In theaters June 14, 2024
In a very controlled environment, a young girl starts seeing changes to her body, changes that turn horrific fast.
Written by Amanda Nell Eu, who also directed, the take on a coming-of-age story with horror elements will remind many of a young crowd Ginger Snaps on many fronts while being completely different in many ways. The film here is decently written and directed, but the story developments are a bit on the taking too much time side of life. The film has some great ideas, some of them really well executed, but overall, the mood along with the no-as-well executed ideas lead to pacing issues and a loss of interest in the story before it really gets anywhere. The fact that the majority of the characters besides the lead are mean girls or dislikable people which means that while it may make the lead a bit more sympathetic in comparison, it gives very one-dimensional other characters to work with.
The cast here is decent to good, no one is straight up bad at their work, so that is a good thing, however, a few scenes seemed to need more finessing, perhaps a more experienced director. The lead here is probably the best performance of the bunch even though she spends a lot of time being angry, screaming, being annoyed, etc. Young Zafreen Zairizal does her best with this and it comes out well, giving her character a few layers and an insight on her situation. Playing the main mean girl is Deena Ezral who is unlikable from her first few seconds on screen until the end of the film which leads to hoping this is all fantastic acting. Worth nothing and perhaps not for the best reasons, Shaheizy Sam plays his healer/exorcist/influencer character in a way that makes him come off unredeemable. And this is a theme here, most of the characters are not likable, so the performances work with this and make themselves mostly out of negative energy. This influences how the film feels overall and it’s not ideal.
For the look of the film, the cinematography by Jimmy Gimferrer is practical in its approach to the film, showing the story and characters without much extra flair. This is a film shot for the story and not particularly for artsy sequences sake. It looks good, images are clear, and it works, it just lacks a little flare, a little something extra. The editing by Carlo Francisco Manatad works well here, helping the story move along, keeping the scenes on screen just the right amount of time.
Tiger Stripes is a hard movie to review in that it’s neither great nor terrible. It has mostly unlikable characters, decent cinematography and editing, ok writing and serviceable direction. It’s not great, it’s not bad, it just kind of is. Yes, it has some great ideas here and there and it has something to say about coming of age in rural Segalor. It’s likely a film that will hit more of the right notes for folks more familiar with the culture in the area it is from. As it is, some of the scenes are memorable, but the film as a whole will likely be forgotten amongst the plethora of other titles coming out in the next few weeks and months.