppose Elves sounds a little more frightening than Elf, though not much. Picture a hoard of evil elves descending upon you - kind of scary as a large number of them may be able to overpower you or rip your limbs off. Now, picture what we get in the movie, one rubber elf mask permanently frozen with it's mouth open. As Count Floyd used to say, "oooooo, isn't that scary, boys and girls?..... well, isn't it?!"

When I mention the following things all in a movie, it appears that we should have a winner - Dan Haggerty, evil elves, nazi's, teenagers, and Santa. But Elves just doesn't really succeed in converting all that potential into something great or truly horrendous. Granted, there is high entertainment value in hearing Haggerty and the other characters say things like "I want to know the connection between the elves and the nazi's" or "Look man, I'm tellin' you what I saw, god damn it, I'm tellin' you I saw a two foot elf!"

There are really amusing things in the movie, often unintentional, but overall it's a disappointment.

Wow! I can't believe this movie exists. Just when I thought Chuck Norris was the worst actor ever, along comes Grizzly Adams. He is a department store Santa trying to stop a Nazi created elf from doing something. The elf is laughable. Characters come and go without explanation. The elf kills without explanation. Grizzly Adams acting defies explanation. The dialogue is priceless. This movie was delightfully bad. I highly recommend it. Rent it for a laugh.