Stopmotion released in cinemas on Friday, Feb. 23. The film follows Ella, a stop-motion animator who becomes consumed by her horrifying creations.

I was really looking forward to this flick, and to be honest… I found myself decently disappointed early on. The setup seemed a bit disjointed, and it moved at an excruciatingly slow pace. I went in expecting the stop motion to be center stage, so I was unpatiently waiting for that idea to take its horror twist. It was unfair of me to judge so quickly, however, because once Stopmotion kicks into gear… it never stops.

The second half of this movie was disturbing, gory, intense and just straight-up weird. I loved every second of it. You could hear the sounds of disgust and terror amongst the audience members in the theater, which made this all the more fun. The choices made in this film won’t work for everyone, but with each new idea introduced, I found myself becoming more and more invested.

The stars were these stop-motion characters created by Ella, with their simplistic and almost barbaric nature making them all the more creepy. This is obviously the aspect of the film that makes it unique as well — one that could have easily turned gimmicky, but I thought that it worked well in creating an unsettling atmosphere.

The story itself isn’t really all that complex, but Stopmotion does enough to make itself stand out. We may have seen similar scripts to this before, but the stop motion aspect really adds a lot here. It’s goofy and cheesy at times, but it all culminates into a bizarre, entertaining and frightening journey.

Also contributing to the success of this film were the performances, cinematography and editing. Aisling Franciosi did exceptional in the lead role, showcasing her character’s descent into madness. She had to convey a wide range of emotions, and I bought into her performance as a whole. Combined with the visuals, the sound design also added some texture in certain moments, putting you in the dazed shoes of the characters.

Rather than playing it safe, Stopmotion really goes for it down the stretch… making it a film that I will surely remember at the end of 2024.

Rating: 4 out of 5