Slapface Review

Directed by: Jeremiah Kipp
Written by: Jeremiah Kipp

Starring:
August Maturo – Lucas
Mike Manning – Tom
Libe Barer – Anna
Mirabelle Lee – Moriah
Bianca D’Ambrosio – Donna
Chiara D’Ambrosio – Rose
Lukas Hassel – The Monster
Dan Hedaya – Sheriff John Thurston

Running Time: 86 minutes
Not Rated

Slapface arrives on Shudder in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia/New Zealand on February 3rd.

There’s something in the power of having your expectations for a movie – especially a horror movie – subverted that I’m a sucker for. Sure, coming in with a certain perspective of what a film is going to be and having them not met can lead to disappointment. But just as often it can turn out to be a pleasant surprise, as you find your preconceptions blown away by something altogether different. The Descent, Cabin in the Woods, You’re Next, and Hereditary are all great examples of where most people came in expecting one type of film and were (for the most part) extremely satisfied when it became something wholly different.

We can now add Slapface to that list … or at least, I can. When I saw the title to this horror film, I expected some kind of Psycho Goreman-like horror comedy featuring a monster with that title. It certainly sounds like the tongue-in-cheek thing that a monster could be named. However, that’s not even remotely what Jeremiah Kipp was going for. Instead, Slapface (arriving on Shudder this Thursday) is a grim but potent tale of grief and cycles of abuse, anchored by two great performances at its center.

Slapface refers not to any wacky monster, but instead to a “game” played by Lucas (Maturo) and Tom (Manning), two brothers trying to make their way on their own after the death of their parents. Lucas explains at one point that it’s “just playing,” but Tom created it as a way for them to deal with their emotions – by taking turns slapping each other in the face. It’s an abusive outlet, and it speaks to the nature of how Tom is floundering as a parent figure even as the local sheriff (Dan Hedaya) tells him he’s doing his best and his mother would be proud of him.

Lucas is a lonely kid. When Tom goes to work with a local crew and spends time with his new girlfriend Anna (Barer), Lucas goes out in the woods by himself. He is regularly tormented by a trio of girls, one of whom, Moriah (Lee) secretly likes him but hides it in public because of the other two. When Lucas is sent into the creepy old local haunted building, he discovers a creature living inside – one he accidentally summoned not long before in an attempt to reach out to his mother. This creature befriends the young boy, which is good news initially for him but soon turns out to be bad news for everyone.

With Slapface, Kipp is exploring how unchecked grief can turn toxic and violent. That’s featured on two fronts: in the appearance of Monster (played with a creepy, towering presence by Lukas Hassel) and its relationship to Lucas, but also in the relationship between Lucas and Tom. Tom probably is trying his best, but it’s clear he hasn’t handled his own issues surrounding the loss and it bleeds over into Lucas as well, who summons the Monster in his own attempt to process his grief.

This concept – using monsters as metaphor for grief and loss – is nothing new, particularly as of late. Grief horror is prominent in the last few years, from Hereditary and The Night House to An Unquiet Grave, Relic and many others. If you want to avoid being lost in this sea of horror tears, you must be able to do more than just walk the same road.

Kipp’s film is able to hang with the upper tier of the pack by way of its performances, led by Maturo and Manning. The two allow Lucas and Tom different, equally nuanced takes on their grief. Maturo has a difficult role to pull off as a young actor; he must take on some pretty complex emotions. But he lets us into Lucas’ mind just enough that we see the pain he feels. Manning, meanwhile, adds a ton of sympathy to what could have easily been a very hatable character. Tom makes a ton of mistakes with Lucas – some of them conscious choices – but we can see how much he’s trying and struggling. The gentler scenes between the two underscore a real love there that makes Tom more than just the stereotypical drunk abusive guardian.

Kipp invests his film with a slow burn, but he also keeps the tension high throughout much of the movie. He’s able to do a lot with what looks to have been a very low budget, smartly isolating the film to just a few locations. The scenes of violence are shocking, more so than any carnage that could have been unveiled.

It doesn’t hit every step just right, and in the final act things start to go off the rails. Kipp can’t resist practically shouting the film’s thesis through the dialogue when we already understand the metaphor at that point. But until those final moments, Slapface stays a surprising film, one that is as affecting as it is uncomfortable in the best way.

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

Jeremiah Kipp's Slapface presents itself as another entry in the grief horror trend, and for much of its runtime it hangs admirably with its contemporaries. Anchored by two incredibly strong lead performances and a good supporting cast, Kipp looks at cycles of abuse in relation to unchecked grief with potent results. It's not a light watch, but it's a well-made one with some genuinely unsettling horror moments and a couple good scares to boot.