Life for Lucas and Tom has become fractured, with Tom trying to hold it together emotionally for his younger brother, while also acting abusive towards him. However, Slapface is primarily more interested in being a character study, which it works best at being. Written and directed by Jeremiah Kipp, Slapface struggles much in terms of pacing we spend a lot of time with Lucas and the monster ( Lukas Hassel), and with that of Tom and his girlfriend Anna ( Libe Barer), with events sort of just playing out. Though things seem playful at first, this monstrous being represents a greater danger than Lucas is aware of. One day as Lucas is exploring an abandoned building, he comes across, and eventually befriends, a monstrous being. When things get rough at home, Tom proposes a game of Slapface – where the two take turns slapping each other.
Living alone in a shabby house in the woods, Tom spends his days going to work and then going out at night to drink, whereas Lucas roams about the woods and is picked on by bullies.
It can often be dauntingly heavy stuff, but it’s a superbly-crafted ride well worth strapping yourself in for.Sometime after their mother has passed away and their father has deserted them, brothers Lucas ( August Maturo) and Tom ( Mike Manning) are left to fend for themselves. All signs are seemingly pointing in the direction of the Vigaro Witch unleashing true fury in a misguided attempt to give Lucas what she believes he wants, but the final scene is altogether more troubling, heartbreaking, and shattering. The positives greatly outweigh the negatives in the end, and the deliberately subversive stylings of Slapface continue right up until the credits roll. His motivations may grow increasingly conflicted, but he technically brings everything on himself, although even that development is painted in subtle shades of gray. He wants to escape, be left alone, and have his brother to himself so they can rebuild their lives, and a hook-nosed, rag-wearing entity coincidentally arrives at exactly the right time to give him what he desires, but not in the way he imagined. The Virago Witch might be a literal being, but it’s also an obvious metaphor for how Lucas feels about his own circumstances.
That’s admittedly par for the course when we’re talking about a piece that finds a tormented teenager surrounded by largely unlikable people inadvertently unleashing a murderous witch as his guardian angel, but that means there isn’t really anyone to root for or side with outside of Lucas and maybe Tom, although your mileage may vary on the latter by design. Make no mistake about it, though Slapface can often be an unrelentingly bleak watch, with little in the way of levity or optimism to be found. Even the title comes from the twisted game Lucas and Tom play in order to get their heads straight, presenting the unbreakable familial bond between the siblings as one that literally derives its strength from them hitting each other. Or is it? Furthering that notion, while ambiguity can often be a boon to thought-provoking tales of terror, Slapface lives and dies by the strength of its thematic center above all else, to the extent that it functions perfectly fine as an introspective, emotionally-charged family drama, albeit one that features a nightmarish ghoul with a predilection for the macabre.Īt its heart, then, Slapface is much less of a monster movie, and more a shattering examination on the dangers of isolation and abuse, both mental and physical. Sure, the existence of the fabled beast is never overtly or explicitly acknowledged by the majority of the other characters, but based on the trail of death and destruction inadvertently caused by Lucas’ new best buddy, it’s never really up for debate as to whether or not the supernatural goings-on are unfolding in his head.
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