He Knows

He Knows is a horror film about Sammy the Elf punishing those on his naughty list. Young Christina witnesses her father and brother being murder by Sammy the Elf.

Years later Sammy the Elf returns and he is killing off old friends of hers. The movie itself isn't bad, but it could use a bit of trimming. 100 minutes is a bit long for this sort of thing. 75 - 85 minutes is closer to an ideal run time for a picture like this.

There are some pretty good kills. Character wise, I'm not sure that there too many likeable characters in the film.

The film is shot well, and the special effects are pretty good. I did notice one continuity issue with Jessa Flux's character. Her hair has some pink in it. Then at one point there is no pink. Just a minor issue, but noticeable.

Most of the cast is unfamiliar to me except for Lynn Lowry (Sugar Cookies, Shivers), Jason Crowe (Space Babes from Outer Space, Don't F in the Woods) and Jessa Flux (Murdercise, Debbie Does Demons).

I guess your enjoyment depends on how much you like these type of movies, or if you're a fan of any of the cast.

There is a post credits scene in this.

After a series of strange murders, a woman becomes convinced a folktale from her past involving a murderous elf punishing the naughty has some true and tries to warn her hesitant friends, but when their holiday trip is crashed by the figure she tries to save them before it's too late.

This was a rather fun indie-themed holiday genre effort. One of the better features here is the main setup of the killer who's given quite an effective starting point here involving the legend of the elf. Tying in a legend involving the elf being the conception of the elves at the North Pole as a son for Santa and has turned evil in the interim hunting down naughty children, the connection between the real-life killer in the town and the family relationship at the heart of the film is all good enough for this kind of genre effort. As well, with the later reveals about what's going on between the particular killer and how their personal connection ties together is a decent enough idea as well to make for a generally decent storyline. That also provides a great baseline for the film's best parts here which revolve around the solid and fun indie-style attacks and stalking scenes. These are featured rather well in here with the film using the idea of the killer's antics carrying out while others are completely clueless or unaware of the true nature regarding the sleigh-bell jingling, masked madman's murderous motivations. That lets the massacre at the friends' house who keeps taking out the various arrivals, the attack on her friends, or the big confrontation at the cabin which has some great gore and stalking scenes come about for quite a lot to like here. There are some flaws here that keep this one down. One of the main issues with the film comes from the wildly chaotic and jangled structure that makes for a tough time staying invested in everything. There's very little here connecting how the various groups know each other and it's mostly left for interpretation until later which makes for a tough time at first understanding how the connections fit together regarding who everyone is or how the cult works. This feature comes out of nowhere and seems designed to specifically open up a potential sequel with little build-up or presence until the end, and with some instances where the low-budget origins shine through and end up bringing this one down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, and drug use.

I have watched this movie 3 times already I had to buy the DVD. I highly recommend this movie if you like slasher movies. I thought the actors were awesome did amazing job. I hope there will be a sequel of this Movie. I thought the young Johnny is an awesome actor I seen him in other movies also.. The little girl that played Christina I have seen her in other movies. She is amazing actress. I thought the director and writer did a great job on this. I see one of the actress is on local TV daily. I believe this movie can win awards with the actors that are in this movie. Anyway I recommend watching this Christmas Slasher. I love the part when Christina says Johnny were in the world are you. That scene was hilarious.

Set design was so lazy! Just go rent a cabin and call it a day. This has to be one of the laziest set designs i've ever seen in any movie. There was no feeling of rhe Christmas season at all, other than a couple royalty free tracks. To mention there was no score to speak of either. Sometimes it sounds like the audio is coming straight from the camera mic cause it sounds very tiny and hollow and its very distracting.

The characters were also lacking in any redeeming qualities to set them a part. You have the token black guy blah, blah nothing stands out in the acting department.

The mask was pretty cool and the overall look of the film wasn't too bad.

Sadly this one missed the mark, and I'm glad it was free to watch.

As far as home-made horrors go, this one is definitely in the top tier of the lowest grade - but it's not without some issues that are hard to get over.

Mainly, that there is some really poor casting, and some of the acting is quite bad.

For example, they have a 15 year old girl- with tits and acne- playing a ten year old girl...which just doesn't work, as it comes off as completely unbelievable.

With there being acting issues, pretty much across the board (less a few exceptions).

The story revolves around a serial killer that is supposed to an elf, named Sammy, who has taken it upon himself to reap vengeance on the naughty- no matter what age they might be.

It begins in the past, with Sammy killing a boy and his step father.

Before fast forwarding to the present, with the surviving children from the flashback now being parents themselves.

And Sammy returning for a second round of killing.

To the filmmakers' credit, they do a pretty good job of character development in this.

With the lore being sufficient enough to drive the plot forward.

So, if you can get over the horrible acting, and poor casting choices...it's actually a pretty competent Christmas themed slasher.

Which was much more engaging and entertaining than I expected it to be.

The elf is basically just a guy in a mask...which would normally be a fail...but they manage to work a reasonable explanation for this into the plot.

So it doesn't end up being too bad in the end.

The only thing that really kills the vibe is the aforementioned casting of the little girl.

But that aside, it's certainly a worthwhile little slasher...especially if you don't expect much going into it.

Placing it, solidly, among the top tier of the lowest grade of low budget horrors.

But it's where it belongs...on tubitv.

3.5 out of 10.