A CREATURE WAS STIRRING: Do Not Disturb

Horror movies are rarer than one would think around the holidays. Besides a few notable classics, the season is far from terrifying. And if our screens are lucky enough to be graced with horrific snow-covered tales of mischief and mayhem, too often they fail to meet the mark. For Damien LeVeck‘s A Creature Was Stirring, this Christmas horror leaves a bag of coal in its wake.

A Lack of Stirring

It’s disappointing the movie fails its viewers as much as it does, especially as it is bookended by not only an intensely crafted and intriguing opening but also a twisty and devastating conclusion. Viewers are initially welcomed into a mystery already unraveling, just arm’s length from the truth. It wants us to see the contrast of the past and present, photos on the wall contradicting the behaviors of both mother (Chrissy Metz) and daughter (Annalise Basso). There is a fractured relationship between them, one that ebbs and flows from the forefront. As the daughter is locked in her room, knowingly prepared for what is to come, she transforms before our eyes, a mystery unraveling and grounding us in place in anticipation of both terror and explanation.

This effective opening is met by the film’s eerie credit sequence, “What Child Is This” sinking under your skin with each note. A Creature Was Stirring works best when it is leaning into the horror and the mystery, dark shadows and silhouetted monsters of the night intensifying the terror. The film will grip you, forcing you to once again be intrigued, all while heightening the film’s inevitable betrayal of narrative and filmmaking when these moments have ended.

There are so many elements of narrative and storytelling A Creature Was Stirring wants to embrace, forcing them to fit, yet never succeeding. Viewers will find themselves left with many questions be film’s end, robbing the twist ending of its impact and appeal. First and foremost, the film wants to be an allegory of addiction and mental health – though it never seems completely fixated on who it is examining. Yet, it also wants to examine the terror in a creature feature, the power of pure evil, the potential saving grace of religion and the familial fractures that can break a person.

A Creature Was Stirring also introduces elements of horror that could have been effective had they been executed in a complete fashion. Too often the tropes used to terrify are just that – tools. They do not necessarily move the narrative forward, or peel way the layers of an explanation. Rather, they fall to the wayside, many times failed in their explanation – if one is even given.

Yet, while the film lacks cohesion and direction, it is brilliantly immersive. While the film has little to do with Christmas, other than the set design, the aesthetic draws you in, leaving the audience feeling as though they are literally living within a Christmas tree. The cinematography embraces the traditional tree lighting of red, green and blues, deepening palette contrast and giving the film it most authentic Christmas feeling. Within this lighting scape, the silhouettes that are created in its darker moments become a stand out as well, a shift of darkness in the cozy Christmas lighting creating a contrast that is both terrifying and captivating. By film’s end, it is the lighting and color palette of A Creature Was Stirring that proves to be on the nice list.

Conclusion:

By the film’s end, I found myself asking – what was the point? A Creature Was Stirring feels as though it has something deeper to say, but never seems to find the cohesion and narrative direction to say it. There is a sadness too as the film ends with another holiday seasonal horror missing the mark.

A Creature Was Stirring was released in theaters on December 8, 2023 and VOD December 12, 2023!