“Dearest Sarah, if you’re reading this, I am dead.” Not exactly the first lines you’d expect to hear in a Christmas short, but that’s exactly how the new twisted film “O Human Being” from marketing agency Anomaly starts. Narrated by Richard E. Grant, the animated short flips the roles of Christmas trees and humans and tells the story of Peter, a man who has been cut off at the ankles by a family of trees and decorated for the holidays.
“O Human Being” is probably the darkest Christmas tale you’ll hear this season and yet it is basically an exact telling of what we as humans do to the firs, pines, spruce’s and cypress’ we bring into our homes every year, but applied to humans. During the short Grant narrates Peter’s story of being kidnapped, planted, and left to slowly die after being decorated for the holidays. Despite the horrors Peter experiences, his presence somehow brings the family of trees joy during the holidays.
Oh, and be sure to stick around for the credits so you can sing along to the film’s theme:
O Human Being, O Human Being,
How lovely are thy fingers,
O Human Being O Human Being,
How lovely is thy flesh,
Your cheeks so fresh in summer time,
Go sort of grey in wintertime,
O Human Being O Human Being,
How lovely are thy stump legs
This isn’t the agency’s first foray into dark holiday films. Last year, the agency garnered attention for its holiday short “Dear Satan.” Narrated by Sir Patrick Stewart, the animated short tells the story of what happens when a little girl named Hope mistakenly sends a letter to Satan instead of Santa asking for a puppy. The kind sentiments, which deviate from Satan’s usual hate mail, cause Satan to feel a “sweet aching in his chest” and the rest, well you should just go watch it for yourself.
