Horror Short Review: The Thing on the Shelf (2018)

Let’s wrap up 2018’s Christmas horror short reviews with the shortest one we’ve looked at this year. Also, one of the best we’ve seen this year and every year proceeding this.

MIKAL and DARKLY Films presents: The Thing on the Shelf. A minute-long Christmas horror short, it stars Aila June Lemond and Jill Kathryn Lemond. A young girl (Aila June Lemond) is being tucked into bed by her mother (Jill Kathryn Lemond) a few days before Christmas.

Her room is colourful really giving off the vibe of the holidays especially with the slow, twinkly sound of Silent Night playing. If you know us, you know how important it is for a Christmas horror to be Christmassy and The Thing on the Shelf nails this.

Before leaving the room, the mother puts a stuffed toy elf on the shelf opposite the bed telling the child to be good because he is watching her. It’s a cute doll and the scene is played out with love and sweetness. However, any seasoned horror fan knows nothing good ever comes from dolls.

We then get some shots of the girl trying to sleep and her room in general before we focus on the elf. She sits up and we all know what is coming next! The elf’s head slowly turns to face her before it raises its hand and shushes her. Fade to black, short over.

Love it. Effective and creepy, it gets the imagination firing on all cylinders. Is it an evil elf? Is it someone holding the doll as the shush voice is manly? Is it just a dream? So many questions created from a minute-long film. Excellent work.

Check it out yourself below:

https://youtu.be/FA_OeEdUsqI