STOPMOTION is the new horror film directed by Robert Morgan where we follow our lead Ella (Aisling Franciosi) on her stop motion journey as she deals with her overbearing sick mother Suzanne (Stella Gonet) in the process.

Ella is a stop-motion animator who, while putting the finishing touches on her film, suddenly finds her life spiraling out of control when her neighbor, a young girl, (Caoilinn Springall) suggests adding a monster to her movie called the “Ashman”. We get to follow this story through stop motion animated clips and in-person shots as the animation itself gets crazier and crazier with each suggestion her neighbor throws at her.

The film oozes the perfect amount of creepiness through its atmosphere. The lighting in the film is dark with blue and green hues, the most vibrant parts being the scenes of the stop motion film. The music in the film is incredible for the mood, as well. It sounds almost mechanical, making you feel a bit uneasy as the scenes play out since there’s no comfort in them at all. We also get this constant singing in the background done by the little girl that is far from sweet, putting off a haunting feeling.

The plot and characters, stop motion puppets included, are captivating. The film begins with us seeing the harsh relationship between Ella and her mother, her own mother even just referring to her as “puppet”. In a short interview with director Rober Morgan, he does specify that there is a reason for this nickname: “…because Ella’s mother’s health is failing, Ella has effectively had to become her mother’s hands. She basically becomes a puppet herself, having to execute someone else’s vision, and having no say of her own.”. This nickname continues to prove itself fitting throughout the whole movie, with Ella never having her own say in the films till the very end when everything goes wrong. She is always under the ruling hand of her mother or even a little kid from the building she’s working in. After being hospitalized due to following this child’s orders, she still continues to listen to her and go back to the film.

The stop motion aspect of the film has to be one of the best parts. The creatures are animated so smoothly, and their designs are out of this world. In the film, the creatures are supposedly made out of raw meat and a dead fox, giving them this odd but realistic look to them that makes you want to reach out and touch them. The short scenes we see of the stop motion film were captivating as well, it would be amazing to see it released as its own short film one day. There are a couple of scenes where the stop motion puppets are animated alongside our real-life cast and in these scenes, you’re able to really see how smoothly they’re animated because they really do feel like they’re alive alongside the cast. This shouldn’t be too surprising since the director has been involved with stop motion since the 90s when it was at its peak popularity.

This is a breath of fresh air in the horror genre. I would recommend it for any horror lover and/or stop motion lover! It blends the two together perfectly, giving you the best of both worlds.

We give Stopmotion a 4 out of 5 stars.

Stopmotion is out today, February 23, 2024. It will be available on Shudder starting May 31.