Stephanie - Movie Review
Here’s another movie review for everyone, so make sure to add this one to your "must watch" list! If you’ve seen this one, make sure to let me know what you thought of it in the comments below, and – of course – throw some suggestions my way of what I should watch this coming spookular holiday!
The movie I want to talk about today has a special place in my heart. Stephanie is a 2017 movie, directed by Akiva Goldsman and starring Shree Crooks, Frank Grillo, and Anna Torv.
And it is awesome!I just want to intro by saying this movie takes the whole post-apocalyptic genre and spins it on its head by adding a nice Lovecraftian twist. As I am sure you’ve noticed: I love me some cosmic horror!
The movie starts off with a little girl named Stephanie living alone in her family home. Red flag right there. The suspense mounts as she goes through her mundane tasks of feeding herself, playing alone with her stuffed turtle, yelling at the mummified corpse of her brother tucked into his bed, and hiding from an invisible menace that can sense negative human emotion… you know, just typical little girl stuff.
Eventually her parents do return and then things take a turn for more sinister waters. I can’t really say anymore without truly risking all the good parts, so I’ll have to leave it at that. I can’t praise this movie enough though. It was subtle and relied heavily on the gentle building of tension. Things come to a head in a very Lovecraftian fashion and I did not expect the reveal at all. So, thank you Mr. Goldsman! I love this movie.
Highlights
Number one for me was the Lovecraftian aspect, especially with the big reveal
Heavy atmospheric build-up
Eerie tension keeps you at the edge of your seat
Excellent acting, so glad the little girl wasn’t constantly screaming
Emmy award to the supporting actor: the stuffed turtle
Score: 10/10
This movie kept me hooked, I could not stop watching, and was surprised at the big reveal so it definitely deserves the high score.
I may be biased since I see so few movies that have a cosmic horror aspect to it, but this movie was also well-paced, had great acting, and tasteful use of special effects so it’s getting a perfect score. I definitely recommend you watch this movie if you haven’t seen it yet!
If you’ve seen Stephanie, let me know your thoughts in the comments and if you have any suggestions for my watch list, also let me know in the comments.
x P.L. McMillan