The marketing material for the Christmas-themed Jamaal Burden horror film film "Eves' made this reviewer wonder if that plot would feature evil yard gnomes on a rampage. No such luck -- this film features a curse unleashed during a party game among friends at Christmas by little elf statues.
The premise features a group of misanthropes that despise Christmas indulging in a game called "the naughty list." The presence of the titular effigies ensures that these grouches will unleash malignant supernatural forces.
Burden actually succeeds in building atmosphere during parts of the film and the musical score by Sena Park is surprisingly effective. But generally indifferent performances and underwritten characters that come to believe too quickly in the contrived "rules" of the plot (a mishmash of curses, possession and slasher movie tropes) work against the film.
The story has potential, invoking the folk tale of the Wild Hunt conducted by either fairies or ghosts depending on which sources one references. But the inherent silliness of the central premise is a millstone around the film's neck.
Viewers seeking a "so-bad-it's good" that actually contains a few interesting ideas may want to give it a shot.
