The Unknown Review

The Unknown is a 2020 stop motion animated short filmed directed and animated by Stephanie Marshall with writing by Caroline Webster.

Gorgeously animated and beautifully written The Unknown is a soul defining journey into the afterlife which is sure to leave you reflecting on existence as a whole.

From the very beginning this film is a visual splendor. The perfectly flowing camerawork and animation combine in such amazing harmony. As if that weren’t enough the story takes us through an entire journey of life culminating in a poignant ending.

Sitting down with this film there was nothing wrong here in the slightest. The cinematography by Matt Vahey was gorgeous, the editing by Ona Bartroli Portell was perfectly paced, and the production design by Peter Coulthard created a living, vibrant world throughout.

The score by Adam Speck was introspective and beautiful, carrying the right notes during the entire piece, and the sound design by Yin Lee was hauntingly atmospheric.

For the voice acting both leads as portrayed by Dan Burgess and Victoria Grove provided an amazing nuance to each of their characters, knowing exactly when to emote without ever getting too over the top.

There is clearly a whole team of people that could keep being mentioned here but everyone came together to a spectacular effect. It is just such a testament to the deep talent collected for one short film and there is no other way to say it other than I was blown away. A story such as this could easily fall into the trappings of melodrama or heavy handedness but this does not happen here. It is balanced and well executed in its direction.

A lot of care went into this film from a lot of amazing people. I know I sound like all I am doing here is gushing but I have no other choice but to admit when I have seen a work that truly floors me. Stop motion animation is an art form that has finally at least in some small ways come back around to getting the recognition that it deserves and The Unknown is one more piece to add to that statement.

This is a truly wonderful film that you should absolutely take the time to sit down to. Amazing work from Marshall and team, bravo.

To follow on social media: Film Instagram and Director Instagram.

Cheers!

Daniel Hess

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