The Stickman’s Hollow (2024) - Movie Review
What if I told you there was a new found-footage movie that is paced well, has solid acting, and has a great hook?
Exciting right?
Well, what if I then said: It has one of the worst endings in horror history.
Let’s Discuss.
The Stickman’s Hollow (The Curse of Stickman’s Hollow) is a 2024 found-footage horror film brought to us by Writer / Director Jack Cox. You may not recognize the name, as he mainly works on animated features as a voice-acting director. However, I think he’s got a future in features, as this was a solid micro-budget horror.
The film focuses on a group of characters whose lives become horrifically intertwined with the dark history of a deep woods hollow. The hollow has always had a sinister reputation, but that hasn’t stopped people from traveling through it. The only commonality between these travelers is tragedy, bloodshed, and loss. Will any of them survive the horrors of the deep woods, or will they become the latest victims of The Curse of Stickman’s Hollow?
It’s hard to sum up a collection of vignettes. Especially when I really don’t want to spoil anything, because the first two acts are extremely well done.
And the third?
.
.
We’ll discuss that later.
For now, let’s talk positives.
The film uses the first-person POV perfectly.
This is the sign to turn around.
I don’t like a lot of found footage films due to the camera work, but this film is shot perfectly. I really enjoy how they have the camera get passed around, placed on a tripod, etc. It varies the POV height and focus, but also provides a more emotional connection, as there isn’t just a faceless cameraman. It’s an actual person, which draws the viewer in and increases the creep factor.
It’s refreshing to see a found footage horror utilize atmospheric scares in lieu of jump scares.
The majority of the film takes place in the dark woods, and I mean dark. There are moments in the woods that are pitch black. The darkness envelops the viewer as much as the characters. Combined with the incredible sound design of snapping twigs, rustling leaves, and the creepiest singing voice in recent memory, it’s a fantastic experience.
Don’t sleep on this cast.
The cast of this film is going to be unknown to casual viewers, but it’s an incredible group of talent. You’ve got prolific veteran actors like Michael Adamthwaite alongside up-and-coming television stars like Thomas Cadrot. The real star was the great voice actor Jason Simpson doing a rare on-camera appearance. He played the role of a priest/exorcist with a realism that is almost unmatched in recent memory.
Arts and Crafts got dark.
…and now Act 3
I was looking forward to learning more about the history of the hollow, of the creepy church that is mentioned but never seen, and the answer to where the demon first made its mark. However, we get none of that. The third act, without spoilers, makes absolutely no sense in context. To the point that my viewing partner and I were both yelling at the screen because the sequence is completely asinine.
Need more?
Okay, so, it goes like this: an established character tells the camera that a certain person’s body was found following the tragedy and that she took care of the burial planning for said person two years prior. She references seeing the person’s dead body at the funeral with her own eyes. Then, five seconds later, she gets a phone call from a stranger who tells her that the dead person was seen in the deep woods of the hollow and that she should come right away. So, she rushes off to save said person, even though she buried their autopsied body TWO YEARS AGO.
It’s a terrible set-up, and it just goes downhill from there. Instead of a story that wraps everything up or ties things together, we get a finale that does nothing but ruin the hard work that went into the first two acts.
I enjoyed the movie, but the ending ruined it for me.
Which is a shame, because the actors really gave their all.
I would encourage folks to view this film and just turn it off after the exorcism story. The third act serves no purpose other than to pad the runtime.
As of this writing, you can watch this streaming on Amazon Prime and TUBI.
