“Stopmotion:” Director Robert Morgan Brings Animated Horror with Real Life Scares

After more than 20 years working on shorts, Robert Morgan jumps into the fray of feature-length films with "Stopmotion," a fascinating genre exercise nourished by his wide experience in animation and a penchant for horror. The script, co-written with Robin King, cuts very close to the bone. It follows the hazardous creative journey of Ella (Aisling Franciosi), a young animator exercising her creative freedom for the first time after the death of her overbearing and famous mother (Stella Gonet). 

After abandoning her mother's final project and moving to an empty apartment, Ella follows her inspiration by working with a sorry clay puppet that evokes herself: a frail girl lost in the woods. Soon, a malign presence materializes thanks to the input of her little neighbor (Caoilinn Springall). The girl wants to make Ella's story more interesting, so she introduces "the man no one wants to meet." "The Ash Man," as Ella baptizes him, is a wretched humanoid figure that looks as if made of flesh, covered in ash. Soon, the products of make-believe invade the real world. Can Ella fight her inner demons and their physical manifestation?

Many movies have dealt with the dark side of the creative mind. Imagination can offer a refuge or a torture chamber for the creative mind. In that sense, "Stopmotion" resides in the same league as "The Fall" (Tarsem Singh, 2006), but you have to switch the trappings of fantasy films for outright horror. There's grotty body horror galore, but it comes with a good dose of psychological richness, thanks to Aisling Franciosi in the starring role.

Franciosi was primed for the big time after starring in Jennifer Kent's eagerly awaited follow-up to "The Babadook" (2014). "The Nightingale" (2018) premiered at the Venice Film Festival and opened in the US at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. It stirred controversy for its graphical violence and positive reviews from critics, especially for Franciosi's stellar turn. Alas, the pandemic and its shutdown hindered her momentum somewhat. That should change when "Stopmotion" hits the big screen this week. Between this star vehicle and "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" (André Overdal, 2023), Franciosi is turning out to be a veritable queen of horror. 

If I have not been persuasive enough to convince every horror movie buff to catch it, know that it had a stellar run at film festivals. It won a Special Jury Prize at the Catalonian International Film Festival at Sitges, and the Best Director Award at Fantastic Fest. Don't expect any Art House preciousness. This is as gnarly as they come. As "Stopmotion" nears its US theatrical run, we spoke with director Robert Morgan about working with real people, how close Ella is to him, and the fine art of calibrating a mutilation scene to make the audience scream. The movie will be released in the US by IFC Films and Shudder. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. 

Popflick: Why were you drawn to animation to begin with? How did your creative life begin?

Robert Morgan: I come from a background in fine arts. I drew pictures, I painted, I made sculptures a little bit. I always liked making things, and I wanted to get into filmmaking. The most organic, natural way to start creating films was to take what I was doing and film it, animate it, and make it move. And then I found I was quite good at it. And then, 20 years later, I am still doing it. I found an affinity for it, and I just pursued it.

Popflick: And what about horror? Do you have a particular affinity with the genre?

Robert Morgan: When I was a kid, I loved horror movies, so I always thought I could make a good horror movie. And when I discovered animation stop-motion animation, I felt it was very good at expressing horror. There weren't many people who were using animation stop-motion animation for horror purposes. I was excited to explore that more.

Popflick: You've worked in many short films, and this is your first feature film. What made you leap to features, and why did "Stopmotion" seem like the thing to do?

Robert Morgan: I wanted to make a feature for a long time, probably after about making 2 or 3 shorts. It took a long time to find the right subject. The idea came about when I thought of making a film about a character who is a stop-motion animator. I've never seen that before. I felt that, first of all, it was an original idea for a film. Secondly, to tie that to the tortured artist archetype character. We've seen that before, but not within the context of a stop-motion animator. That was the impetus. I thought that would make an interesting film. I drew on my own experiences. I've made animation films that seem to take on a life of their own. So, I was channeling that a little bit as well.

Popflick: Do you see yourself in Ella's character in some way?

Robert Morgan: In some ways, yes. Not in all ways!

Popflick: Thank God for that!

Robert Morgan: I have done some of the things in the film that Ella does, but not all of them, and I'll leave it at that.

Popflick: Because you're a man, it's easy to think you would have a clearer connection with a male protagonist. Why did you and co-screenwriter Robin King decide to make the lead character a woman?

Robert Morgan: Partly because I felt a male character was too close to me. And secondly, I just thought it was a bit more unusual and a bit more interesting to make it a female character.

Popflick: You have done some live-action shorts before, but I guess that this feature film is the most you have had to work with living people with minds of their own and opinions. How was it for you to work on a project so indebted to actors, and how did you work with them?

Robert Morgan: It's fantastic if you've got good actors! It's not so great if you don't have good actors. In this film, I had amazing actors. I think Ainsling is just an incredible actor. When they're bringing gold to you like that every day, it's pretty easy. She herself said she was a little bit nervous before working with me because she was worried I would treat her like a puppet and be very controlling. But my attitude towards it is when you have someone that good, I watch what she does. This is amazing! You know, it's great. It's such a gift to react to something so good. I just found it very exciting to work with actors.

Popflick: The mother refers to Aisling's character as "puppet," a term of endearment in England, but in the context of the movie, it is a loaded word.

Robert Morgan: Of course. Robin and I discussed if that was too loud, but we decided we didn't care. I quite like sometimes in films when things are very loud and literal. It's not necessarily a bad thing. There are other things in the movie that are very, very elliptical, subtle, and mysterious, but I felt it was quite funny. I thought I enjoyed how on the nose it was. So we went with it. In this context, it has a slightly abusive undertone.

Popflick: You made a very interesting narrative choice by not making too big a fuss about the true nature of one of the characters. One can imagine a less subtle movie turning that into a big plot twist or a huge revelation. Why did you guys decide to go against it? It must have been tempting.

Robert Morgan: Yeah, we discussed it. We felt the way that character is positioned; for us, what she is is very obvious. I've spoken to some people who've seen the film, and they think it is quite mysterious. They've had different interpretations. I actually think that's fine. I don't mind people interpreting it differently, but Robin and I 100% know exactly what she is. I don't believe we could make the film without knowing that exactly. It's just really obvious to me, so we didn't feel it necessary to say it. It's not the same for Ella. She doesn't know straight away. It takes her a while to work it out. And I think she puts the pieces together at the party.

Popflick: There is a very interesting contrast between the outside world and the barren ambiance at The Barons, where Ella retires to work. Reality takes place in a very urban, stark place, in opposition to the sets for Ella's animated movie, made with many natural elements, just like her reveries in a foggy forest. Were you striving for contrast?

Robert Morgan: We wanted it to be a sort of an empty building. In some ways, it vaguely resonates with the fact that Ella has suddenly been thrust out into the world on her own for the first time because she lived with her mother. Then, she suddenly has to work in a different space. There's a practical quality because it's an empty building so she can build sets in there, but there's also a sense of loneliness and isolation. It came out of that, just the sense of isolating the character not only in a room, not only in an apartment but in an entire building that's been emptied out. She's just as empty. It really adds to the feeling of her rattling around alone in the world. For the first time, she's all alone in the world. This is how she feels.

Popflick: As the movie progresses, it gets into full-body horror mode. I wasn't expecting that! How do you know how far to go into that territory?

Robert Morgan: Are you referring to the leg thing?

Popflick: Yes. The leg thing! I wanted to know what the creative process around that bit was like. How do you calibrate how far to go?

Robert Morgan: When we shot it, it wasn't. It wasn't originally scripted, nor was it planned to go on as long as it does. Part of the horror comes from how it just keeps going on. You don't know how far it's going to go. That came out organically during the shooting. As I was watching it, I just thought, 'My God, this is so intense!' Ainsling's performance was just amazing as well. When we cut it in the editing room, we just started, 'Let's make that go on a bit longer. Let's make it go on a bit longer.' And, I have to say, the BFI and the producers kept saying, 'Make it go on longer, make it more, make it more, because it's a real moment.' When we watched that in a cinema with an audience, we realized we pushed it as far as we could. It's amazing because you watch it with an audience. You can hear people screaming 'Aah!' It's so enjoyable. So I'm really glad we did it. It was originally more subtle, but that's the nature of playing in the editing room. You think, 'This feels like a moment.' 'We should drill down into it and make it bigger than it originally was.'

Popflick: This other scene makes you go, 'Hey! This guy has seen "Peeping Tom!"

Robert Morgan: Well spotted!

Popflick: I appreciated the reference. And speaking of references, Ella's work was very evocative of the style of the Quay Brothers. In contrast, her mother's work seemed like something by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass. What were your influences when it came to the animated elements?

Robert Morgan: I would say a bigger influence than the Quay brothers is Jan Svankmajer. He made a short film called "Meat Love," which is animated meat. Two raw steaks dancing! I saw that when I was a student. The idea that you could animate raw meat blew my mind. And it's just one minute long! That one-minute short film hangs over this whole film in some ways. I'm also a big fan of the painter Francis Bacon. That's probably the biggest influence on the design and the feeling, the visceral, meaty kind of feeling of the characters. 

I wanted to make the two animated worlds very, very distinctive. Ella's voice is very different to her mother's voice. The mother's style is nostalgic, using felt figures. It has the feeling of British children's television from the 1970s. It's still very beautiful and has its own quality. It had to be good. It's just a very different flavor to Ella's work.

Popflick: There's a bit of "Hellraiser" in the in the Ash Man. You didn't actually use meat, right?

Robert Morgan: Not on the puppets. There is a bit of raw meat in some of the scenes, you know, with the maggots on it and stuff like that. Meat dries out. You can't use it for animation. I have tried!

Popflick: What's next for you? Are you eager to keep working on live-action or combining animation with live-action?

Robert Morgan: I just finished a stop-motion music video, and I'm developing a new project with Robin. It's a live-action film. I don't think it has animation in it, but it has a lot of practical effects. I'm interested in physical effects, not CGI, but it has a very visceral physical quality. We did this film with stop-motion animation because that's what the film's about. I don't want to get into the trap of it being a gimmick. I'm just using it because that's what I do. Like, 'That's what I've done before, so let's do that again because people liked it. ' I think it has to work for the film.

• "Stopmotion" opens theatrically in the US on Friday, February 23, 2024, from IFC Films.