Faith (Chrissy Metz, This is Us) had a troubled past with substance abuse, but has since reformed her life and has become a nurse. However, her daughter Charm (Annalise Basso, Snowpiercer) has a mysterious affliction, causing her to transform into a monstrous creature. Faith often keeps Charm locked up in her room, as she tries to find a cure or some way to keep the monster at bay. She keeps detailed notes as she experiments with various drug cocktails, but nothing seems to have helped. The only thing she has been able to determine is that there is a very small safe zone, as long as Charm maintains a temperature between 102-104.4 degrees, she doesn’t transform, but constantly running a fever can be dangerous.
There have been blizzard conditions for the past few days, and one evening, Faith finds two uninvited guests breaking into her home to escape from the cold—missionary Liz (Scout Taylor-Compton, Halloween) and her brother Kory (Connor Paolo, Revenge, Gossip Girl). After initially attacking them, Faith reluctantly agrees to let the siblings stay, rather than sending them back out into the deadly cold. However, she warns them that her daughter is sick, and to stay away. As the siblings spend time in the home, they start to sense that there is something odd going on. Liz starts to worry that Charm is being held against her will, while Kory starts seeing monstrous things in the dark. It seems like they should probably leave this house, but with the blizzard conditions they have no where to go. Liz turns to her faith for guidance, but this just seems to upset Faith, who, despite her name, doesn’t believe in God, and this often puts her at odds with Liz.
A Creature Was Stirring starts off really promising, setting up this mysterious and creepy atmosphere, giving the viewer hints and glimpses at a porcupine-like creature in the dark. There is a nice buildup of tension, especially as the two siblings arrive and find themselves trapped in this house with either a woman torturing her daughter, or a real monster, or both. There are some really creative and creepy shots of the monster as it is slowly revealed, and some nice jump scares as it creeps around the house. The acting performances are quite good, especially Chrissy Metz as this slightly unhinged mother trying to save her daughter. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t stick the landing. The final act doesn’t really give a satisfying explanation or conclusion to what’s going on. I suspect the filmmakers were going for what they believed was some sort of clever twist ending, but instead it leaves things on a quite confusing note.
Well Go’s Blu-ray looks good and sounds amazing. The film has a unique visual style that is often either dark, or takes on monochromatic red, blue and green tones. There is a solid level of detail throughout, allowing the viewer to glimpse the creature as it moves about in the dark. The audio track is really well done, providing not only clear dialogue, but also the unsettling and ominous creaking and scratching coming from every direction as the mysterious creature skitters about the home.
Well Go’s Blu-ray release is a barebones, just including the film’s trailer and some previews for three other Well Go films as bonus material. The Blu-ray comes packed in a locking HD keepcase. There is no digital copy, but our review copy did include a nice cardboard slipcover.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:35:32)
-
Blu-ray:
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
- Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Stereo
- Subtitles: English
Extras:
- Trailer (2:05)
- Previews
- Mercy Road (2:19)
- Your Lucky Day (2:15)
- Infiltration (2:18)
Final Thoughts:
A Creature Was Stirring starts off really strong, building the tension and mystery, and providing an eerie atmosphere and some jump scares, but unfortunately, the final act doesn’t really provide a satisfying conclusion/explanation. That said, the performances are strong, and fans of the film should appreciate the solid picture and excellent, creepy soundscape of the Blu-ray release. Unfortunately, there is no bonus material included. This may be worth a rental, especially for fans of the cast.
A Creature Was Stirring
50% Off $29.98 $11.00 (as of November 25, 2024 06:40 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
A Creature Was Stirring
51% Off $24.98 $12.21 (as of November 25, 2024 06:40 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
A Creature Was Stirring
$3.99 (as of November 25, 2024 06:40 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
