Slapface

Slapface is a film directed and written by Jeremiah Kipp and this is a film that stays with you. Slapface pulls you in and refuses to let you go. The story revolves around our protagonist Lucas (portrayed magnificently by August Maturo), who is a young boy dealing with grief, bullying, and abuse. The combination of these terrible realities in general never bodes well, but for a young teenage boy yet to fully understand life, it is tragic beyond measure.

The film starts with the camera focused on Lucas and a voice off camera saying "you know why we have to do this" and then the boy is slapped. The two characters exchange slaps and the next scene is a juxtaposition as we see the young boy assume a parental role by jovially criticizing the older man's food making skills. These two scenes taking place beside each other throws the viewer off balance, we don't know what to think and that creates a tension which is never given an opportunity to be released.

This tension is added to when we see Lucas running through the woods and calling for help as three young girls chase after him, trying to throw rocks at his head. This is our first glimpse of the bullying that Lucas is subjected to and this subverts what society usually tells us about bullying i.e. that it does not cross gendered lines, so to see a boy being tormented by girls, truly helps to shine a light on the cruelty of bullying. Generally society will allow certain forms of bullying by passing it off as "typical" gendered behaviour (I will avoid going on a tangent talking about the absurdity of assuming there is such a thing as "typical gendered behaviour"), but it is never acceptable, and the torment that Lucas receives is a powerful commentary on that.

Twisting the knife further for Lucas, we are introduced to one of the girls that bullies him. This young girl is Mariah (brought to life by the fantastic Mirabelle Lee) who we realise actually cares for Lucas, but she she joins in on the bullying because she does want to friendship she has with the twins. Though as is revealed to us at a future scene in the film, Maria is routinely teased and picked on by the twins. Mariah is bullied by the twins but this is shown to be a small town and these may be the only friendships she has, so she wants to retain access to them, even if that means putting herself in emotionally harmful situations and causing harm to a boy she cares for. Slapface as a film really wants the viewer to see the complexities in human relationships, positivity and negativity tend to co-exist, particularly when trauma is involved.

There are multiple scenes throughout the film where Mariah will actively bully Lucas and then in the next scene by apologetic and affectionate. We the viewer are given insight into the complex situation that Mariah finds herself in. However, this is not something that Lucas is privy to. Mariah's actions work as a commentary on the abusive tactic of love-bombing, whereby the abuser will shower the victim with affection, to counter-act their abusive behaviour. This becomes so routine that the victim will accept the abuse just to get those crumbs of affection. They are made feel that the affection is a gift and not something they are deserving of. Mariah may not be intentionally doing this but her confusing actions cause additional turmoil for Lucas, eroding his trust.

This chipping away at Lucas' ability to trust those who are supposed to care for him is where the witch comes into existence. The beginning of the film showed Lucas heading to an abandoned building, digging a hole in the ground outside, placing a picture of his Mother and him in the hole and then cutting his finger and dripping blood into the hole. This ritual of connection to the spirit of his Mother is manifested into the witch whom we are first introduced to when Lucas is roaming the abandoned building on a dare from the bullies. Lucas is grabbed by the witch/monster and starts screaming and his screams leads to the girls running away. The scene cuts to Lucas waking on the forest floor beside Mariah who apologises for leaving him behind. We as the viewer are once again thrust out of familiarity as we do not know how Lucas has ended up here, we are as disorientated as Lucas is.. I feel that this was a very deliberate decision by the director to make us question what Lucas sees and experiences.

As the story progresses Lucas returns to the witch/monster more frequently, seeking a parental figure that he can trust. This is contrasted by Tom's new girlfriend Anna (the excellent Libe Barer), who we see genuinely cares for Lucas but Lucas rejects this new person in his life, as Anna could potentially alter the relationship that Lucas has with his brother Tom. This highlights the conflict within Lucas, he loves his brother, his brother is abusing him. His relationship with his brother is complicated, but it is all he knows and all he has, Anna threatens this complicated bond. We will soon learn that this will put Anna in danger.

We discover that this witch is protective of Lucas. When Lucas has an injured hand the witch tends to his wounds, applying a herbal balm. Lucas is chased by a dog and the witch ruthlessly dispatches of the dog (I was very grateful that the dog's death was off-screen). The witch/monster being protective of Lucas is the cause for Anna's eventual demise. The lead up to her untimely end shows her butting heads with Tom over his relationship with Lucas, rightly calling him out on being absent and abusive. The first fight prompts her to leave but she does return and it is when she returns see walks upon Lucas washing blood of of his clothes in his basin. The way that Lucas nonchalantly says "what, it is just dogs blood" was very chilling. Though I am unsure if I found this chilling because of the cold and emotionless delivery, or because Lucas is a child, I would wager a small bit of both. To Anna's credit this does not scare her away, rather she sees that Lucas is calling out for help, that Lucas is in crisis. She once again calls out Tom and we see this culminate in the scene where their argument leads to an explosion from Tom where he loudly proclaims "I am not abusing my kid brother". Anna pushes against this and snaps "are you going to hit me?" which Tom quickly quashes by saying he does not hit women. We then see Anna's face contort as she quietly says "no, just little boys" and she storms off. This scene gives us a window into Tom's inner life for the first time since the outset of the film as it reminds us that he too is dealing with grief and loss. Though it is Tom's inability to cope and process that is clouding his own perception of his abusive behaviour towards his brother. Once again the film reveals its connective tissue of the complexity of human existence in the presence of trauma.

When Anna leaves she comes across a young girl handing out "missing dog" posters which sets off alarm bells as she realises that Lucas' comment about dogs blood was not just a throw-a-way comment. Anna returns back to the house but unbeknownst to her the witch has also made its way to the house. This once again causes us as the viewer to doubt what we see because this is the first time we see the witch and no Lucas present, so we now wonder if this is in fact a real supernatural monster? This question the viewer is forced to ponder does not really matter for Anna who comes face-to-face with the witch and does not survive the encounter. Anna who was only looking out for Lucas was perceived as a threat and the witch removed the threat as the protective force surrounding Lucas. Anna is unfortunately not the only person to feel the deathly touch of the witch. We see the witch once again "protecting" Lucas by eliminating perceived threats in a tragic moment when Lucas is once again being tormented by his bullies, including Mariah. The twins hold Lucas and demand Mariah spit on him, the twins have it in their mind that Lucas is stalking Mariah so they are teaching him a lesson. Lucas has now figured out that the witch will hurt those who have caused him pain so yells "no, she'll hurt you" before breaking free of the twins and running off. Lucas hides behind a small rock wall and nearby Mariah calls out for him, saying "its just me" and apologising again. We then see the horrific image of the witch rising from behind Mariah, rock in hand and hitting her just as she screams. Lucas hears and runs, finding Mariah lying unconscious on the ground, with a severe head wound. The twins find Lucas leaning over Mariah's body, screaming for help. This moment truly shows that Lucas is not the one controlling the witches actions, as even with all the past torment Lucas has received from Mariah, he also cared for her. Though perhaps it is also reflective of Lucas not wanting to take responsibility for his actions. Even if on a surface level Lucas cared for Mariah and would not want to harm her, deep down in the dark recesses of his being Lucas carries around the pain from the constant torment, and Mariah was a cause of that pain. The scene just before Mariah is struck by the witch showed Mariah in Lucas and Tom's home, watching on in shock as Lucas repeatedly smashes a mouse to death, causing blood to cover his face. This moment on reflection could be a prelude to what would occur, showing us the rage that Lucas has contained in himself, rage that is seeking an outlet.

Lucas is detained by the police and brought to the station for questioning. The Chief refuses to allow Tom in and suggests that Tom seek out a lawyer, making sure to emphasize that he is not supposed to make that suggestion. The Chief is an interesting character, as anytime we do see him he is always making reference that he knew their Mother. The Chief also does want many people do when someone they were familiar with dies, they say "they would not have wanted this", using the memory of a dead person to try and get a grieving person to change their behaviour. This to me feels like a commentary on the fact that many in society feels that there is only one appropriate way to grieve and any behaviour that deviates from what is expected is judged and shamed. The Chief starts talking to Lucas, Lucas says it was the monster, and the Chief very aptly responds that when people do bad things that they cannot forgive themselves for, they create fictions to explain the behaviour. This felt like a moment of meta-commentary as it was both the Chief accurately describing a fact about the human psyche following moments of violence and trauma, but it was also possibly telling us the viewer what the reality of the story was. Though this is then called into doubt again when Lucas wakes up from a nap to the sound of sirens and alarms. The station is dark and lights are flashing. He leaves the interrogation room and finds dead police officers and blood on the walls, he grabs a discarded gun and with his hands nervously shaking he makes his way through the station, past all the carnage. He finds the Chief dead and the witch standing behind the body, Lucas flees in fear. I loved how this scene was shot and filmed, truly creating a sense of terror that is palpable, you feel like you could be Lucas. That being said, I really want there to be a Malignant style scene of the witch absolutely decimating all of the police officers, though not every creature needs to be Gabriel.

Lucas makes his way home and calls his brother who was sitting in the car outside the station, in shock about everything that has taken place in the last few hours. Lucas tells him to come home. While waiting for Tom to arrive Lucas puts toy soldiers on the ground, separating them into green and red, asking the witch through his tears if the witch is good or evil. Lucas says he wants to believe the witch is good, but the witch has hurt so many people. The witch puts its hand down in the middle between the two, and is as this happens that Tom walks in the door. There is one reading of this scene that the witch was interrupted before it could place its hand on a pile, though I feel it is more nuanced than that. This is after-all a film that has nuance as the connective thread. I feel the witch was explicitly saying it is neither good or evil, it simply just "is". I feel that this is confirmed viewed retrospectively through the lens of the final frame of the film.

Tom sees the witch and moves to attack it and the witch swats him away. Lucas cries out that it is Slapface, and Tom and the witch exchange blows. Lucas can see that Tom is being beaten to death so he turns the gun on the witch and starts firing. The witch continues to beat Tom so Lucas grabs a knife and with tears streaming down his face runs to attack the witch. Though the witch stops and falls to its knees. It reaches out to stroke Lucas' face before crumbling in a heap on the ground. Lucas kneels down and cradles Tom in his arms, mumbling his name as he wails in pain. The police that haven't been killed descend on the house and encroach on the room, aiming their guns, yelling for Lucas to raise his hands. Lucas looks at the spot where the witch had collapsed and the spot is empty. The camera zooms in on Lucas as we she his expression slightly change and a single tear roll down his face.

What I loved about this single powerful final shot is that it both reframes entire film while also leaving things ambiguous. We never know for sure if Lucas himself was the one that carried out all the killing, or if the witch Lucas' pain and rage made corporeal. Regardless of which perspective you fall in, in both viewpoints, Lucas was both protector and the cause of suffering. I feel the witch explicitly placed its hand between the "good" and "evil" pile because Lucas was a victim and sufferer of trauma and abuse and that continuous build up of pain led to him lashing out at every source of pain in his life. From start to finish this film holds you in a grip, forces you on confront the complexities of abuse and trauma. Always framing the abuse and bullying as bad and harmful, but reminding you that those who are doing the abusing and bullying are often themselves victims that are caught in a cycle of abuse, trauma, and pain. Slapface ends on a bleak but bittersweet note. Everyone that Lucas held love for is gone, but the sources of his pain and trauma are also gone.

Slapface is a film that will stay with me, it has taken root in my own psyche. I am a person who was suffered bullying and traumatic events, all moments that have had a lasting impact on my life. I am Non-Binary and Genderqueer but even I saw myself in Lucas, in that young boy experiencing so much pain, and wanting nothing more than to be loved. Slapface is a film that uses a monster to tell an all too human story, and it does it masterfully.