The Mannequin is directed by John Berardo, and the cast includes Isabella Gomez, Lindsay LaVanchy, Shireen Lai, Maxwell Hamilton, Gabriella Rivera, and Jack Sochet.
My Thoughts on The Mannequin
You would expect a movie called The Mannequin to maybe be a fun, over the top movie featuring a killer mannequin, which was what I was expecting, but in this movie, despite the title, the actual mannequin actually barely does anything, as it never moves, never kills anyone, and mostly sits in the background like a silent observer, which was a bit disappointing, but maybe that was down to what I was expecting going in?
But the movie does have some moments that work, even if it’s not what I imagined.
Decades after a young pinup model is brutally murdered by her sleazy photographer inside a sprawling warehouse, sisters Liana and Sophia purchase that same warehouse to turn it into a fashion studio, and it’s the kind of setting that immediately feels haunted.
And not long after moving in, tragedy does strike, as Sophia dies in what’s called a suicide, but the film makes it clear something darker is at play, and Liana, already dealing with grief and the lingering presence of her ex-boyfriend, has to navigate the eerie energy of the place while figuring out how to honor her sister.
So a year later, she reopens the warehouse in her sister’s memory with friends - a woman trying to reclaim a space tied to loss that sets the stage for tension, but the friends don’t agree with her plan though, which feels realistic, as most people wouldn’t want to step into a building with that kind of history, and Bernardo makes it clear from the start that this isn’t just a workspace, it’s a place steeped in darkness.
The mannequin, of course, is always in the background, where Bernardo teases it constantly, showing glimpses in shadows or framing it off to the side, and I constantly kept waiting for some sort of moment where it would become the focus, with some payoff for all the buildup.
It never comes though, and instead, the scares come from some familiar ghostly events and tropes, but they are done decently enough for them to have some impact though, and there’s a subtle, almost Japanese horror feel to the way the ghosts move, like they’re slightly off-balance and unnatural.
Bernardo mixes black and white sequences in the movie along with muted color, which gives the film a dreamlike quality that fits the tone perfectly, and toy end up paying more attention to the composition of shots than the story at times, because it’s clear that every frame was carefully considered.
But the story doesn’t always support these visuals.
Liana as the main character, is just not particularly interesting to watch for long stretches, as she spends much of the movie reacting to events rather than driving them, while her friends are similarly thinly written, where we never get much sense of their personalities beyond their immediate reactions.
The pacing is also another area that feels uneven, where the first act is slow, as Bernardo lets the warehouse breathe, allowing tension to build through small, subtle details, but later the movie starts repeating itself, and by the time the backstory is revealed, it’s predictable, and that predictability undercuts some of the suspense.
But when the ghost begins possessing the characters, the film does shake off some of its lethargy, where the tension and atmosphere does ramp up, and the craft is there at times, even when the story isn’t, but I did find myself thinking about how much more fun it could have been if Bernardo had leaned into the weirdness, embraced the absurdity, and let the story get a little chaotic, instead of playing things safe.
The Mannequin is a strange experience of a film, as it’s stylish, has some creepy moments, and is clearly made with care, but it’s also a bit frustrating, and I think the movie works best if you approach it with low expectations and an appreciation for mood over story, as I wouldn't say it is a fully satisfying horror film, but it has enough moments and strong visuals to make it somewhat watchable.
Part haunting, part tease, and part missed opportunity.