Jeremiah Kipp’s psychological film,Slapface, which grew from his cult horror short of the same name, became a hit at several genre film festivals when it came out in 2021, but it can definitely appeal to a much wider audience — especially the viewers who appreciate the tweaks on thecommon horror tropes.Slapfacedoes take a familiar outline of a story about a child encountering a monster, but approaches it from an unexpected perspective. In Kipp’s film, when a young boy meets a monster in the woods, he immediately speaks about it, but,as has happened with many childrenbefore him, his words are mostly ignored by the adults. But unlike thetraditional boogeyman stories, where we, as the audience, know that the threat — a monster in a closet,a creepy clown in the sewer, a strange presence inside a TV set, etc. — is very real,Slapfacegoes another way, constantlyteasing the viewers with the suspicion that the monster in this case might be both real and not.
What is ‘Slapface’ About?
The story is centered around two brothers, older Tom (Mike Manning) and younger Lucas (August Maturo), who live alone after their parents' recent deaths. For both of them, life inside their rundown shack on theoutskirts of the town, near the woods, isdominated by grief, unprocessed trauma, and dysfunction. All perfectly epitomized by the titular “slapface game” the brothers sometimes engage in, which consists of them literally hitting each other towork out the emotional painthey’re feeling. The story kicks into gear when Lucas, goaded by the bullies, enters a dilapidated building in the woods and meets a monster, whom he recognizes asa legendary creature from local folklore, the Virago Witch(played byLucas Hassel, who reprises his role from the 2018 short).
The 10 Most Underrated Supernatural Horror Movies, Ranked
Scary underrated.
While initially wary of the witch,Lucas is also fascinated and quickly develops something akin to a friendship with her. It’s not difficult to guess where this intense need for connection comes from, as the boy doesn’t have a lot of options for healthy relationships in his life. His sort of friends are three girls who bully him; one of them, Moriah (Mirabelle Lee), is actually dating him, but strictly in secret. His brother’s new girlfriend, Anna (Libe Barer), is kind and caring, but she also threatens the already fragile dynamic between the two siblings. All the while, the sheriff (the iconicDan Hedaya) is lurking in the shadows, suspecting that Lucas might have anger management issues. Surrounded by grim and unfair circumstances atan age that’s already hard to navigate, the boy suddenly feels a connection with a mysterious creature he doesn’t fully understand. At some point,Lucas tearfully wonders whether the witch is good or evil, not yet being able to comprehend that the reality tends to be somewhere in between.
‘Slapface’ Manages to be Both a Psychological Horror and a Dark Fairytale with a Serious, Relevant Message
Lucas' fragile mental state becomes the primary focus ofSlapface, indicating one of the major motivesthe film sets out to explore, asthe traumas of the past and presentseem to be colliding in the figure of the forest monster. As the witch, who, according to the legend, punishes “bad children”, doesn’t seem interested in causing Lucas harm and focuses instead on his unhealthy environment, it becomes clear that she exists in a strange emotional symbiosis with the boy. Thus,the idea that the witch might be the manifestation of Lucas' psychological turmoil is introducedand doesn’t go away until the end. Even as he, at some point, tries to fight his personal boogeyman, it comes off as just that: an attempt tobattle personal demons, the violent part of himself that Lucas is both scared of, but may possibly be intrigued by.
Another curious aspect of Kipp’s film is that it doesn’t present the above-mentioned dilemma as apossible twist— instead,it’s an ongoing question that lingers throughout the film’s narrative and style. The modest budget ofSlapfacedoesn’t stop the authors from creating a world that feels painfully realistic and lived-in, as is often the case with passion projects that the filmmakers have beentrying to bring to life for a long time(which, according to the director, who also wrote the film’s screenplay,was exactly howSlapfacecame about). The cast obviously has a lot to do with that effect, and some serious weight is carried by both August Maturo, whose performance becomes its own aesthetic tool in the film, and Mike Manning (also one of the film’s producers). Thesetting, production design, and cinematography are other aesthetic tools in the filmmakers' arsenal, which are used to show that the existing status quo in the familiar world of Lucas and Tom is falling apart.
Between the messy, stuffy, andclaustrophobic feelof the brothers' home and the dark color palette with occasional amber splashes that look more ominous than truly merry, the reality inside the film comes off as inherently flawed and cruel, setting up the film’s major theme. Whether the Virago Witch is real or an outlet for the young protagonist’s grievances, she doesn’t just appear out of nowhere, just likethe violence materializing on screen isn’t accidental — it’s predetermined. The movie starts with a scene where Tom and Lucas play their slapping “game”, and it goes on to show how abuse and neglect ironically can become someone’s tortured idea of a way to connect with another person, but in the end, they always just create more violence and pain. Balancing the verge of psychological andfolk horrorwith the distinct feel of a contemporarydark fairytale,Slapfaceis a tense, atmospheric, and genuinely disturbing piece, centered around an uncomfortable ideathat sometimes we don’t have to go deep into the woods to find and awaken the monster.
