Slamdance 2022 Film Festival – Creating a stop-motion piece is a feat in and of itself, and to create one with as interesting a story as there is animation technique is an accomplishment — writer/director Brad Hock has done just that with his short film Oldboy’s Apples. Screening at the 2022 Slamdance Film Festival, Oldboy’s Apples is very short but also very sweet, telling the story of a softhearted dog and devil.

The first thing I noticed about Oldboy’s Apples is how intricate the character design is — I watched on two different screens to ensure I did not miss any of the finer details of director Hock’s little world. Created out of what looked to be a mix of fabrics, plastics, and clay, the film looked to use mostly fabric instead of clay allowing for a greater range of textures to be used and give further visual depth to the characters’ design, however, I might argue that fabric instead of clay took away from the facial expressions of these characters. Despite the lack of facial expressions, the characters still conveyed a surprisingly heartwarming story of finding your tribe.

Beneath a well and upon a mystical tree sits fruits that giggle and wriggle with life. A dog happens upon the tree, and over his shoulder, he sees the home of a devil and his pet rat. One evening, the devil finds one of the baby fruit in his kitchen cabinet and he decides to plant him in a pot and sing to him to make it grow. Eventually, his efforts pay off, allowing them to enjoy the home together, along with the apparently sneaky dog that united them.

The characters of Oldboy’s Apples seem to be of the underworld and demonic in nature, but the movie is far from horror and is actually rather lighthearted and wholesome. The film has no dialogue but much is conveyed through telling shots, music, and comedic timing. Much of the film is set to a soundtrack that plays throughout the entirety of the film that sounded either ominous and otherworldly, or upbeat and folky. The greatest asset of the film was the audio mixing and sound design, which had to step in with distinct sound effects to compensate for the lack of dialogue.

Oldboy’s Apples shows that even a demon can make a home. I dare say that the devil, the dog, the rat, and the baby make quite a cute family, and Brad Hock’s story was adorable occult non-horror.

7.25 out of 10