Clawfoot (2024)

 

 

Movie Name/Year: Clawfoot (2024)
Genre: Thriller
Length: 1h 27min
Rating: MA15+
Director: Michael Day
Writer: April Wolfe
Actors: Francesca Eastwood, Milo Gibson, Olivia Culpo, Oliver Cooper, Nestor Carbonell
 
Blurb: An upper-class housewife is tormented by a manipulative contractor, hired to remodel her bathroom.

 

 

Selina’s Point of View:

Clawfoot is marketed as a thriller, but the comedy MAKES this film.

 

The first half hour of Clawfoot I wondered if the bits of comedy were intentional or not. If intentional, it was a nice mix of subtle and overt. If unintentional – it would have felt a bit more on the cringe side. It took a while before it made enough sense for me to realize just how intentional it was.

 

Once I got to that point, there was no looking back. I was invested. Somewhere between thoroughly thrilled and laughing my ass off. The characters were ridiculous but in a fun way, and the story took a left turn I honestly didn't expect.

 

 

Francesca Eastwood (Old, Attention Attention, M.F.A.) and Olivia Culpo (Paradise City, I Feel Pretty, The Other Woman) were outstanding as the clueless duo, and Milo Gibson (The Outpost, Hacksaw Ridge, Breaking & Exiting) was just disturbing enough to keep the creepy aura flowing. Whereas Oliver Cooper (Californication, Mindhunter, The Ultimate Playlist of Noise) did a great job as the only character I ever truly felt bad for. The four of them had to have been the dream cast for director Michael Day (Sisters, The News Tank, Amber). If not initially, then definitely by the time editing was done.

 

Clawfoot is a trip.

 

Clawfoot will be available for digital download on September 23.

 

 

Cat’s Point of View:

 

It took me a few to stop simply staring at my screen with a “what the fuck” expression painted across my face once the credits for Clawfoot rolled.

 

I did not get what I expected from this movie. Rather than an edge-of-the-seat thriller, it was more of a dark comedy thrill ride. There was a lot of tension and the production team really played with the slow burn of suspense at the start, but the pops of unexpected disturbing comedic moments made all the second-guessing at the beginning well worth it.

 

Clawfoot's trailer intrigued me. I wanted to know more about this invasive brute of a contractor and why events were unfolding how they did. There were moments that I thought for sure that I knew what was about to happen, only for the story to flip the script on me. Once the initial surprise happened, I thought I had it all figured out again, and then the twist took Clawfoot on a hard left turn and I was left siting here with my jaw dropped for a minute.

 

 

I had gotten a good feel for how the chemistry on screen would play out between Francesca Eastwood and Milo Gibson as the opposing sides of this narrative, and I'm thrilled to report that it's actually even better than the snippets in the teaser allude to. Gibson gives off the squirmy edge of malevolence under the veneer of jaunty conversation and 'oh gosh' helpful contractor guy. Olivia Culpo exceeded my expectations, as well.

 

I'm going to date myself again, but the friendship between Culpo and Eastwood's characters reminded me a lot of a morally bankrupt modern version of Romy and Michelle from Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion (1997).

 

This might not be one you'll watch over and over again, but Clawfoot is definitely worth the initial experience. As the feature directorial debut for Michael Day. I'd say that he has a great start in the driver's seat and I can't wait to see what he cooks up next. I am glad that I had Clawfoot on our Top 20 article for this month.

 

You can check Clawfoot out for yourself when it becomes available for DigitalDownload beginning September 23^rd.

 

 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score –62%

Metascore – None

Metacritic User Score – None

IMDB Score – 4.7/10

 

Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 4/5

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4/5

 

Trust the Dice: Parental Advisory Rating – R

 

P.S. - There is a brief mid-credits scene.

 

Movie Trailer: