Stitches (2011)
Directed by: Bloody Cuts
Bloody Cuts, the British horror anthology, have just released the second of the thirteen proposed shorts and this one improves upon the last. Entitled ‘Stitches’, we follow a young woman named Rachel who’s babysitting a young boy whilst his parents are out for the night. Whilst struggling to get the television working properly, she receives a phone call on the house phone but there’s nobody speaking on the other end. No sooner as Rachel puts the phone down, the phone rings again. She answers and to her relief it’s the father of the young boy. As she talks with the father, she hears a noise coming from upstairs and goes up to investigate. Will she find more than she expected?
From the second the film starts, my jaw dropped. A real horror setting is quickly established with the partially lit shot of the house, with a teddybear holding a black balloon just creeping into the frame. Shots of toys, a Freddy Krueger figurine, children’s drawings and leftover birthday cake are presented with an eerie score and children laughing. This was tremendous in creating a haunting atmosphere and we suddenly cut to reality where Rachel the babysitter is fixing the TV. The camera shots are fluid and beautiful, like poetry. I felt the film was professionally shot and the cinematography is some of the best I’ve seen in recent years.
The film uses lots of little tricks which are subtle yet add a great deal to the effect it has on the viewer. I particularly like the flash glimpse of the breaking news between the TV playing up, followed by the iconic scene from Night of the Living Dead – “They’re coming to get you, Barbara”.
The film uses lots of symbolism and icons to put the frighteners up you and it works. Every day objects and scenarios are turned into objects of fear. I applaud the Bloody Cuts team for the back-to-basics approach. They have put a fresh spin on old skool type scares and made it their own original work. The addition of Millennium FX to their team has certainly been a positive and has allowed the team do expand their ideas. I’m already looking forward to their next installment.
So turn off the lights and watch STITCHES before bedtime for the ultimate scare!
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