Stitches
3/4
Starring: Tommy Knight, Shane Murray-Corocan, Gemma Leah-Devereux, Eoghan McQuinn, Thommas Kane-Byrne, Ross Noble
Rated R for Strong Bloody Violence and Gore, Sexual Content, Language, Drug and Alcohol Use - All involving Teens
"Stitches" cares more about generating laughs than it does scares. Indeed, this movie is at times riotously funny. But the level of gore in this movie makes it difficult for the laughs to shine through in the latter half of the film.
On his birthday, Tom (Ryan Burke) had a clown perform. Unfortunately for him, Stitches (Noble) is a lousy clown and an all around despicable person. So when his friend Vinny (Gerald Ahern) played a prank and Stitches ended up six feet under, it was probably for the best. Tom soon finds out that Stitches was part of a secret society of clowns, and they warn him that the party doesn't stop until the clown says it the party is over. So when Vinny (Murray-Corocan) throws a party for Tom's birthday while his mother is out of town, Stitches rises from the dead and intends to exact revenge in blood.
It goes without saying that none of this is intended to be taken seriously. This is a comedy with a body count. When the film opens up with a clown getting freaky with a girl in a trailer, any hope for good taste goes out the window. The kill scenes are ridiculously over-the-top, with blood and viscera flowing in all directions more often than not. But there is something about the way they were filmed that makes it difficult for the laughs to shine through. A poor choice in cinematography may be to blame, at least in part. Patrick Jordan appears to be making a straight horror film, which creates a disconnect. Or maybe it's because the cast looks like actual teenagers, so when one of them dies from an exploding head, it's isn't that funny. Or maybe director Conor McMahon doesn't tweak them enough to make them funny. There's a scene that will make you never want ice cream again, but as ridiculous as it is, it's filmed in such a way that it loses the humor.
At least on the acting front the film is a success. The cast is charming all around, which is something worth noting, since in most horror movies the characters are so boring or annoying that the audience ends up rooting for the killer. That's not the case here. Tommy Knight, Gemma Leah-Devereux and the rest of the young cast are good enough that I wouldn't have minded spending 90 minutes with them going about their lives without being attacked by a clown with a serious chip on his shoulder. For his part, Ross Noble appears to be enjoying himself immensely as the title character and has no problem being the butt of a joke. Special mention has to go to Shane Murray-Corocan, who has a similar appeal to Logan Miller in "Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse." He can make you grin simply by walking in front of the camera.
I was going to give this movie a near-miss because I thought that the gore killed the humor. But after thinking about it I'm going to give this film a recommendation for the right audience. I did laugh heartily from time to time, and it doesn't overstay its welcome (in fact, it's probably too short). I wouldn't mind seeing it again, and I suspect that it will grow on me. "Stitches" isn't for everyone and certainly not for those without a strong stomach. But it is what it is, and I had a good time watching it.
Starring: Tommy Knight, Shane Murray-Corocan, Gemma Leah-Devereux, Eoghan McQuinn, Thommas Kane-Byrne, Ross Noble
Rated R for Strong Bloody Violence and Gore, Sexual Content, Language, Drug and Alcohol Use - All involving Teens
"Stitches" cares more about generating laughs than it does scares. Indeed, this movie is at times riotously funny. But the level of gore in this movie makes it difficult for the laughs to shine through in the latter half of the film.
On his birthday, Tom (Ryan Burke) had a clown perform. Unfortunately for him, Stitches (Noble) is a lousy clown and an all around despicable person. So when his friend Vinny (Gerald Ahern) played a prank and Stitches ended up six feet under, it was probably for the best. Tom soon finds out that Stitches was part of a secret society of clowns, and they warn him that the party doesn't stop until the clown says it the party is over. So when Vinny (Murray-Corocan) throws a party for Tom's birthday while his mother is out of town, Stitches rises from the dead and intends to exact revenge in blood.
It goes without saying that none of this is intended to be taken seriously. This is a comedy with a body count. When the film opens up with a clown getting freaky with a girl in a trailer, any hope for good taste goes out the window. The kill scenes are ridiculously over-the-top, with blood and viscera flowing in all directions more often than not. But there is something about the way they were filmed that makes it difficult for the laughs to shine through. A poor choice in cinematography may be to blame, at least in part. Patrick Jordan appears to be making a straight horror film, which creates a disconnect. Or maybe it's because the cast looks like actual teenagers, so when one of them dies from an exploding head, it's isn't that funny. Or maybe director Conor McMahon doesn't tweak them enough to make them funny. There's a scene that will make you never want ice cream again, but as ridiculous as it is, it's filmed in such a way that it loses the humor.
At least on the acting front the film is a success. The cast is charming all around, which is something worth noting, since in most horror movies the characters are so boring or annoying that the audience ends up rooting for the killer. That's not the case here. Tommy Knight, Gemma Leah-Devereux and the rest of the young cast are good enough that I wouldn't have minded spending 90 minutes with them going about their lives without being attacked by a clown with a serious chip on his shoulder. For his part, Ross Noble appears to be enjoying himself immensely as the title character and has no problem being the butt of a joke. Special mention has to go to Shane Murray-Corocan, who has a similar appeal to Logan Miller in "Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse." He can make you grin simply by walking in front of the camera.
I was going to give this movie a near-miss because I thought that the gore killed the humor. But after thinking about it I'm going to give this film a recommendation for the right audience. I did laugh heartily from time to time, and it doesn't overstay its welcome (in fact, it's probably too short). I wouldn't mind seeing it again, and I suspect that it will grow on me. "Stitches" isn't for everyone and certainly not for those without a strong stomach. But it is what it is, and I had a good time watching it.
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