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Slapface
USA 2021
produced by Mike Manning, Artisha Mann Cooper, Joe Benedetto, Lisa D'Ambrosio (executive), Curtis Braly (executive), Chris Maturo (executive), Maha Maturo (executive), Alixx Schottland (executive), Nicholas Tocco (executive), Shintaro Shimosawa (executive), DJ Dodd (executive) for Dread, Chhibber Mann Productions, Mirror Image Films, Artman Cooper Productions
directed by Jeremiah Kipp
starring August Maturo, Mike Manning, Libe Barer, Mirabelle Lee, Bianca D'Ambrosio, Chiara D'Ambrosio, Lukas Hassel as monster, Dan Hedaya, Alixx Schottland, John Backstrom, Mack Kuhr, Nick Theurer, Curtis Braly, Maha Maturo, Joseph DiGennaro, Stella Hollon-King, Larry Mihlon, Michael David Thurston, Marc Abbott, Debra Khan-Bey, Tim Dwyer, Tina V, Bryan Enk, Keith Dworkin, John M. Cronin, Scott Manley, Rolando Zapata, Ilaria Malvezzi, Rick Thurston, Brandon Montgomery, Steven C. Ham III, Ryan Ballard
written by Jeremiah Kipp, music by Barry J. Neely, special effects by Ill Willed Productions, cinematography by Dominick Sivilli
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
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Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, rural USA: Ever since they've lost
their parents, Tom (Mike Manning) is trying to raise his younger brother
Lucas (August Maturo) - but even if Tom does truly love his brother, he
just isn't cut out to be a parent, he's too young, to inexperienced, and
quite frankly too immature. Plus, he also needs to work, leaving Lucas on
his own during the day. And that's where the problems start as Lucas has
no real friends, the only local kids his age are bullies Donna (Bianca
D'Amrosio), Rose (Chiara D'Amrosio) and Moriah (Mirabelle Lee), who
constantly tease him. And that Moriah, when the others aren't around,
tries to be Lucas's girlfriend doesn't make things any easier as the boy's
much too young to understand his own or her feelings. One day, when
checking out an abandoned building, Lucas runs into a monster (Lukas
Hassel), and even though the monster at first scares him shitless, he
eventually makes friends with her, and the monster grows quite fond of
Lucas and tries to protect him wherever she can - like when he's chased by
a dog gone wild. Thing is, the monster doesn't always understand the ways
of us humans ... Eventually, Tom's new girlfriend Anna (Libe Barer)
moves in with them, and she tries to be the parent for Lucas that Tom just
fails to be. But the monster misunderstands Lucas's relationship to Anna
and eventually kills her - but hides her body, so everybody's baffled
about her whereabouts - to a point where Tom thinks Lucas might have had
something to do with her disappearance. And things truly go downhill from
there as nobody with links to Lucas is safe anymore ... A
slowburn yet fascinating piece of horror that really chooses atmosphere
over jump scares and really leaves much (including the actual features of
the monster) to the viewer's imagination - and to great effect, too. But
what really makes this movie that it tries and succeeds to create a very
"real" world feel, with fleshed out characters, relatable
situations, and little in terms of genre tropes. On the basis of this, the
film very readily opens itself up to all sorts of interpretations, which
of course only adds to the film's overall attraction. And of course, a
solid cast also sees to it that this is good if pretty unusual genre fare.
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