Elves (2021)

Elves (also know in Denmark like Nisser) is an American-Danish horror series released in November 2021 on Netflix.

Plot
Arrived with her family on a mysterious island to be able to spend the Christmas holidays in nature, Josefine becomes curious about a fence that borders the forest, and there she finds a small creature that she will later call Kee-ko. Hiding in a barn from suspicious looks, the little girl raises her new sweet pet, unaware of the danger she is running, both for her and for everyone on the island.

Why It Goes on the Naughty List

 * 1) Misleading advertising: when the series first premiered on Netflix, the visuals made it look like a sweet Christmas series for kids, accompanied by a few images of Kee-ko and a Christmas tree, instead of showing something more graphic or which also implied the death. It doesn't help that the series is called "Elves" and that kids are more drawn to these things around Christmas. It would have been better if it were called "Assassin Elves" or "The curse of the Elves" instead of just "Elves".
 * 2) Bad and unoriginal writing that has ripped off better franchises like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and The Wicker Man, as it is based on the cliché "a child who finds a creature and becomes attached to it, but who attracts the bad guys and then they have to leave". The point is, while the first two films had memorable charm, heart and characters, this series lacks such qualities for the following reasons that will be mentioned.
 * 3) Horrible acting by the actors, who express emotions with blandness as if they wanted to get out of the cast.
 * 4) Annoying theme song.
 * 5) The problem with this series is its characters, because none of them are memorable and they almost always make stupid moves that could backfire, as well they being very unpleasant, bland and cliché.
 * 6) *Josefine, the main protagonist, is a bland and questionable character all the time, as she adopts a creature unknown to her without the consent of either her parents or the islanders and goes wherever she pleases without asking permission. She is also obsessed with Kee-ko despite her warnings, so much so that she even followed him through the gate, where she could risk her life because of the elves. It is understandable that she is an adventure-loving child, but that doesn't mean that kids shouldn't be close to their parents for safety, which gives kids a bad lesson.
 * 7) *Of all the characters in the series, Josefine's parents are certainly the worst, because they are annoying, stupid and obnoxious, as well as disobeying the islanders' rules on keeping the island, like when they were told to travel to the coast, only that they traveled straight into the forest or when Karen told them not to cut down trees for Christmas, ironically: they felled one. And if that wasn't enough, when Karen came by to see what they were doing, they came up with a ridiculous excuse, saying that the tree had fallen into a river and retrieved it from there. They also don't support their children, behaving like indifference and just thinking about Christmas and that's it.
 * 8) **Maybe their's most infamous scene with they is when they threatened Moller to be able to enter the fence to save Josefine, where the father points a rifle at the caretaker and the mother opens the gate.
 * 9) *Josefine's brother is just as obnoxious to her as his parents, but at least he seems like the only member of her family who is normal.
 * 10) *Liv, while is probably the best character of the show, seems there only to be a lover of Josefine's brother.
 * 11) *The islanders are a bit unsympathetic (although not as much as the protagonist's family) and their love of nature can become annoying and cliché. They are also treated as butt-monkeys in the series, with Karen not being respected, Anders being killed by the elves, and Moller being threatened with being shot.
 * 12) *The Elves looks lke a poor version of Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy. Furthermore, despite being the main antagonists of the series, they barely scare and feel like lesser enemies of a fantasy video game.
 * 13) Inaccuracies and continuity errors here and there. For example, in episode three, Josephine's father says it's nice that they came here because it was starting to get hot in Copenhagen, despite Copenhagen being in northern Europe, not very far from the Arctic, and it doesn't help that it's the Christmas period.
 * 14) *On this topic, although the series is set in Denmark and at the gates of winter, not even a shred of snow is seen.
 * 15) *Adult elves appear as creatures made of wood and with rigid, puppet-like movements. However Kee-ko, despite being one of them, has no such qualities and appears to come from another animal.
 * 16) **It may be that he does not have such qualities as he is still a cub, but he still looks quite grown, and shows no woody or stiffness marks on his body.
 * 17) When Anders was badly killed in the finale of the second episode, in the next one he presents a scene where the islanders, in a circle, sing a thank you for the latter's sacrifice, and the whole scene is very irritating and can give you the last nerve.
 * 18) The final episode, The Sacrifice, was a very weak way to end the first season.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) The pilot episode, Aarmand Island, was decent.
 * 2) While most of the characters are hideous, some of these are okay:
 * 3) *Liv, as has already been mentioned, she is the best character in the series because she is nice, supports everyone and has never done anything wrong.
 * 4) *Josefine's brother, although unpleasant, seems to be the most mind-sane and likeable member of his family.
 * 5) *Kee-ko, while looking like a Groot rip off, is certainly cute.
 * 6) *The islanders, while also unpleasant, are at least understandable in their actions.
 * 7) The idea of killer elves around Christmas isn't bad, however it has been poorly executed.
 * 8) Good CGI about elves, even if they look a bit cartoonish.
 * 9) The rhythm is good enough.

Reception
Elves received mixed to negative reviews from critics and audiences, who praised the CGI, some characters and voice acting but criticized the storyline, the actors' acting, the commercials for the series, and most importantly, the main characters. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has a 33% approval rating, while on IMDb it has a 5.5 out of 10 based on 2500 reviews.

Trivia
The yellow ferry that takes the family to the Island is Østre Færge. A ferry commuting from Zealand to the small Island Orø situated in Ise fjorden.

Comments
]]