Stopmotion

Ella Blake (Aisling Franciosi) works under her demanding mother Suzanne Blake (Stella Gonet) doing their own indie stop-motion animated films. She's doing all the work since her mother is disabled. After her mother suffers a stroke, she encounters a young girl. She creates a new character with usual materials.

I really like some of the ideas in this movie. There are some interesting themes and I really like the creation. It reminds me of Puppet Master with elements of Cronenberg body horror. There is a lot to like, but the overall effect is a slow moving indie horror. Despite the individual ideas, none of them can overcome the general grind of the story telling.

Greetings again from the darkness. The art of stop-motion consists of bringing hunks of clay to life and telling an interesting story. It's excruciatingly slow work requiring meticulous attention to detail. The first feature length film from animator-turned-writer/director Robert Morgan is co-written with Robin King, and pays homage to this distinct art form. Of course, since it's a horror film, it also makes good use of the adage ... an artist being consumed by their art.

Aisling Franciosa (so memorable in THE NIGHTINGALE, 2018) stars as Ella Blake, who is assisting her mother (Stella Gonet), a renowned stop-motion artist, with her "last film". Arthritis has seized mom's hands and so she barks orders at her daughter in frustration of her own limitations. Once out from under her mother's controlling ways, Ella finds her own space in an old apartment, where she begins to pursue her own vision. Soon she's visited by an odd and inquisitive little girl (Caolinn Springall), presumably from the neighborhood. The girl labels Ella's work "boring" and proceeds to tell her own story about Ashman, who haunts a girl in the forest over three nights. Ella is captivated, and we quickly recognize she is in the midst of a slow descent into madness ... unaware of who this little girl actually is.

Director Morgan first introduces us to Ella over the opening credits. The flashing lights in a nightclub play visual tricks, and Ella alternates between good and evil looks (think of the two-face syndrome in "Seinfeld"). This is an early clue about the film's path. Morgan also provides contrast between the stark working conditions of the studio (whether it's mom's basement or Ella's apartment) and the more lively and colorful clubs and parties where she hangs out with her boyfriend (Tom York). Adding to the film's visual treats are some unusual camera angles courtesy of cinematographer Leo Hinstin.

The final act features some extreme gore, so be prepared. It's rare for a film to feature raw meat, a dead fox, maggots, and mutilation, but few films have successfully blended the use of stop-action animation with live-action drama. Aisling Franciosa has the instincts to convincingly portray a troubled artist when the wires are crossed between reality and creativity. Getting creeped out is all part of the show.

Opens in theaters on February 23, 2024.

Creepy? Check. Tense? Check. Realistic and bloody gore? Check. Character development/story building? ((Crickets))

The stop-motion sequences are amazing but still not as great as the sound. The squishes, tears, cuts and breathing kick you into this movie more than anything. The lead dives headfirst into her descent to madness well, but something is still missing.

The cast does well, but the chemistry between them all lacks greatly and their relationships aren't fully fleshed out. It seems as though they could have cut most of the relationship scenes (particularly her partner and his sister) out OR added 20 minutes of additional backstory into them. What I was left with was confusion.

The movie ended and I was a bit confused about how I felt about it, hence a 6/10. It's a tense and unsettling movie.

While not a terrible film, it's too sparse in its storytelling. The entire experience can be summed up in one sentence: "An animator loses her grip on reality and descends into hallucinatory madness and self-destruction." That's basically the entire "plot" of the story. This visuals are essentially a collection of other artist's influences rolled into 90 rather tedious minutes. Obvious elements of The Brothers Quay (grotesque faces and bodies), Jan Svankmajer (using meat as a medium), and David Lynch (mainly his art projects) were clearly used. Many films have documented a character losing their mind, and this film doesn't break any new ground in that arena. "Repulsion", "Censor", "Possum", and "Jacob's Ladder" (just to name a few) are far more compelling at depicting mental breakdowns while also containing an interesting story. Ultimately the film is watchable and will probably be enjoyed by those with very limited film experience.

The film has that aura of uneasiness from the beginning. The stop-motion sequences are incredible. The puppets are disturbing, and that's an achievement in its own right. Everything is there save the writing, since it suffers from unambitious character development. Besides a strained relationship with her mother, there are only glimpses of who the protagonist is. This results in a main character not so interesting when she's not working and doing stop motion. The scenes where she's partying, dining with her boyfriend, etc. Are ultimately boring and add nothing of importance to the story. This is a tragedy considering the time spent in those scenes could've been used to explore ideas that were, sadly, barely examined but memorable.

The concept is interesting, the performances are good, the craft is great, and the gore is effective, but it ultimately fails due to its bad foundation.