Casual fans of this casual fan know that I like writing about horror films. I especially like writing about bad horror films and film festivals seem like a rich environment for that specific type of movie. Slapface is right on the cusp of greatness. Last weekend when I started CineJoy, one of the first movies I saw was a period horror film called The Yellow Wallpaper, which I went in thinking would be Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I guess? But with a monster? But when it turns out that the monster is The Patriarchy and Depression, it’s not as fun. I like my social problems externalized and some elements of magical realism sprinkled in so that I have an easier time processing issues. I want a Babadook. Friends last weekend said that I should measure all the movies at this festival on a scale of “1 to Babadook,” which I have resisted to this point, mostly by not seeing any more horror films, and yet here I am on a Wednesday night describing Slapface as a movie about the age old game slapface plus Babadook.
What is slapface, you ask? Wife said I should just include the Pikachu meme that I’ve been enamored with for years without any explanation, so I’ll do that.
This movie is basically this plus a creepy but lovable monster friend. When I say creepy, I mean there are more than a couple instances in which this kind of surrogate mother figure seems to intimate some abuse, like when they get into a bath together or when she smears fluids over his face and chest. Not to mention that multiple characters mistakenly describe the monster as the boy’s “girlfriend.” But the movie’s all about that: unhealthy relationships, love that’s manifesting in messed up ways. Hence, Pikachu, crying while smacking himself in the face over and over again.
Slapface seems like a cool–and a little forced–metaphor for… something? Unhealthy self-soothing? The unhealthy ways that men resort to in order to process feelings of loss and abandonment? Codependence? Take your pick. The monster has some cool moments where she mirrors the behaviors of actors, like during a game of slapface, or memorably when she mimics the cocking of a gun (maybe one of the spookiest actions in the movie). I’m not entirely sold on what the monster actually means and some of the sequences don’t seem to have a very good analog except Yup This’ll Be Creepy AF.
August Maturo and Mike Manning are really excellent in their roles and the love between them is palpable. Maturo especially is acting his little heart out this entire movie. He has range. He pulls faces. He kisses awkwardly. In general he’s just a champ. Manning, the big brother, has the chin and jawline of someone from a daytime soap opera, because he is, in fact, someone from a daytime soap opera. But his desperation and slow unraveling is scarier than any of the monster sequences. His romantic arc with Anna doesn’t really explore the depths of that tight spot the boys have been cornered into, but there are flashes of brilliance in those scenes.
Giving this movie two out of five Babadooks.
