Slapface

Lucas and his neglectful older brother Tom live alone in a rundown home after the death of their mother, who took them away from their abusive father. They play a "game" called Slapface, which involves them slapping each other violently in the face, and Lucas's only "friends" are Donna, Rose and Moriah, a trio of female bullies.

One day, Lucas is forced by the trio to explore an abandoned house by the trio for "stalking" Moriah, who he has a crush on. He encounters a monster named Virago, and he befriends it over the course of several days.

Director Jeremiah Kipp, cinematographer Dominick Sivilli and co-executive producer Curtis Braly make cameos in the film, and real-life members of the Town of Fishkill Police Department also appear.

Barry J. Neely composed the film's score, which was released on Apple Music and Amazon Music on April 6, 2021.[17] Curtis Braly's original song "Turn Down the Voices," which plays during the end credits and one of the bar scenes, was released as a single on February 4, 2022, the same day as its release on Shudder. About getting the opportunity to record the song for the film, Braly remarked "It was a fun challenge to dig deep inside myself to co-write and record a song that is so outside the box of anything I've done before." Jeremiah Kipp described the song as being written from "...the point of view of our main character. The effect was haunting, unsettling, emotional as Curtis leaned into the dark subtext of our narrative. When we heard his final version, chills ran down my spine."[18]

The film held its world premiere virtually at the Cinequest Film Festival on March 20, 2021, where it was ranked as one of the top seven trending films at the festival and the only horror film to trend.[6][19] Kipp then hinted on Instagram at a later 2021 wide release in the United States.[20]

The film also screened at Arrow Video FrightFest in the United Kingdom in August 2021. Prior to that screening, Shudder acquired the streaming distribution rights to the film in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, with Epic Pictures Group handling worldwide sales and distribution through the "Dread" banner. This was followed by a screening at Grimfest 2021 on October 8, 2021, where August Maturo won the Reaper Award for Best Actor.[21] It was released on Shudder on February 3, 2022.[22][23][24][25]

Both August Maturo and Mike Manning received praise for their performances respectively.

The film received positive reviews from critics and viewers, with the writing, directing, originality, cinematography and the performances of Maturo and Manning being singled out for praise. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 34 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.10/10. The website's consensus reads: "Slapface's uneven execution is offset by the thoughtful themes that fuel the monstrous developments in its character-driven horror story."[26]

Brian Skutle of Sonic Cinema gave the film an "A−" and compared it positively to the short film, while praising Maturo and Manning's performances, the cinematography, writing and directing. He further added that "It’s always fascinating to see how filmmakers approach expanding a basic idea into a longer narrative, and in doing so here, Kipp has maintained the heart of what the short film was, but expanded it successfully into an 85-minute narrative that is as unsettling as it is tragic."[27]

Derek McCaw of Fanboy Planet wrote that "Slapface does a lot with a little — few locations and low budget. But it’s terrifically shot, suggesting more than showing and building a slow burning creepiness ... More might not have made more, and if the Virago isn’t a new entry into the ranks of iconic movie monsters, it still has some potential. Slapface is a solid monster movie with emotional undertones, and if that’s the movie you’re looking for, you’ll be rewarded."[28] Debopriyaa Dutta of Screen Rant wrote that "Both Maturo and Manning are successful in conveying the hidden depths of pain within their characters, which manifest in distinct ways throughout the narrative ... Slapface is not without its flaws, as the execution of certain narrative leaps comes off as shoddy, and the overall emotional landscape is too depressing with no respite. Although immensely firm in its anti-bullying message, while expertly portraying the vignettes of trauma, Slapface is limited by the limitless void it creates, which ultimately swallows the film.[29]

• Slapface at IMDb
• Slapface at Rotten Tomatoes