Stitched (film)

Last updated
Stitched
StitchedEnnisPoster.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Garth Ennis
Screenplay byGarth Ennis
Produced byEd Polgardy
Brian Pulido
Francisca Pulido
StarringTank Jones
Kate Kugler
Lauren Alonzo
CinematographyAdam Goldfine
Edited byBrian Pulido
Music byJim Casella
Production
company
Mischief Maker Studios
Distributed by Avatar Press
Spitfire Productions
Release date
Running time
18 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Stitched is a 2011 American horror short film written and directed by Garth Ennis. [1] [2] It was created in attempt to draw interest in a feature, [3] and to promote Ennis's own comic book series of the same name, the first issue of which was published by Avatar Press two months after the film's July premiere at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International. [4]

Contents

Plot

In Eastern Afghanistan, three NATO operatives (one of whom, Lieutenant Pruitt, is injured) trek through the desert in search of aid, the only survivors of Black Hawk Idaho Six, which had crashed while on a mission to extract the British unit Bravo One-Five. During their journey, the trio encounter a bloodied and hysterical Taliban fighter who Cooper shoots, discovering afterward that the man's firearm was damaged and empty.

The soldiers later stumble onto five more Taliban fighters, all dead, and with their heavily mutilated remains showing signs of dismemberment and organ removal. A rattling noise then permeates the area, prompting a hidden quartet of camouflaged men armed with crude melee weapons to start advancing on the NATO personnel. The men do not respond to Corporal Twiggs's attempts to communicate with them, and are unaffected by being shot, even in the legs and head. The quartet begin to overpower the NATO crew, and during the struggle two of the assailants have their shrouds ripped off, revealing them to be withered corpses whose facial orifices are sewn shut.

The source of the rattling sound is revealed to be a man dressed in black robes who is swinging a can full of rocks. The figure is shot to death by the surviving three members of Bravo One-Five, silencing the shaken pebbles and causing the zombies to become inert. The Bravo One-Five members help the NATO crew recover, and explain that they had earlier been attacked by the "Stitched" creatures, which can seemingly only be stopped by taking out their masters, and by blowing them up while they are in their stupored state. Having already used up all of their C-4 in earlier battles, the six soldiers are forced to leave the immobilized "Stitched" unmolested, though as they vacate the area Twiggs notices that one of the creatures appears to be shedding tears.

Cast

Reception

Ain't It Cool News was critical of the "clunky acting and unsuspenseful scenes" and opined that the short was "just kind of plain and soulless". [5] Conversely, James Ferguson of HorrorTalk praised the production values, most of the acting, and the makeup effects, and awarded the film a score of 4/5. [6] In a review written for Forbidden Planet International, James Bacon held Stitched in similarly complimentary regard, and concluded, "I am no expert on films, but I did not feel that shelling out £15 for this movie was anything else, except good value, for me at least". [7]

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References

  1. Keily, Karl (23 July 2011). "CCI Garth Ennis Gets Stitched". spinoff.comicbookresources.com. Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  2. William Proctor (2014). Remake Television: Reboot, Re-use, Recycle. Lexington Books. p. 13. ISBN   9780739183335 . Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  3. Turek, Ryan (29 July 2011). "EXCL: Garth Ennis on His Directorial Debut Stitched". shocktillyoudrop.com. Shock Till You Drop. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  4. Moore, Debi (1 July 2011). "San Diego Comic-Con 2011: World Premiere of Garth Ennis' Short Film Stitched". dreadcentral.com. Dread Central. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  5. bug, ambush (24 October 2011). "AICN HORROR: Looks at short film scares with KIRKSDALE! GARTH ENNIS' STITCHED! THE MONKEY'S PAW! HOLD THE MAYO! FAMILIAR! STEPHEN KING'S SURVIVOR TYPE!". aintitcool.com. Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  6. Ferguson, James (4 November 2011). "Stitched DVD Review". horrortalk.com. HorrorTalk. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  7. Bacon, James (6 September 2011). "Garth Ennis Gets Stitched". forbiddenplanet.co.uk. Forbidden Planet International. Retrieved 11 March 2016.