Black Christmas (1974)

I haven't watched this movie in a few years, so it was a pleasant surprise to see it again and realize how well it holds up in the age of #MeToo.  Whether writer Ray Moore and director Bob Clark (who directed the more family friendly A Christmas Story) intended it or not, this movie manages to encapsulate all the issues women face in life, both in the past and now.

The plot is pretty simple.  A sorority house is being plagued by an obscene phone caller, which the girls endure, while a psychotic killer enters the house and takes up residence in the attic.  The killer starts taking out the women while making his own creepy phone calls, leading to the police staking out the house.  The scripts give us a few red herrings, but a modern audience will know better.  As expected, mayhem ensues.

Oh great, another obscene caller and no one cares.

I hope things get better in the coming decades.

Okay, I'm not going to get into how close John Carpenter's Halloween follows this film.  That has been discussed to death by others.  Instead, as I mentioned earlier, I want to talk about how this film exposes how women are marginalize by society, whether it was intended or not.

To start, the first victim's father shows up at the house to pick her up for Christmas vacation.  When no one can find her, it's assumed she's with some guy.  The father expresses disgust, claiming he didn't send his daughter to college so she could drink and shack up with boys.  The house mother tries to dispel his concerns, all the while sneaking drinks and dismissing his issues, as girls will be girls.  She knows how her girls react to the marginal amount of freedom a sorority gives them, and is only interested in placating the father to keep other men from getting involved.  Sure, she's proven wrong in her assumption, but the message is pretty clear.

You tell him, girl!

The police do become interested in the phone calls, but only after another girl comes up missing and is later found dead.  The cop in charge, Lt. Fuller (John Saxon) prompts a wire tap on the sorority house, but he still mansplains things as resident Jess (Olivia Hussey) tries to answer someone's questions.  And, as her boyfriend Peter (Keir Dullea) is upset with her decision to have an abortion, he becomes suspect number one.

Speaking of Peter, he takes the news of the abortion rather hard.  One could argue that Jess' timing to tell him about their child, and her decision to abort the pregnancy, is poorly timed.  But his attempts to tell her what she should do is another example of how men believe they know what's best for a woman.  Sure, her refusal of his desires causes him to perform poorly in a piano recital in front of his instructors, but I'm sure his instructors would understand his poor performance if he'd mentioned he was having personal issues and if he was as talented as the script suggests.

Look, it's not about you all the time.

I have a life too. 

Beth (Margot Kidder) is another example of the patriarchy hammering down on women.  Sure, she's got a bit of a drinking problem, and tends to act inappropriately as she talks about turtles screwing in front of the first victim's father.  And her open sexuality is ignored by the cop taking her report, as she uses the word fellatio as part of the sorority's phone number.  Yep, he's that stupid, and it leads to his being degraded by his fellow officers when they discover he was duped by a woman.  Heavens forbid a man isn't smart enough to catch onto a woman's devious intentions.  Adding to her character arc is how the other women attempt to calm her in front of men, as if she is expressing the dirty secrets they need to keep hidden.

Hello, police?  I'm stuck in a house with a head strong,

drunken women.  Get me the hell out of here!

The film dispenses the common slasher troupe in a couple of ways.  First is the idea that loose women meet their end.  The first victim does nothing that would lead the audience to expect her to meet her demise, and later victims aren't the stereotype most slashers prey upon.  And, as the death toll rises, it become apparent the cause is the failing of a patriarchal society.  And that issue is hammered home in the conclusion, which I'll discuss in the paragraph below, so SPOILER ALERT!





The final girl dispatches the obvious suspect, and is seen later resting in a bed within the sorority house.  The father of the first victim is there, and has what I can only describe as a "spell," prompting the other male characters to carry him out of the room for transport  to a hospital.  And the film ends, with the final girl laying alone in her bed, the lights turned off by a "concerned" man, while the killer is still in the house.  In fact, the killer tries calling the house, while the police officer on guard stays outside and doesn't bother picking up the phone to see if something is amiss.  And the cops didn't fully search the house, as they would have found two other victims.  It's as if they don't care about the other victims, as normality has been restored and that is all that matters.  The film ends with the final girl, unconscious in her bed, at the mercy of a murderer the police assume they've found.

Damn it, the cat checked the attic.

It's a better cop than the police force in this town!

Wow, if that doesn't sum up how women are treated when they are victimized, I don't know what other movie does.




End of SPOILERS, well, to a point.

The other way this film deviates from the slasher troupes that followed is how the killer has no real motivations.  All we know is his name is Billy and that's it.  His reasons for climbing into the house's attic and killing the women within are never made clear.  In fact, we never see his face, as it's always hidden in shadows or behind various items.  It's as if his gender doesn't matter, he's just a random force of nature, unleashed on an unsuspecting group of women for no reason the audience can discern.  He's just found a comfortable place to occupy and is staking a claim by eliminating those living within.  Worse yet, the victimized women discover that the current societal construct isn't interested in finding the root cause of their concern, just the easy, superficial answer that ties everything up nicely.

Black Christmas is an important part of the slasher genre, which goes beyond the superficial imitations that it spawned.  Whether intentional or not, it exposed why women are victimized, as the current patriarchal society is happy to dismiss their concerns until something violent happens, than searches for the simplest answer without addressing the root problem.  Pretty deep for a simple slasher film.

Look, I'm dealing with a bunch of hysterical women right now.

I'll call you back when I can start doing some real police work.

If you'd like to add this movie to your collection, I am now an Amazon Associate and will get payment for your purchase if you follow the link below.

It's an early Weekly Update, filled with a few new events on Tuesday night and MUCH MORE!

Okay, I don't usually open the Weekly Update with a fundraising pitch from anyone, but this is BIG.  70mm BIG!

You could say it's out of this world.

Sorry, that was BAD! 

This summer, The Hollywood Theatre in Portland, OR, screened director Christopher Nolan's "unrestored" 70mm print of the sci fi classic 2001: A Space Odyssey.  Having seen it, I have to say I'll only watch this film in 70mm for as long as I live.  It was BEAUTIFUL, immersive and the most amazing cinematic moment I experienced in 2018.

The print was created from preserved original negatives and not restored in any way.  Well, The Hollywood Theatre has started a fundraiser to buy their own, brand-new 70mm print of Nolan's version.  The website explains that 70mm prints can be easily damaged by poorly trained projectionists or defective equipment, but this print will be cared for according to the theater's rigorous standards.  And if there is any theater I'd trust to care for a film, it's The Hollywood Theatre.

The theater needs $25,000 to buy a print, and if the fundraiser exceeds that goal, the additional money will go towards equipping one of the upstairs auditoriums with 35mm changeover projection equipment!  And, as hinted in this article from The Portland Mercury, if this event is successful, The Hollywood Theatre might try it again, maybe to purchase a 70mm print of the greatest Christmas movie ever made, Die Hard!  Yippee-ki-yay!!

You can donate whatever you want, but perks (including a limited-edition commemorative pint glass and a ticket to a future screening of 2001) at $50.  The fundraiser ends on January 18.  Click on the link for all the details!

 And now, back to the Weekly Update.

I know this edition of the Weekly Update is early, but I found a couple of events happening tonight (December 18) that I wanted to share.  First off, the 7:30 pm screening of Silent Night, Deadly Night in GLORIOUS 35mm at The Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd in Portland, OR) has SOLD OUT, but if you don't might staying up a bit late tonight, you can still catch the additional screening at 9:50 pm.  Be sure to click on the link and buy tickets before you go, as this screening could sell out as well.  Tickets are still available as of 3:30 pm.

Second, tonight's Sci-Fi Extravaganza #13 at the Darkside Cinema (215 SW 4th St in Corvallis, OR) is the campy holiday film Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.  Doors open at 6 pm, with vintage drive-in ads and other treats, with the movie starting at 7 pm.  Admission is $5, with can be used as credit towards food.  For more details, visit the Facebook Event Page.

The rest of the week looks busy as well, with the Friday Night Frights presentation of 30 Days of Night at the Blue Mouse Theatre in Tacoma, WA, this Friday, Gremlins taking over the Dragonfly Cinema in Port Orchard, WA, and The Hollywood Theatre's lineup of great genre holiday fare.  Check below for details on these events and MANY MORE!

If you're wondering about the New Year, head to the Horror/Sci Fi/Fantasy Calendar for details on all the events coming to the Pacific Northwest in 2019.  More great stuff is will be listed soon, so be sure to keep checking back throughout upcoming year!

And if you want your event posted on the site, just email me at shadowoverportland@live.com with details and promotional artwork, and I'll do the rest.  And don't worry about my rates increasing in 2019, as getting listed on the site will continue to be FREE!

From Ashland, OR, to Vancouver, BC, The Shadow Over Portland has you covered!!  And I hope all Pacific Northwest Horror/Sci Fi/Fantasy Fans have a Merry Christmas, a Happy Holiday Season, and that your days continue to be SCARY and full of FRIGHT!

Happy Holidays to all!

Hope Santa and Krampus are good to you!!

Now Playing

Die Hard: The Parody Musical returns to the Funhouse Lounge (2432 SE 11th Ave in Portland, OR) to put the Ho-Ho-Ho back in the holidays!  The production runs through Saturday, December 29.  For more details, including showtimes and a link to advance ticket sales, visit the Facebook Event Page.

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Time to Twist Your Dickens at the Portland Center Stage at The Armory (128 NW Eleventh Ave in Portland, OR), as Second City's riff on the classic A Christmas Carol returns.  The production is updated every year, so expect some new jokes mixing in with old favorites.  The production runs through Sunday, December 23.  For more details, including showtimes and advance ticket sales, visit the Portland Center Stage website.

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The Darkside Cinema (215 SW 4th St in Corvallis, OR) will screen Border, a "midnight movie for the artiest of art-houses," through Thursday, December 20.  The film is based on a novella by Swedish writer John Ajvide Lindquist (Let the Right One In)  For more details and showtimes, visit the Darkside Cinema website.

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The Academy Theater (7818 SE Stark St in Portland, OR) will show the greatest Christmas movie ever made, Die Hard, through Thursday, December 20.  For more details, visit the Academy Theater website.

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The Olde World Puppet Theatre presents The Nutcracker Cracked at the Portland Puppet Museum (906 SE Umatilla St in Portland, OR) through Sunday, December 30.  This wacky send up of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Ballet is suitable for the whole family, and features 84 new rod puppets to perform the entire ballet in just 38 minutes!  For more details, including showtimes and a link to advance ticket sales, visit the Facebook Event Page.

December, 2018

Tuesday, December 18

The Grindhouse Film Festival at The Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd in Portland, OR) continues it's holiday tradition with a screening of the classic Christmas slasher film Silent Night, Deadly Night, in GLORIOUS 35mm, tonight at 7:30 pm.  Advance tickets are recommended, as the show sells out every year.  For more details and advance ticket sales, visit The Hollywood Theatre website.

UPDATE: A 9:50 pm screening has been added.  The 7:30 pm screening is SOLD OUT.

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The Rio Theatre (1660 East Broadway in Vancouver, BC) brings The Gentlemen Hecklers back to work through the sequel to the greatest Christmas movie ever made, Die Hard II: Die Harder.  Showtime is 8 pm.  For more details and a link to advance ticket sales, visit the Facebook Event Page.

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The Sci-Fi Extravaganza #13 at the Darkside Cinema (215 SW 4th St in Corvallis, OR) presents Santa Claus Conquers the Martians tonight at 7 pm.  Be sure to show up early, as doors open at 6 pm, with vintage drive-in ads and other treats.  Admission is $5, with can be used as credit towards food.  For more details, visit the Facebook Event Page.

Wednesday, December 19

Central Cinema (1411 21st Ave in Seattle, WA) presents Better Improv through Die Hard tonight at 7 pm.   Yep, local improviser Douglas Willott will use the greatest Christmas movie ever made to show you how to improve your improv!  For more details and a link to advance ticket sales, visit the Facebook Event Page.

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The Willamette Radio Workshop brings A Radio Christmas Carol to Cerimon House (5141 NE 23rd Ave in Portland, OR) tonight at 7 pm.  This is a benefit for the Transition Project's new Walnut Park shelter.  Admission is FREE with donations of men's clothing, new socks, new underwear or toiletries.  A $10 cash donation per person will also be accepted.  Doors open at 6:30 pm.  For more details, visit the Facebook Event Page.

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It's time for another round of Monster Roulette at The Joy Cinema and Pub (11959 SW Pacific Highway in Tigard, OR).  That's right, tonight's Weird Wednesday offering will be picked from the Mystic Pumpkin by a member of the audience.  It could be good, it could be bad, but it will feature a monster!  Showtime is 9:15 pm and admission is FREE, but you must be 18 or older to attend.  Be sure to support The Joy's continuing efforts to keep Wednesdays WEIRD by stopping at the concession stand for some tasty treats and beverages before the movie!  For more details, visit The Joy Cinema website.

Friday, December 21

Just in time for the Winter Solstice, Friday Night Frights brings the chilling 30 Days of Night to the Blue Mouse Theatre (2611 N Proctor St in Tacoma, WA).  The show starts at 10 pm and admission is just $6 at the door.  But arrive early for a chance to win a prize during the horror trivia contest before the film!  For more details, visit the Facebook Event Page.

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The Olde World Puppet Theatre presents The Nutcracker Cracked Adult Night Out at the Portland Puppet Museum (906 SE Umatilla St in Portland, OR) tonight only at 7:30 pm.  This wacky send up of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Ballet is suitable for the whole family, and features 84 new rod puppets to perform the entire ballet in just 38 minutes!  And you can take part in a wine tasting!!  For more details, including showtimes and a link to advance ticket sales, visit the Facebook Event Page.

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The Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd in Portland, OR) screens a digital restoration of Frank Capra's classic Christmas fantasy, It's a Wonderful Life, tonight at 6:30 pm, and Sunday at 2 pm.  For more details, visit The Hollywood Theatre website.

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The Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd in Portland, OR) presents the Finnish Christmas horror film Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale tonight at 9:30 pm.  For more details and advance ticket sales, visit The Hollywood Theatre website.

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Yippie-ki-yay, motherfuc......  Oh, you know the rest.  The Rio Theatre (1660 East Broadway in Vancouver, BC) will screen the greatest Christmas movie ever filmed, Die Hard, for the Friday Late Night Movie tonight at 11 pm.  For more details and a link to advance ticket sales, visit Facebook Event Page.

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The Dragonfly Cinema (822 Bay St in Port Orchard, WA) will screen the Christmas classic Gremlins through Tuesday, December 25.  For more details, including showtimes, visit the Facebook Event Page.

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Michael Gray Photography offers you one last chance to get Photos with Krampus today from 4 to 9 pm, and Saturday from noon to 5 pm, at Oblique Coffee Roasters (3039 SE Stark St in Portland, OR).  Get a quality photo folder with a print of you and the Christmas demon for just $10 each.  For more details, visit this Facebook Event Page for Saturday, and this Facebook Event Page for Saturday.

Saturday, December 22

Yippie-ki-yay, Mr. Falcon!  Weird Elephant at The Grand Cinema (606 S Fawcett Ave in Tacoma, WA) presents Die Hard, the greatest Christmas movie ever made, tonight at 11 pm.  For more details and a link to advance ticket sales, visit the Facebook Event Page.

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McMenamins Mission Theater and Pub (1624 NW Glisan in Portland, OR) will screen Frank Capra's classic holiday fantasy, It's a Wonderful Life, starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, through Monday, December 24.  For more details and advance ticket sales, visit the Mission Theater website.

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Yippie-ki-yay, motherfuc......  Oh, you know the rest.  The Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd in Portland, OR) will screen the greatest Christmas movie ever filmed, Die Hard, tonight at 6:30 pm.  For more details and advance ticket sales, visit The Hollywood Theatre website.

UPDATE: This screening is SOLD OUT.

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The Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd in Portland, OR) piles on the Christmas mayhem with a screening of Die Hard 2: Die Harder tonight at 9:30 pm.  For more details and a link to advance ticket sales, visit The Hollywood Theatre website.

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Campout Cinema at the Museum of Pop Culture (325 5th Ave N in Seattle, WA) presents the greatest Christmas film ever made, Die Hard, tonight at 7 pm.  The night includes cocktails, photo ops and access to MoPOP's sci fi and horror galleries.  You must be 21 or older to attend.  For more details, visit the Facebook Event Page.

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The Rio Theatre (1660 East Broadway in Vancouver, BC) presents another Christmas themed classic film, Tim Burton's Batman Returns, tonight at 10:15 pm.  For more details and a link to advance ticket sales, visit the Facebook Event Page.

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If you missed out last month, The Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd in Portland, OR) is bringing back the 1922 classic Nosferatu, with Hollywood Organist Dean Lemire performing his original score on the Beverly Ruth Nelson memorial organ.  Showtime is 2:30 pm today only!  Buy tickets early, as the two showings in November SOLD OUT!  For more details and a link to advance ticket sales, visit The Hollywood Theatre website.

Sunday, December 23

The Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd in Portland, OR) presents the Christmas slasher classic Black Christmas tonight at 9:30 pm.  For more details and a link to advance ticket sales, visit The Hollywood Theatre website.

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The Rio Theatre (1660 East Broadway in Vancouver, BC) presents the Christmas high school zombie musical Anna and the Apocalypse tonight and Wednesday, December 26, at 9:30 pm.  For more details and a link to advance ticket sales, visit the Facebook Event Page.

Wednesday, December 26

Yippie-ki-yay, motherfu....  Well, you know the line.  McMenamins Mission Theater and Pub (1624 NW Glisan in Portland, OR) will screen Die Hard, the greatest Christmas movie ever filmed, through Saturday, December 29.  For more details and advance ticket sales, visit the Mission Theater website.

Thursday, December 27

The Rio Theatre (1600 East Broadway in Vancouver, BC) presents the holiday classic Edward Scissorhands tonight at 5:45 pm.  Hey, there's a snowy night in the film, I'm sticking with the holiday classic tag!  For more details and a link to advance ticket sales, visit the Facebook Event Page.

Friday, December 28

Frightmare on Main Street, hosted by local podcast The Horror Aisle, brings the holiday classic Silent Night, Deadly Night to The Kiggins Theatre (1011 Main St in Vancouver, WA) tonight at 9:30 pm.  For more details and advance ticket sales, visit The Kiggins Theatre website.

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The Olde World Puppet Theatre presents The Nutcracker Cracked Family Night at the Portland Puppet Museum (906 SE Umatilla St in Portland, OR) tonight only at 7:30 pm.  This wacky send up of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Ballet is suitable for the whole family, and features 84 new rod puppets to perform the entire ballet in just 38 minutes!  And cookies and hot chocolate will be served!!  For more details, including showtimes and a link to advance ticket sales, visit the Facebook Event Page.

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The Academy Theater (7818 SE Stark St in Portland, OR) will show the anime classic, My Neighbor Totoro, through Thursday, January 3.  For more details, visit the Academy Theater website.

The Elf (2017)

If you look at the promotional artwork for The Elf and expect a merry slashing romp akin to Jack Frost, you'll be as disappointed as I was in the film.  Though the titular character does strike an Elf on a Shelf pose in one scene, this uneven indie production seems more interested in being a psychological thriller more akin to Psycho.  Which would have been fine, as I was getting interested in this unexpected story line, until the moments that seem to have migrated into the film from the cheesy movie promised by the poster deflated the tension and mystery build up earlier.

After a rather unnecessary opening involving a toymaker sewing the lips of a young boy shut, the film opens in present day as Nick (Gabriel Miller) visits the toy store he inherited in his hometown.  Well, it's more of a flea market, with plenty of old furniture and nicknacks, but as this is a low budget indie production, it's understandable if the production has to work with whatever location they can find.

Anyway, Nick opens a mysterious locked chest (NEVER a good thing) and, as snow falls around him, he finds the Elf and the curse surrounding it.  Yep, this stuffed doll takes out the ones on its naughty list, and that one name can be removed, sparing the victim.  And, as you might expect, after he reads the scroll, the Elf, and the snow, vanishes.

After he and his girlfriend Victoria (Natassia Halabi) head to the family home, they find the Elf on a shelf, looking down on them.  Surprise!

I see you when you're sleeping...

That should be enough to creep you out enough.

Nick isn't a fan of Christmas, due to a past childhood event that ended in multiple deaths.  But Victoria has invited her family to the house, in an attempt to install some holiday cheer into Nick.  As you might expect, mayhem ensues.

Okay, that's the basics of the story.  And I have to say, I was enjoying the film up until the first victims meet their demise.  Because, up until this point, all the interactions with the Elf were filmed in a manner that cast suspicion on Nick.  He was alone with the Elf at the toy shop, and Victoria doesn't notice the Elf sitting on the shelf until Nick points it out to her, allowing for the possibility that Nick set it up there.  Miller was giving a pretty good performance, looking like a man just hanging onto his sanity, and Halabi was fine as his concerned fiancee.  And when the family showed up, I was expecting a couple more unexplained Elf moments, this time around some dead bodies, before Nick goes full Torrance.

Such an approach could have worked.  Given the budget constraints, director Justin Price delivered a pretty well shot film, and showed a deft hand hand at staging the early scenes to make the audience suspect Nick.  But screenwriter Price should have given the script another rewrite, as it falters at this point and becomes a rather confused mess, unsure if it should continue on it's path or embrace the cheesy side.

The problems start with the first deaths, as the victims find the Elf in the back seat of their car before they are dispatched.  Oh, and the Elf moves, so all the suspense generated by not knowing if Nick is crazy or not is wasted.  And once this happens, it sends the film into a spiral from which it can't recover.

Further complicating the problem is the fact that the search party looking for the victims head straight into the woods surrounding the house, not the car parked in the freaking driveway!  Even though the scene does further the plot, and gives us more details on Nick's past, sending the pair into the woods before searching the most obvious location first makes you wonder if they'd drank too much spiked eggnog.

 So, should we burn the creepy doll with a knife?

Nah, let's just lock it in a garbage can.  It will be fine.

Adding to the script's misfires are the carolers who appear at the house.  Fine, except for two points.  First, earlier in the film, Nick wants to leave the town, but it appears a massive snowstorm has shut down the local airport.  Okay, all the exterior scenes have snow in them, but certainly not the oppressive amount needed to shut down an airport.  We never see even a hint of the storm discussed, but I was willing to let that one go.  After all, faking a  snowstorm was probably not in the budget.  But you shouldn't expect the audience to believe a group of carolers would drive to an isolated house just to sing a few songs during a snowstorm that's closed an airport.  Suspension of disbelief is a delicate thing to maintain, and stretching it too far will make the audience start counting all the holes in your plot.

But the bigger issue is how the singers are killed.  Most are strangled by a string of Christmas lights that appear to take on a life of their own.  Sure, it might have been on behalf of the Elf, I guess, but it's never made clear that the creature caused it, and never comes up again.  Seriously, I'm sure the CGI work was expensive, but having a moment where we see the Elf manipulate the lights by simply waving its hands would have helped the film.

Even worse, the witnesses within the house aren't freaked out by watching several people being strangled by animated lights.  It's like they shrug their shoulders, mutter something like, "You don't see that every day," and continue on, with no regard that some supernatural being might be hunting them.

That, and a later victim gift wrapped alive without any explanation why the Elf abandoned his normal habit of slashing victims, amplifies the problems with this film.  It would be fine if the Elf was killing everyone with a holiday twist, but the film doesn't give into the inner cheesiness with those deaths.  It was as if Price knew he needed to have some show stopping deaths to sell the film, but he didn't allow the script to give into the silliness it needed to make such a transition work.

Damn it, why aren't I safe in the bathroom?

Oh yeah, this film has become a silly slasher flick.  

Should have noticed the tone change earlier.

Look, lots of bad holiday horror films work, as long as they embrace the stupidity of their plot.  But by generating a different vibe in the first half, without embracing the cheesy goofiness of the a doll dispatching victims in a twisted holiday theme, The Elf fails to live up to the promise of the first half, and not delivering once the mayhem ensues.

And that leads to a bigger problem with the basic premise, at least for me.  Come on, it's a freaking doll.  Sure, it's possessed by a demon and can hide in unexpected places, but it's basic modus operandi is to stab people to death.  Once a character is faced with a stuffed doll trying to stab them, all they have to do is contain them the stupid thing, rip off its arms and toss it in the fire.  Sure, it might be possessed by a demon, but it can't do much once its vessel is destroyed.

Or maybe it can.  That would make for an interesting climax The Elf ignored.

And once the movie introduces a final plot twist, which does explain a few things, it's too sudden and, even worse, makes little sense.  The story attempts a "gotcha" moment without any setup or explaining why other characters went along with it, as they would know they were facing a murderous doll.  And why they didn't take precautions against it is the final nail in the coffin for this film.

Had Price either gone full out cheesy, or kept the mystery concerning the identity of the killer hidden for a bit longer, the film might have been an enjoyable holiday romp.  Instead, toss The Elf on your Yule Log and watch the sucker burn.  It will be more entertaining than the film.

Yeah, this sums up the film.

A bright, shiny package that stabs you in the end. 
I should have seen it coming.