Ella Blake, a stop-motion animator struggling to control her demons after the loss of her overbearing mother, who embarks upon the creation of a film that becomes the battleground for her sanity. A...
It’s been a while since I’ve seen a horror movie done with Stopmotion animation, let alone one executed with this much resolute patience and ambition as, well, “Stopmotion”. But even that comes with a LOT OF CAVEATS.
Some directors have a much better time with arresting the attention out of you than others and Robert Morgan’s experience with stop-motion animation makes him better equipped than most in regards to this subject matter. Just like the puppets, he’s able to control and manipulate space to where it’s not always coherent but it doesn’t come off as tiresome.
Léo Hinstin’s idea of expressive amplification with his cinematography is both muted and heightening to the visceral presentation the film provides, providing plenty of disquieting imagery and deeply unsettling atmosphere only bolstered by its sufficient editing. Its lashings of lighting are cathartically satisfying to witness, its tone is consistent and pacing-wise, it’s a tightly controlled 93 minutes with a filler, no killer vibe while never losing its suspense and the music from Lola de la Mata really knows how to create a bubble of rich sonic tapestry, ranging from enchanting at best and just bog-standard at worst.
Unsettling and macabre the stop-motion animation is and then some, there’s a dreadful innocence in how the medium treads uncanny valley between animated and real life, as to be expected. It’s beautifully ghastly to look at how the stigma of chasing pain to create something memorable aligns masterfully with such infallible sound design, wondrous use of the foley effects and boy, does it not skimp on its R-rating. And the production design only buoys that sense of wackiness despite its limitations: expressive and carnivalesque in how closely it borders on eldritch horror.
Everything about Aisling Franciosi in this role is nothing short of hypnotic, like a chameleon shedding its skin; other characters don’t get nearly as much care and dedication as she does and they mostly serve as a foil to Ella’s declining health and insecurities; the dialogue is about as rudimentary as it can get, unfortunately.
Once again, we’re treated to the familiar premise of a tortured and socially maladjusted artist whose obsessive pursuit of their craft pushes them into madness with grisly results and more often than not, the plot is a direct retread on most of the unstable artist cliches, digging into the labours of the creative process and the pressure that comes from being in the shadow of others. I can appreciate this movie for adequately trying to put a magnifying glass over familial drama and the way Ella’s descent is intertwined both from a real-life and stop-motion animation perspective was a genius way to make good use of the adage, especially with the excruciatingly slow work requiring meticulous attention to detail needed.….but there’s no taking away from how derivative the execution makes all this look.
How it tries to contextualize the descent into madness is stretched marginally thin in certain areas and it wasn’t as dense as it probably should’ve been.
Most other movies like this, Black Swan or Whiplash, also contextualize the rise and fall that leads to the artist’s collapse but they also make sure to highlight the main character itself at the center. This movie doesn’t feel like it WANTS to dive deeper into Ella’s sense of identity, to find out who she is outside her work…..but perhaps that’s the point: that, with her unmoored and without a proper guide, she has no purpose, no voice of her own due to being creatively stunted by that fake allure of perfection and privilege. It’s just a shame most of those elements are either monotonous or really blunt and on the nose about what it’s trying to say and it’s no real surprise what happens in the end.
You remember that befuddling indie game “Dollhouse”, where this actress recovering from some form of trauma abuses her daughter, is trying to piece together her actual memories with the most blunt, obtuse messaging you can do, and reconciles with said daughter after realizing she was about as good as the game was horrible? That game was coked up on misguided confidence, this movie? Not so much, and it needed a little more of that.
While NOWHERE near that blunt or pretentious about its themes, the script unveils a refrained measure of lost confidence in its ability to either go deeper with or expand its themes.
Still, this is an effort I can applaud for everyone involved.
