So, there is a lot about this movie that is just brilliant. It's got great acting, great atmosphere, an interesting plot, it gets downright cerebral at time, and frankly the little stop motion segments are creepy as fuck. The problem is, this movie only really had enough material for a 45 minute short. It simply couldn't pull off feature length and there is A TON of padding. This movie had Gladiator moments. If you remember from the film Gladiator (2000), there were completely needless scenes that showcased an almost psychedelic expressionist internal turmoil of the main character who longed to return to his home. I call them "Gladiator Moments" a moment when the movie is padded with artsy nonsense for artsy nonsense sake. It's fucking annoying and distracts from the movie.

Stop Motion (2023) was rife with scenes like that. Half the time, the main character's psychotic hallucinations are linked to the plot, the other times they were clearly just having fun with lighting and filters. And frankly, they should have showcased more of the stop-motion animation as part of the horror. Very much of this could have been done like Puppet Master (1989) where the stop motion could literally be assaulting the main character. While Puppet Master was pretty hokey, this had the right FX to do it the right way.

I'm also frankly sick to death of the 'bad boyfriend' trope. This woman was clearly having a nervous breakdown after her abusive mother fell into a coma and anyone who really cared should have been a lot more understanding. But of course we can't have that. We have to have the boyfriend and his shitty ass sister be total assholes to the main character. Because, god damn it, if we can't get the plot to unfold naturally, we will drag it kicking and screaming till the finish. Writers really need to make more relatable characters when it comes to plots like this. This isn't fucking Friday the 13th, we want to actually care what happens to the characters.

The actors and the atmosphere were amazing, though. This movie kinda had a feel like Daniel Isn't Real (2019) playing into the psychological horror of what the viewer doesn't know. Honestly, if it weren't so padded, it'd be just as good.

I'm not gonna tell you not to watch it. You're gonna have to decide for yourself. There is a lot to like about this movie, I just found it deeply frustrating. Like Oculus (2013), I just can't recommend it, but I'm not going to discourage you from watching it.

SPOILERS!!!

Jesus fucking Christ it was so obnoxiously obvious that the little girl played by Caoilinn Springall was in fact a projection of the main character Ella, played by Aisling Franciosi. It was so painfully obvious that when the reveal is finally made, it's like they didn't even try to make it a twist. It genuinely felt like the director gave up trying to spin it and realized the audience probably already figured it out. I called it when the kid first shows up. Even an idiot will figure it out in the first couple interactions with the little girl.

Don't get me wrong, this is actually a brilliant concept that fell flat because they were trying to make a twist out of it. They should have just leaned all the way into it. Make it brutally obvious that the little girl is a part of Ella's madness. They could've had so much fun with it, making her a tormentor who constantly bullies Ella in place of her mother. That's the whole point, really. Ella was so codependent on her abusive mother, that once she's out of the picture, Ella just starts to abuse herself.

See what I'm saying, though? This movie could have been so good. It had so much potential but what we get instead is just sort of annoying.

Anyway, it's up to you if you want to give it a chance.