Horror Short Review: Jingle Bell Run (2017)

Finding good full feature Christmas horror movies is a tough task but finding good Christmas horror shorts is less of a problem. There are so many great ones out there like Treevenge, Eve of the Nutcracker, and Humbug.

Well Jingle Bell Run by Jonathan Chan gets to join that group as a fun, scary and most importantly Christmas themed horror short. It’s very simple, a young man can’t sleep so decides to go for a late-night run on Christmas Eve. He grabs his headphones and sets off but as he gets down the street his music changes suddenly to Jingle Bells. He stops confused and in the distance, we see a masked figure approaching from behind ringing a bell.

This happens again as he starts to run but this time he thinks he hears something behind him so turns around but there is nothing there. A little creeped out he continues his run only to have Jingle Bells start playing again. Now annoyed he rips the earphones out and hears the bells ringing. He spins around to see a present on the floor. Dare he open it?

The payoff is straight-forward enough and it doesn’t have much in the way of surprises but the build is excellent. The slow approach of the masked person is terrifying and with the music and decorations it feels very much like Christmas. Exactly as a holiday horror should.

Check it out yourself below: