Stopmotion

Film: Stopmotion

Year: 2023

Director: Robert Morgan

Writers: Robin King and Robert Morgan

Starring: Aisling Franciosi, Stella Gonet and Tom York

Review:

This was a movie that I heard buzz about and saw the trailer was being shown at the Gateway Film Center. This was one of the horror films for 2024 that I was excited for. When I saw this was showing at the theater, I made it a point to catch it. I’ve also now given it a second watch on Shudder.

Synopsis: a stop-motion animator struggles to control her demons after the loss of her overbearing mother.

For this, we are following Ella Blake (Aisling Franciosi) who is the animator from the synopsis. She is working on a movie with her mother, Suzanne (Stella Gonet). Now her mother is a legend in this industry with this type of animation. She made classic films in this style, but arthritis has her unable to use her hands. She is the brains behind this project and has Ella do the movements for her. Her mother is tough and feels like she is also limiting the creativity of her daughter. Ella also lacks confidence.

Ella is seeing Tom (Tom York) who works for an advertising company. His sister also works there doing stop-motion. We get to see her work and it is impressive. This also makes Ella question what she is doing. It doesn’t help that Suzanne is overbearing. She expects Ella to be home so they can work. This causes a fight between them that results in Suzanne having a stroke.

This makes her daughter feel horrible and she decides to finish the project her mother started. She can’t work in their studio though. Being there reminds her of what happened. She ends up renting an apartment. She gets everything set up, but she can’t focus. There is humming coming from the stairwell. It is a girl who lives in the building that is doing it. She is played by Caoilinn Springall. This girl forces her way in and asks about what Ella is doing. She explains and shows her what has been done for this project. The girl tells her it is boring, which shocks Ella. The little girl then recommends a different story, one about a girl getting lost in the woods.

What I’ll include here is that Ella might have issues mentally. We see the aftermath of her blacking out. She destroyed the set her mother made and the cyclops puppets are in pieces. In its place is a setting in the woods. There also is a little girl made from clay that funeral homes use to prepare the dead. We also see that she has shot a sequence of this girl being chased by something. It is just like the little girl said she should do.

This isn’t the only recommendation that are made to Ella. The little girl thinks she should redo the girl puppet but use meat. That will make it seem more alive. Ella resists. That is until she blacks out again. There is more footage done and she starts to realize that if she wants to go complete her movie, it will take her places she shouldn’t go. Her mental stability comes into question. She could also be bringing these creations to life.

That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that I love so many of the concepts here. I’m a big fan of stop-motion so seeing an animator who does this for a living is great. We see the progress with both films and it is always impressive to me. We also have an unstable narrator, which I appreciate. This also just gets terrifying with things that happen to Ella. It could all be in her head or maybe her pouring everything into this is bringing it to life.

Where I should start then is with the character of Ella since this is a character study about her. She is in a tough position. She wants to do the same thing that her mother is a legend at doing. Tom makes a comment, as does his sister who also is an animator. I’ve seen and wondered about this when it comes to musicians or athletes, what it would be like to have a famous parent that does the same thing you are. Her mother is cold so that doesn’t help. What is interesting is that the first struggle we see is that Ella doesn’t have an idea of what to do for her own project. It starts with her working on the one her mother envisions. Ella brings up that she has an idea, but when her mother wants to know more, she freezes. That is partially due to her lack of confidence. This little girl then gives her the story in pieces for what Ella considers ‘her movie’. It then grows from there where she is seeing this evil entity she created, The Ash Man (James Swanton), coming to life. I thought that with how the character is written and the portrayal by Franciosi, they do a great job bringing her to life. What also helps is that they set up the baseline, we see there could be mental illness before she fully descends into madness.

There is another aspect of commentary I wanted to bring up. Ella is a struggling artist. She mocks Tom and his sister for working for an advertising company. She has this lofty belief that what they’re doing isn’t art. I can see where she is coming from. It is also ironic though since they’re doing what they love, but just making a living from it.

Where I’ll shift then is over to filmmaking. The major thing that I need to go over is effects. I love the stop-motion animation we get here. I know it costs a bit more than just using computers, but man it looks great. It is also creepy seeing this little girl doll trying to get away from The Ash Man and how it this mirrors things happening to Ella. It can also be seen that this dark entity is more about losing herself. There is also blood and gore later in the movie that I wasn’t expecting. It made me cringe in the best way. There’s also gross things done with a dead animal and meat as well. Since I’ve commended the effects, I should also credit the cinematography and framing. That helps to make these things look more real. It is well done. I also like the sound design, especially with the puppets. The musical selections fit what was needed as well.

All that is left then is the acting. I’ve already said how good Franciosi was. Gonet is good as her overbearing mother. She is hard on her, but I also think that Ella feels trapped, which adds to it. I like York as her boyfriend. He is supportive to an extent. He has his limits which I don’t blame him for how rude Ella comes off at times. Springall is good as this little girl. What I like there is that she is also rude. She entices Ella as well. There’s a good reveal there. Not new, I guessed it about halfway through, but it works for this type of movie. I’ll also credit Swanton who is The Ash Man. He doesn’t talk, but how he can move his body is creepy. He brings this entity to life. I’d also say the rest of the cast was solid for what was needed.

In conclusion, I dug this movie. I’m glad that I caught it in the theaters. We have a story that isn’t new, but I love what they do with it. The use of stop-motion is a big part of that. The effects outside of that were good along with the cinematography and framing. What they do there helps to hide the seams. Even the sound design adds to it as well. I thought that the acting was good. Credit there to this character study of Ella and how Franciosi brings the character to life. Be warned that this is creepy and gets gory in the end. Not over the top, but it looked real enough to make me squirm in my seat. I’m glad that I revisited this. It has solidified itself in my top 10, maybe higher. I would recommend seeing this one for sure.

My Rating: 9 out of 10