Trailer for Elf remade into a horror film is absolutely spine-chilling

Elf fans are flooding to social media in horror after seeing the trailer for a horror version of the movie.

If you felt like shattering the last few threads of Christmas spirit you've been desperately clutching onto since you realised Santa isn't real, then how about festive classic Elf being 'recut as a thriller'?

Prepare to never look at Will Ferrell's Buddy in the same way ever again:

You currently know Buddy as a child raised by elves who goes off to New York to find his dad and overcome certain challenges to have a holly jolly festive time.

Warner Bros' synopsis of the movie reads: "One Christmas Eve a long time ago, a baby crawled into Santa's bag of toys...

"Raised as an elf, Buddy (Will Ferrell) grows into an adult three times larger than the biggest elf - and realizes that he will never truly fit in at the North Pole.

"This holiday season, Buddy goes looking for his true place in the world - in New York City. Buddy finds his workaholic father (James Caan) - who's on Santa's "naughty" list, a new mother (Mary Steenburgen) and a 10-year-old brother who doesn't believe in Santa Claus or elves.

"Here, now, Buddy discovers his destiny - to save Christmas for New York and the world!​"

Alas, your whole view of the movie is now about to be changed.

New Line Cinema

Footage which has been widespread online - edited by Bobby Burns, executive produced by Dustin McLean and posted to YouTube by CineFix - IGN Movies and TV - recreates the trailer for Elf but as a 'creepy version of the holiday comedy'.

And straight from the get go of the two minute and 14 second trailer, the music really sets the tone - it's giving the same vibes as Hitchcock's score for Psycho.

In this version of Elf, poor Buddy is 'taken as a child,' 'tortured' and ultimately, you'll end up as 'twisted and broken' as he's presented after seeing one of your festive favorites turn into a horror character worthy of infiltrating your nightmares.

The synopsis as per CineFix reads: "Thought your holiday family dinner was a nightmare? Wait until you see your favorite elf in this creepy version of the holiday comedy.

"At least now you'll definitely be up all night to wait for Santa Claus."

New Line Cinema/ CineFix/ Bobby Burns/ Dustin McLean

And the trailer has certainly had the reaction it set out to achieve, people flooding to social media in horror over the trailer's reworking of the jolly Christmas classic.

One YouTube user wrote: "That tucked in scene was pure gold."

"This works almost too well," another added.

A third commented: "Congratulations, you made a movie about Will Ferrell in an elf suit legitimately terrifying."

A fourth chimed: "Turning the tickle fight scene into an attack was genius."

And a fifth resolved: "This is one of the greatest things I have ever seen."

Topics: Film and TV, Social Media, Instagram, Twitter, Christmas, Horror, World News, Will Ferrell

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.