★ 7 / 10
The title Slapface suggests a dumb horror flick
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The title Slapface suggests a dumb horror flick like Slender Man or The Bye Bye Man; fortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. This atmospheric…
The title Slapface suggests a dumb horror flick like Slender Man or The Bye Bye Man; fortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. This atmospheric, intriguing film written and directed by Jeremiah Kipp is the antithesis of a Dead Teenager Movie, and while it revolves around a supernatural element, its true, underlying horror is sadly quotidian.
More than just a horror film, Kipp has crafted a modern fable, and his allegorical approach takes what could have been a heavy-handed and opportunistic lecture and transforms it into an oblique and subtle message (at least right until the closing credits).
At the center of it all is a performance by August Maturo that’s, well, mature beyond his 14 years of age. He is Lucas, an orphaned boy living in a cabin on the outskirts of a small town with his older brother and quote-unquote guardian Tom (Mike Manning), a functional alcoholic.
Mike disguises his physical abuse of Lucas under the pretense of the titular “game.” Lucas is also tormented physically by “the twins” (Bianca D'Ambrosio and Chiara D'Ambrosio), and emotionally by their friend Moriah (Mirabelle Lee), who’s either a victim of peer pressure or a sadistic little bitch.
This is a decidedly character-driven story, shot on locations that are both realistic and ethereal (the spooky autumnal woods of Newburgh, New York are a character in their own right). Even the “Monster,” played by actor Lukas Hassel in prosthetic makeup, is spared a GCI status.
Now, making a literal monster out of bullying (if this is indeed Kipp’s intention) – might seem too transparent a choice (and the closing caption sort of defeats the purpose of making an allegory in the first place) , but it’s not as simple as all that.
Slapface’s monster isn’t a one-dimensional beast like the ones in, say, A Quiet Place – I’d even go so far as to say that it has quite a bit in common with Frankenstein’s creature, and its ambiguity cleverly parallels Moriah’s treatment of Lucas. The film’s conclusion is not exactly optimistic, but at least it’s not the obligatory shot suggesting that the evil will continue.
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★ 6 / 10
Ambiguity
midnightmosesuk
Ambiguous endings. I don't mind films with ambiguous endings but sometimes they just don't work and leave me feeling deeply disatisfied. Spoilers ahead. In…
Ambiguous endings. I don't mind films with ambiguous endings but sometimes they just don't work and leave me feeling deeply disatisfied. Spoilers ahead.
In Slapface the young protagonist appears to befriend a witch. This witch becomes very protective of the young lad to the extent of killing anyone or anything that appears to threaten him. The film presents us with three options:
1. The witch is real.
2. The witch is imaginary and the boy is responsible for the violence.
3. The witch has been summoned into reality by the boys grief at the loss of his parents.
If the witch is real why did it disappear after the boy apparently killed it?
If the witch is imaginary, how did a young boy kill an entire police station of armed officers?
If the witch was summoned by the loss of the mother, why was it so hostile to his brother? Surely it'd recognize it's all a part of the same pain?
I wanted to settle on a meaning for this film but, because all of the endings were implausible, I just couldn't. There should be plausible conclusions for us to focus on.
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★ 5 / 10
Important topic with a bleak delivery
FilmsCanChangeTheWorld
Slapface holds a powerful social message - one worth exploring, however the execution was marred a little by slow pacing. I applaud the director (Jeremiah…
Slapface holds a powerful social message - one worth exploring, however the execution was marred a little by slow pacing. I applaud the director (Jeremiah Kipp) for tackling the topic of bullying using a supernatural spin. For a first time feature film it got its point across and I hope to see a variety of work come out of this director in the future.
Having said that, I did find myself favouring the message more than the delivery of this film. Some horror elements were present but because the focus was a little heavy on the metaphor aspect, for me the sense of real fear struggled to hit the mark, still, it did deliver on an uneasy oppressive tension throughout.
General film observation - I'm seeing a consistent trend in the last five years or so with first-time feature film directors from the current crop of talented up-and-coming filmmakers. Slow burn horrors such as The Babadook, The VVitch, Relic, Separation, etc, and now Slapface, all use these narrative devices - they take a serious social issue, personify that issue into a non-speaking boogey man who delivers menace, create an oppressive and bleak tone, slow pacing, minimal dialogue, create characters that are designed to represent an aspect of the chosen social issue causing them to be somewhat flat, and use these elements to create the allegory. It's a decent enough structure but we're getting a few too many of these atmospheric slow-moving quiet narratives now, and they're starting to feel homogeneous.
I get it; they're cheap, relatively easy for first time filmmakers to write and get made, and have something worthwhile to say; however they are so slow and so depressing. Call me old-fashioned but horror used to be fun and campy but most importantly scary, and still have something of significance to say. This current generation of horror seems to be interpreting horror now not as something to make an audience feel fear in the exhilarating sense, but the heavy, overly serious, oppressive, existential dread of being alive - a reflection of the times and all that jazz I guess.
But I wish we would foster a culture of horror filmmakers by teaching them to create really compelling characters, dialogue that leaves you hungry for the next line, high energy moments that keeps the pacing balanced, and moments that resonate in the memory. Alien, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, to name a few - these films were the days of interesting characters, memorable scenes, monsters that actually spoke (or growled lol) and had their own personalities that took their characters far beyond simple symbolism. These slow burns are getting harder to watch and I hope this trend peters out soon.
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thanks!!!