Hello everyone, Matthew here. After taking some time with the Texas Chainsaw franchise, I had the pleasure of getting a visit from a stuffed bear. Yeah, that's right. I had the pleasure of finally catching Benny Loves You.
Benny Loves You is a horror film that was released in 2019. It was written, directed, and even stars Karl Holt as Jack. The whole concept for this film is one that really intrigued me. What happens to your stuffed animals when you outgrow them and move on from them? It's such a fresh idea that I honestly never had thought of before. In a genre where we see a lot of similar concepts over time, it's just refreshing to see original films. This isn't just a spin on a familiar concept. This is a balls to the wall whole new ballgame. Honestly, this film wouldn't feel out of place as an entry to the Tiny Terrors series that we had last year.
The film's opening sequence is such a standout for me. It doesn't take no guff. It doesn't hold your hand. It cleverly and brilliantly illustrates exactly what this film will be about. If you don't like it, then go heck off kind of attitude. We see a child. This child is not just any kind of child. It's a child that some of us wouldn't be afraid to say that we have seen them in our day to day lives. This child is a little shit. And I can't say that it's all because today is their birthday cause it's not. No, this child is most definitely channeling the 'I'm a shit all the time' energy. You know what I'm talking about here. The quintessential shit. They bully their mother into getting their presents early because they had seen their poor parent wrapping them earlier that day. Cut to bedtime and the child is asleep with their new toys. The poor bear that was the child's former favorite toy has now been designated to the box in the closet. And he's sick of it. He comes to life and through this awesome sequence terrorizes the child. The child continues to scream every so often for their parent that they had been a shit to. The mother just can't take it anymore and in such a surprising fashion - gives the child a strong solid backhand. It was in this moment that I was just utterly surprised as to where this film was going to go. After that, the mother places the bear in bed with the little girl. And well, I'll let you see the film to figure out where the sequence went from there.
This opening was so good. It had all the right amount of energy to it. On one hand, the tension that just continues to build as I put myself in the parent's shoes was so strong. I felt for the parent as I'm sure we all have been through those kind of days. The days where whatever we do is never good enough for our children. They have to do whatever they want, whenever they want - just to get their way. Actually, I wish I could say that I felt for the child. I don't want to say unfortunately, but I just couldn't find myself to feel bad for the child. They were a total shit. But it all builds together beautifully in such a strong sequence.
After that, we are introduced to Jack. Jack works as a toy designer. He wishes to be successful with his work. However, he has the most rotten and down on his out luck I have ever seen. This is like Alexander and the No Good, Horrible, Rotten Day ever luck here. He can't find a break at work. You'd think that maybe he'd have success at home. Nope. Jack still lives at home with his parents. Now, I'm not going to knock anyone that is at home with their parents. Not my place to say. But if someone were to be acting like Jack, I'd smack them. He is afraid of change. He is afraid of taking those next steps. He is afraid of success, I feel like. He'd rather stay at home where it's safe. I mean he hasn't changed his room at all and has all of his childhood things out and about. And he's 34 years old...35..34. Well, his luck changes one day when he has the worst birthday of his life.
This is the day that changed his life forever as his path had finally changed. It forces him to take life into his own hands. Forces him to grow the hell up. It forces him to take chances and make mistakes. And boy, there are quite a few mistakes that are made. But for the most part, it seems like he just has that rotten, most terrible, horrible luck. But truth is sometimes we have to go through long times of that shit to get to the other side and learn from life. So in order to make things right for himself, he puts his stuffed bear Benny down into the basement. And that sets the film into motion.
Benny Loves You is a film that I wasn't sure I was going to like as much as I do. I have seen other movies where I was all excited about from the trailer or the poster even and then been disappointed. However, I am happy to say that this wasn't the case. I love this film. It's completely original and fresh. It was a lot of fun. I honestly had no idea where the story was going to go next. But seeing the interaction between Benny and Jack is pretty fantastic onto itself. Then we have Claire Cartwright as Dawn. She delivers an incredible performance as well. It's quite easy to see the relationship build between Dawn and Jack. All of the cast in this film work together so wonderfully.
I'm sure I could go on about Benny Loves You, but at this point it's pretty clear where I stand on it. I definitely recommend it. There was two moments in the film where I was very shocked where it went. In other movies, I probably would have shut it off. However in this film, it's clearly over the top. Go do yourself a favor and check it out.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
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