We couldn’t resist the tagline of ‘You’ve heard of Elf on the Shelf, now prepare for Santa’s Little Helper’ and had to check out the Kickstarter for a new short film that promises to be ‘Gremlins meets Child’s Play’.

The project is halfway to its goal with just under a week to go, and your help could get it over the finishing line. It’s also been given the ‘Kickstarter Project We Love’ badge. Santa’s Little Helper is a short horror film written and directed by Lucy Foster, who has a diverse body of much-lauded work spanning feature and short film screenplays, stage plays, and audio series. She was a winner of the ‘New Blood’ award at 2023’s FrightFest Film Festival and a Killer Shorts semi-finalist.

The official synopsis is
Santa’s Little Helper is both a parent’s best friend – and their worst nightmare. A cute way to see in the Christmas season, Santa’s Little Helper is a festive gnome that sits around your house, watching over your kids and ensuring they behave… Or else risk being put on Santa’s naughty list.

This is the first year Carol is ‘doing’ Santa’s Little Helper for her daughter. It’s a massive faff, but every parent is doing it, so surely she has to as well? But Carol is shocked when she wakes up one morning to find the helper has moved all by itself. Santa’s Little Helper seems to have a mind of its own… with terrifying results.

It’s being produced by Crossroad Pictures – the production company behind the multi-award-winning feature film Walking Against The Rain, and a whole host of other celebrated UK-based short horror projects.

You can find out more about it and pledge to the crowdfunding effort over Kickstarter.