A Creature Was Stirring Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Damien LeVeck
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Chrissy Metz, Annalise Basso, Scout Taylor-Compton, Connor Paolo
• Language ‏ : ‎ English (DTS 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Widescreen
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 36 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ February 13, 2024

        I’ll just come right out and admit that reviewing A Creature Was Stirring feels like a near-impossible task. While it resembles multiple other established narratives, each twist subverts expectations while pivoting to different ones, leaving this poor reviewer uncertain how much can or should be revealed. At the same time, I couldn’t help but notice how many structures within the home invasion sub-genre serve as inspiration for the various narrative directions, in part because it has become my official field of study in recent years.

 

        The film begins like numerous other home invasion films, with a pair of family members dealing with their fractured relationship within the presumably safe space of their home. Despite being Christmas, single mother Faith (Chrissy Metz) is struggling to connect with her teenage daughter Charm (Annalise Basso). Charm is suffering from a mysterious ailment which keeps Faith obsessively concerned with her temperature, and the film hints at monstrous results if she fails. This tenuous situation is made more volatile when a pair of home invaders break into the home in search of shelter from the brutal winter weather.

 

        Faith is ready to fight back against the intruders, who turn out to be siblings Liz (Scout Taylor-Compton) and Kory (Connor Paolo). Although the motivation of the invaders is somewhat suspect, Faith allows them to stay until the weather passes, while hinting that they may be in more danger inside the home. Strange occurrences and Charm’s increasingly erratic behavior indicate something supernatural or monstrous, at least until the narrative pivots to yet another home invasion trope. The intention may have been to subvert audience expectations, though the various narrative shifts may just as likely leave audiences frustrated.

 

While there is a home invasion and there are creatures within the plot, the way these elements have been utilized is nothing short of disappointing. Director Damien LeVeck does his best to create a moody horror atmosphere, complete with an obsessive use of contrasting red and blue lighting in nearly every room of the suburban home setting, but this is not enough to make up for first-time writer Shannon Wells’ scattered screenplay. The Blu-ray for A Creature Was Stirring does little to enhance the film, only allowing the technical shortcomings with more clarity. There are also no special features on the disc, aside from optional English subtitles.

 

Entertainment Value: 6/10

Quality of Filmmaking: 4/10

Historical Significance:  3/10

Special Features: 0/10