Stitches (2012)

I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. Plenty of dark humor, groan worthy one liners and over the top gore made this a fun little film. Ross Noble, the actor playing the clown, makes a deliciously good villain. The young actors are surprisingly good and it is easy to find yourself rooting for them. Well, some of them. Some of them you can't wait to see what interesting way Stitches will dispatch them.

I saw this listed on the horror channel, and to be honest, it didn't look that good, but having checked IMDb and noting it was another recent Irish horror comedy, and having just seen the fantastic Grabbers, I settled down for a brain on hold evening. How I was surprised.From start to finish Ross Noble owns this film, supported by a cracking team of young actors. Ross is well known to UK audiences as both a stand up and sitcom actor, as well as the almost required being on comedy panel shows, and never fails to give a great fun performance.The comedy is a mix of one liners, puns, and situations, just what you'd expect in this type of film. The horror is so over the top, think Evil Dead blood levels, but also inventive.Great script, fun performances, clever references, in fact the only bad thing was how sad I felt when it was over, slightly cheered up by the out-takes in the closing credits.If you enjoy films like The Evil Dead, the Hatchet trilogy, or off-beat UK and Irish horror, do yourself the biggest favour and catch this gem.Please do a Stitches 2: Return of the clown... or whatever... pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease. Everybody Happy? I will be.

I watched this film expecting it to be rubbish, especially after seeing the reviews, rating and hearing about 'low budget' on IMDb, but I'm glad to say it exceeded expectations! Comedy horrors rarely work, and throw in 'indie' to that mix and it seems like a recipe for disaster. I was expecting to turn this off after the first 15 minutes bored, but the laughs came within the first minute and carried on through.It's not over the top laughter, and its not over the top horror. It's kind of a casual mix of both, with some Irish charm and fantastic subtle humor (reminiscent of the Naked Gun or Baseketball).Although predictable in places, the film was an absolute joy to watch! It's obviously not a big budget film, but I think that'd almost detract from it if anymore money was spent. The actors are excellently suited for their parts, Ross Noble gives an amazing performance as the killer clown, and there's some very beautiful women in it! The story makes sense, the effects arn't as cheap as you'd expect (they won't fool anyone, but they're more than tolerable - more than I expected) and you get the feeling that everyone on the film actually had a lot of fun during the production.Overall to summerise I'm very pleasantly surprised by this film. Its full of such lovable charm, funny off the beat moments, and the odd few shocks! It's a film you can chill out and relax watching - it's not going to leave you feeling depressed at the end, but instead maybe hopeful for a sequel! Fantastic, everyone who worked on this seriously great job. It's one I thought I'd hate, but have loved. A new favorite added to the list for sure! :) Everybody Happy?

There is a big difference between the "worst movie" ever and your least favorite. "Stitches" might be a bad movie, but I could hardly call it the worst. It's competently shot, decently acted and the gore effects are pretty well done. If I was judging on a purely objective scale, this film would probably get 3, maybe 4 stars.However, once you take into account the actual viewing experience, you begin to realize why I gave it this grade. If you like "Stitches", good for you. I won't take that away from you. But for me, personally, it was probably the worst viewing experience I've had in my life.I'm a fan of a good dark comedy, but it has to be good. "Stitches" isn't funny, and it isn't scary. It's dismal, gross, nasty and all around unpleasant. It's got a wicked mean streak, and it's not remotely funny enough to justify it. I think I laughed once, and it was a weak chuckle at best.See it for yourself if you'd like, but don't say I didn't warn you.