Slapface (2022)

tmdb28039023 August 30, 2022

★ 7/10

The title Slapface suggests a dumb horror flick like Slender Man or The Bye Bye Man; fortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. This atmospheric, intriguing film written and directed by Jeremiah Kipp is the antithesis of a Dead Teenager Movie, and while it revolves around a supernatural element, its true, underlying horror is sadly quotidian. More than just a horror film, Kipp has crafted a modern fable, and his allegorical approach takes what could have been a heavy-handed and opportunistic lecture and transforms it into an oblique and subtle message (at least right until the closing credits). At the center of it all is a performance by August Maturo that’s, well, mature beyond his 14 years of age. He is Lucas, an orphaned boy living in a cabin on the outskirts of a small town with his older brother and quote-unquote guardian Tom (Mike Manning), a functional alcoholic…