Review for Stanley

(Originally posted on fight-evil.com)

I last saw Stanley back in 2009 for my first October Challenge. In the many years that had passed, I forgot how much I enjoyed it.

Part of this may well be the fact the version I watched back in 2009 was a 90 minute version, whereas what I watched this time around was 105 minutes. Truth be told, I couldn't tell you what scenes have been added, but the additions did seem to flesh out the main character's motivations better.

The main drawback this movie possesses is the long set-up time. It takes 45 minutes, thereabouts, for us to really get introduced to the horror elements. Beforehand, we're meeting various characters, most of whom who are killed in the last hour of the film. While that in itself may seem strenuous, with the 70's music in the background, and the lack of editing out small things, it just feels grueling. But once it picks up, I think the pace sails along pretty nicely.

The kills are nothing overly special, but I do rather enjoy some of them. The freeze-frame when one of the characters jumps into a pool filled with snakes was overly ridiculous, and I loved it. Truth be told, while it's slower at the beginning, once the kills come along, Stanley does well for itself. The ending is a bit to be desired, but I don't fault it all too much. One last note - one of the characters, a pill-popping, cocaine-sniffing 'psycho' was consistently one of the funniest around for his short screen time. A sluggish pace, yes, but this movie, I personally feel, was worth it. 7.5/10.