Ella (Aisling Franciosi) is a highly skilled stop-motion animator. While working on her newest project, animating various monsters, we discover that her mother, Suzanne (Stella Gonet), is watching and guiding Ella’s every move. Suzanne is guiding the entire film, consistently giving Ella clear and firm instructions and guiding her craft. In short, Ella’s mum is quite overbearing, harsh, and demanding. Suzanne has her own past as a legendary stop-motion animator, but her age and unsteady hands mean she relies on Ella more than ever to complete her vision. At one point, out of sheer frustration, Suzanne tells Ella that the current project they’re working on is an utter failure and the pair will need to restart all over again. In this kind of working environment, Ella doesn’t have her voice. One day, while working, Suzanne suffers a stroke and falls into a coma, leaving Ella to finish her mother’s film.
With her mother’s health in crisis, Ella seizes the opportunity to find her voice and complete the film in her own way. She relocates to a peaceful and quiet place where she can fully express her artistic vision. In this new environment, she forms an unexpected bond with a young girl (Caoilinn Springall) who is fascinated by Ella’s work. However, as Ella attempts to complete the new film, she encounters a problem: she’s unsure how the story should play out and finds herself struggling to avoid a darkness beginning to consume her completely. Can Ella complete the film and escape the overwhelming darkness?
Stopmotion is a horror film with a strong touch of mystery. The film is directed by Robert Morgan, who has a strong background in stop-motion and is known for his past work on films such as The Cats with Hands (2001) and Bobby Yeah (2011). It is a tense watch with many unsettling or disturbing moments, primarily due to Ella’s progression down a dark path. It’s unclear whether she will fully commit to a life of madness or if she will be able to complete her stop-motion film without further complications. Not all plot details are explained clearly, leaving much open to viewer interpretation. Despite some of the more significant reveals in the film being obvious and unsurprising, the film is suspenseful.
The overall performances were excellent, and I was particularly impressed by the stop-motion effects used in the film. Not only do they look great, but they also include various impressive creature designs. As a horror film, several creepy and tense scenes build towards a disturbing third act.
Overall, Stopmotion is a unique film that portrays Ella’s gradual descent into a world of horror and darkness. The movie features tense, gruesome, and mysterious moments that steadily build towards an intense climax. While the character’s actions are primarily unpredictable, the central plot reveals are, unfortunately, entirely predictable. The performances are generally excellent, but the leading characters are not always likeable, and their choices are difficult to agree with and can be baffling. The stop-motion and creature designs are praiseworthy and create a delightfully disturbing tone that will appeal to horror fans. Due to its story and themes, this horror feature may be a mixed bag for some audiences, especially the vague moments surrounding the finale that are open to interpretation by viewers.
7.1/10
★ ★ ★ ½
1st June 2024
Written by Peter Walkden
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