‘Stopmotion’ Review – Puppets Comes To Life With Scares And Madness

Stop-motion animation is a marvelous art form. The ability to create motion and emote from an inanimate object is a mastery of visual effects. That said, there is generally something creepy about the process and the lifeless puppets. These puppets can be downright terrifying when unmoving or frozen in a stationary position atop a miniature soundstage. On this basis, the film Stopmotion brings to life an unsettling tale about an animator’s tormented process and unraveling mind.

Stopmotion is a horror film that blends live-action and stop-motion animation. It tells the story of an animator, Ella (Aisling Franciosi), diligently working on her latest project. As she puts the finishing touches on her puppets, the world of fantasy and reality begins to blur. Near the film’s end, it lays out and poses the question on which the movie’s narrative turns: “It’s a wonderful medium, isn’t it, bringing dead things to life,” says her mother, also an animator (Stella Gonet), to Ella. She promptly replies, “What happens when it takes on a life of its own?” This line is the entire film, and it is unnerving.

Over ninety minutes, it wrestles with the idea: what if stop motion were real? Imagination becomes a breeding ground for darkness. Stopmotion is a mind-bender that latches onto the audience and creates a puppet show of twisted evil.

At its core, the film is sparse. Featuring a small cast, it is also a largely solo-guided performance by Franciosi. She is captivating from the first frame and emotes sincerity as a tortured artist while showing flares of shuddered darkness. She is mainly confined to a studio apartment, working on a project and searching for an idea. A mysterious girl who lives in the building inspires her latest project. Their chance meeting weaves a macabre tale that seeps into her real life. The lines between creativity and reality blur as the story enraptures her life and the project comes to life, or so it seems.

Moreover, the film is brilliant at playing mind games. Is this happening, or is it a woman slipping into madness? There is a little ambiguity for most of its runtime, but in the end, Stopmotion clarifies what is happening inside this studio apartment. The conclusion is terrifying. 

As noted, the other performances in the film are mainly one-note in favor of keeping the spotlight on Ella. There is the little girl (Caoilinn Springall), whose enigmatic presence gives an unsettling feeling of a dangerous muse. Still, the focus is on Ella and her descent into madness. 

Ultimately, that is the challenge for Ella as she strives for perfection, her sanity crumbles. She is as much a puppet as the ones she controls for her projects. Even free of her controlling mother, there is a prevailing sense of being on the end of a string. Enter the little girl, who the film dangles as possibly the culprit pulling Ella’s creative strings. The film enjoys an interesting reversal of a puppet master manipulating a puppet.

On the downside, pacing lags at points. The film runs ninety minutes, but the first two acts take too long. However, there is a ferocity to film by the third act. The narrative shifts into an almost dark fantasy and crescendos with the unveiling of a literal creation come to life: The Ash Man. 

Moreover, the puppets in the film are unnerving, and the monstrous creation of The Ash Man is a hellish nightmare. The film blends stop-motion scenes with traditional acting quite well, resulting in some unsettling scenes that are squeamish and nightmare-inducing. 

Consequently, many elements are prebaked, and genre fans will be unsurprised. Furthermore, while many trappings are familiar, the execution is stellar. There is never a ham-fisted attempt to weave in shock and awe. There is genuine suspense and psychological terror. Even if the ending is a bit expected, the film’s exploration of darkness amid an unraveling artist is brilliant. 

Ultimately, there is an inherent tragedy to the story. On the one hand, it is a standard horror film with all the twists and scares expected. On the other hand, the exploration of an artist pushing themselves to the brink of insanity is inherently tragic and gives the film added pathos. 

While the film covers familiar territory at points, Stopmotion is generally frightening and emphasizes stunning both the mind and the eyes. It is a cinematic blurring of the line between real life and animation. Above all, this is the scary epitome of life imitating art – literally. 

Stopmotion will debut in theaters on February 23, 2024, courtesy of IFC Films. The film will be available to stream on Shudder on May 31st. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Debr5KI1QIU]