Stitches (2023)
Directed by Ian Goodwin
Continuing on with our puppet horror series, today we’re getting into a movie even more unique than yesterday’s, Stitches! Stitches may well be the only sock puppet horror-comedy feature in existence, a sad fact as I loved Stitches. Before I go into gushing anymore, let’s talk about what the movie actually is and looks like.
A group of young folks, by which I mean a gaggle of sock puppets, get together at a cabin in the woods, with each person being an obvious horror movie cliche like The Stoner, The innocent Christian girl, and the obnoxious/closeted Jock. While partying at their cabin in the woods, the group runs afoul of the local witch and predictably bad things happen.
In a similar vein to the previous movie, Stitches is a big send up of classic goofy horror tropes, but it completely commits to the bit and winds up being one of the funniest and most charming movies I’ve seen in a long time. It’s not just the look though, the completely absurd voicework matches the visuals, and creates something both hysterical and instantly recognizable. In addition to a sock puppet cast, the backgrounds are constructed to look like a cardboard and colored paper world, which is so charming and inherently funny that I could look at any frame of Stitches and start laughing.
Stitches isn’t perfect. There are a few bits that didn’t land for me, particularly ones involving a celebrity cameo that goes on for way too long and never lands a real punchline. I can forgive this though, because the rest of the movie is creative, hilarious, and actually a decent horror story towards the end. This feels like a labor of love, and I desperately want to see more from this team! Stitches is available for free on Tubi.
