At what price comes knowledge? Are there certain things it is better to just…not know? Should knowledge be shared no matter how devastating, or should truly terrible secrets remain so? Such is the debate at the centre of The Spine of Night (2021), a fully rotoscoped fantasy horror from co-writer/directors Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King.
Otherworldly valley
Gelatt and King’s choice to use rotoscoping is a double edged one. On a positive note, the technique adds a subtlety of movement to the animation that evokes an otherworldly and pleasingly retro feel. Watching this I was cast back to my childhood watching Ralph Bakshi’s adaptation of Lord of the Rings (1978) and it was not an unpleasant sensation. Indeed the film is a direct inspiration for this piece and is cited as such by King.
What is fascinating here is that the heft given to The Spine of Night (2021) by its animation style is also carried into the story itself. This is a brutal tale where goodness and mercy are punished with betrayal and death. It is a story that spans hundreds of years, which could make the events unfolding seem superficial, as you don’t really get to know anyone that well, but the writing is strong enough that the film’s many characters linger with you long after their brief time is over.
The voice acting is strong, with Richard E. Grant, Lucy Lawless and Betty Gabriel standing out among the crowd. They deliver their performances with suitable gravitas and prevent things from descending into camp territory. Which, considering the Frank Frazetta BDSM costuming, is something that could have easily happened.
There are no winks to the camera or hawkmen screaming “DIVE!” here. The events on screen are played straight and things work well because of it.
Getting the jiggles just right
There are some creaky design choices here, though. Lawless’s character, the swamp witch Tzod, has a costume amounting to no more than a skull necklace. At times like this you have to pity the live-action actress, rolling around butt naked so the animators could get her breast jiggles just right. But hey-ho, we all have bills to pay.
Noble savage tropes aside, my biggest criticism of the film (and here’s that second edge) comes from the rotoscoping. Specifically the speed of it. The heft and weight I was praising before gives a retro aesthetic that is appealing and chunky but when it comes to the hyper-violence being pushed by the film’s marketing, the overly slow movement on screen makes things feel silly and harmless.
It’s all a bit too real at times
The ‘realness’ of movement can’t help but pull me out of the action as you remember the actor or actress on screen whose movements are being traced over.
The multiple large battles feel like smaller vignettes being stitched and layered on top of one another rather than deadly spectacles for you to lose yourself in. Warriors jab at things off-screen and hammers are swung at heads at a pace that doesn’t feel lethal.
An extra visceral experience
In short the rotoscoping, which makes the quieter moments so enthralling, neuters the on screen violence. You know, the thing we’re here for?
When things get more cosmic, and the animators are allowed to flex their muscles, the viscera becomes more visceral. Giant eyes blaze in skies and rip out of chests, peasants ponder their role in the cosmic scheme of things and the dead rise to do battle once more. There is some stunning stuff here, it just feels like it is playing out at half speed.
Overall, The Spine of Night (2021) is engaging, serious and authentic in its approach. It’s something I could imagine being on the screen in a dive bar. The sort of unusual eye-candy that sucks you in no matter how loud the music is. It evokes a mood and scratches a specific itch I didn’t know I had and, apart from a desire to speed the action up, does so very successfully.
Credits
Editors: Ben Kelly, Richard Williams
Artwork: Richard Williams
A screenwriter based in the North East of England. Loves producing slow-burning, thoughtful stories with an undercurrent of graphic violence.
Writer and editor from the north of Scotland, lifelong movie enthusiast. Always looking for an unseen classic, watching something new every day.
I own this thing. Being creative makes me tick. Film lover. Coffee hater. Website manager, headline and copywriter, video editor, graphic/motion designer, editor, presenter...
