New to DVD and Blu-ray in the UK is the British live-action/animated horror, Stopmotion. The film – directed and co-written by Robert Morgan – stars Aisling Franciosi, Stella Gonet, and Tom York, and tells the story of an animator who brings her creations to life.
In the movie, Ella Blake is a would-be animator pulling double duties as a carer for her mother as well as an assistant director on her mother’s latest project. Ella’s mother is ill, and close to death, but is keen to complete her current stop-motion film with her daughter’s assistance.
Ella does what her mother asks and works tirelessly on the movie, continuing even after her mother is hospitalised. However, Ella soon downs tools when a young neighbour convinces her the project is a waste of time as no one will care for it.
With some encouragement from the young girl, Ella starts work on creating her own stop-motion movie, with a new central character. This character is a strange little girl, initially crafted from mortician’s wax and then put together with meat.
Over time, Ella begins to connect with her new creation in disturbing ways. And as the lines between reality and fantasy blur, her film and her creation begin to impact her in unexpected ways.
Featuring some intriguing ideas, as well as some creepy animation, Stopmotion is a psychological horror about art and the tortured artist. It’s fair to say it’s a very unique and unusual picture, and there’s nothing quite like it around at present.
However, despite its uniqueness, I’m afraid it’s not quite as interesting as it hopes to be – or at the very least, I don’t believe it is. Stopmotion has its moments, and there are psychological aspects to pick apart and examine, but as far as I’m concerned it struggles to feel truly captivating.
The film is also a slow burn, which is arguably too slow for its own good. It drifts along at a less-than energetic pace, and I expect some audiences will check out before it ever really goes anywhere.
On the plus side, Stopmotion looks good, boasts great lighting and some gruesome animation. The cast is also decent, and the relationship between Ella and her mother is a well-handled bright spot.
Outside of this it gets points for what it attempts to do at the very least. I’m just not convinced it pulls anything off, and is perhaps a little too cerebral at the expense of any real entertainment.
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