Slapface is a weird, unpredictable (Shudder original) horror movie that snuck up on me. At first it seemed odd for odd’s sake and then it slipped into interesting but maybe a mid-70s kind of interesting. But the longer the movie ran and the weird twists and turns it took, the more unsettled and moved I felt. This is a surprisingly good film.

The flick is about two brothers who clearly love each other but have a strange bonding game called slapface. Where they slap each other in the face. Seems pretty straight-forward, if also pretty messed up. One day trying to avoid some local bullies, the younger brother encounters a witch monster who, at first, frightens him but eventually becomes his friend. Or surrogate mother. Or revenge demon.

This film is about grief, loss, abuse, bullying, and questionable living conditions. They could have removed the witch monster from the script and I would have been just as engrossed by the story. In that there is a supernatural entity just adds to the hopeless, helpless uncertain mood. Part of me wishes this was a straight-forward narrative without the spooks, but the spook does add to the film’s psychology.

This movie reminds me quite a bit of a darker, moodier A Monster Calls. Or even ET, but if ET were a homicidal witch monster. The fact both movies came to mind really cements my feelings that this is an uncommon little horror flick. The witch monster is a surprising presence in the film… what it wants and what its willing to do are fairly unpredictable and that works for the deeper meaning of the film.

I was quite surprised by this movie on multiple levels. I think it’s a really solid, very unsettling film that might just be asking if the real monster is the abuse we give and receive. I like that there’s a deeper meaning, if you choose to read the film that way. I like this one.

Score: 86