Faith (Chrissy Metz) keeps her troubled teenage daughter Charm (Annalise Basso) on a tightly controlled regimen of experimental drugs, their only means of fending off a mysterious, terrifying affliction. But after two burglars (Scout Taylor-Compton, Connor Paolo) attempt to rob the home on Christmas, they stumble upon a long-kept family secret—with monstrous consequences. – Synopsis via Well GO USA
A CREATURE WAS STIRRING is directed by Damien LeVeck. He has a history of making horror films and this time around, the production feels more intimate. It is set in a small house and only focuses on a few rooms. Plus, there is only a 4-person cast with a lot of pairing off between the characters. As things press on, there are some good horror elements but the story descends into madness where some things make very little sense.
One complaint is that the movie feels like two scripts were combined to try and round out the story: a loose, horror script and a technical sci-fi movie with emphasis on the science. There’s a technical side that Faith will monologue into a tape recorder to lay out medical/scientific info about her daughter’s condition along with the treatment. It’s a way to give some expository information that has no real way to happen naturally. The problem is that things grind to a halt in these moments unless I’m misinterpreting Faith’s character change as a plot driver for the movie (due to the lack of spoilers, this is difficult to explain). Peppered in are some comic book lore with a fixation on Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern. Charm has a cool understanding of the character and she looks like me when I’m trying to explain funny books to some of my friends: they just don’t get it.
I apologize if this gets into any more spoilers but there is no way around it except to directly get into the creature design. It is a combination of humans and porcupines. I fully commend going practical and still pulling off the unsettling feeling that the filmmaker is going for with a lot of silhouettes. Even with the human elements in the design, it is clear that this is a monster in the shadows.
Lastly, there are these running “neon” effects that are prominent in the out of place Green Lantern bedroom scene and close to the climactic end scene. Whether they are done practically or with CGI, it is an odd choice. It brings the production quality down and removes you from what’s happening on screen.
Cast
Chrissy Metz as Faith
Annalise Basso as Charm
Scout Taylor-Compton as Liz
Connor Paolo as Cory
VIDEO QUALITY
The video is a 1080p AVC presentation. There is not a lot of information about the production but the movie has the gloss of an all-digital with the way that everything looks. The images are clean with a nice, light grain to aid in it looking like film. Details are strong and intricacies are easily visible. Blood or dirt on faces and facial lines are sharp. The coloring is brilliant and bold with Christmas lights to accent the contrast. The neon is also bright and colorful. Throughout the movie, there is a blue-hued light that is used to give the idea of darkness but still be able to see what’s happening. The blacks are inky and have little to no crushing. The blacks also have been utilized to create shadows that aren’t muddled in the transfer. Also like the dark blacks, the blue creates a sharp contrast. Skin tones are warm and natural.
AUDIO QUALITY
The audio is a DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix. It uses the rear channels nicely to create an atmosphere in-house. The effects are sharp and cleanly mixed. The dialogue is natural and clear.
SUPPLEMENTS & PACKAGING
-Trailer
Disc Details
1 Disc
Running Time
96 mins
Edition Ratings
Rated R
Region Coding
Region A
Video Resolution
1080p AVC MPEG-4
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio Mixes
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles
English SDH
THE BOTTOM LINE
This Christmas movie (and yes, it is very much a Christmas movie) is a different idea of horror. That being said, I’m not sure what to make of this movie. I was intrigued at the start however, things became shaky as the plot pressed on. The ending isn’t too difficult to understand but even when everything is explained, it left me scratching my head. The audio and video are very good as you can expect from Well GO. There are no extras on the disc and very little about the film on the internet. Like all movies, “to each their own” and this one isn’t for everyone but check it out to form your own opinion.
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