Horror often presents a literal interpretation of artists giving themselves over to their art, whether through supernatural suffering or psychological unraveling. Stopmotion, the feature directorial debut by BAFTA-nominated filmmaker/animator Robert Morgan, chooses the latter. While it may adhere to a familiar path of an artist’s unraveling, Morgan finds inventive and creative ways to mine visceral horror through the uncanny, unsettling nature of stop-motion animation and its painstaking process.
Ella Blake (The Nightingale‘s Aisling Franciosi) is a talented stop-motion animator who longs to escape the shadow of her mother, Suzanne (Stella Gonet), a reputable legend in the world of stop-motion animation. With Suzanne’s health deteriorating and her hands no longer functional, Ella’s artistic aspirations are put on the backburner as she’s forced to tend to her ailing but overbearing mom and act as her hands through the meticulous work of stop-motion. It seems everything in the timid Ella’s life works against her artistic dreams beyond an oppressive home life. Yet, when Suzanne’s health takes a sharp turn for the worse, Ella’s chance to create her own vision instead sends her spiraling when reality blurs in increasingly disquieting ways.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Samuel Dole. An IFC Films and Shudder release.
What sets Stopmotion apart from horror films of this ilk and makes it special is its reflection on the art form and filmmaking process. Robert Morgan, best known for stop-motion shorts “Bobby Yeah” and “D is for Deloused” in ABCs of Death 2, captures the demanding nature of stop-motion animation through exquisitely haunting clay creations and miniature sets. With the help of plucky young Little Girl (Caoilinn Springall), Ella’s stop-motion figures, made of fleshy hues, textures, and organic matter, poignantly shift the relationship between an artist and her increasingly ominous art.
Ella’s descent grows more macabre, mirrored by escalating encounters with her puppets in sinister ways. Morgan’s deft blending of mediums is utterly captivating, including the way the filmmaker imbues his stop-motion creations with a tactile quality. It’s not just the animation that stuns while simultaneously inducing revulsion but the unnerving sound design. Open wounds and puppets alike often come with discomforting, squelching sounds and wet noises that ensure an immersive experience.
Aisling Franciosi also transcends the familiar artist’s descent arc with a quiet, compelling performance that crescendos into steadfast self-destruction for her grand masterpiece. While some story beats may play out exactly as expected, Franciosi’s nuanced performance and restrained ferocity bridge the art to the artist. Sometimes, the dramatic stakes are too restrained, occasionally serving as a supporting part of the stop-motion animation.
It’s fitting, though, as Stopmotion feels more of a personal piece from a stop-motion artist examining their own relationship with their art and the painstaking process of bringing it to life. Morgan brings intelligence and resonance to it while never afraid to get grotesque or repulsive. The final act may read familiar on paper, but the inventive approach packs a visceral punch.
When so many filmmakers opt for style over substance, the style is substance here. Morgan surprises with an immersive sensory assault. Art and storytelling collide in breathtaking yet revolting fashion. Morgan’s knockout debut opens up the veins of a turbulent artist, delivering one creepy melding of mediums to an unsettling, powerful degree.
Stopmotion releases in theaters on February 23 before heading to Shudder on May 31, 2024.
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