The Laughing Mask Review

The Laughing Mask is an interesting movie that is never quite sure of what its goal is. The plot revolves around this killer with a sewn up mask that goes around killing and playing around with some bad folks in society. Though that's mostly just mentioned and for some people clearly displayed though for many that he's torturing you're not quite sure why.

I will give it to the killer that he's got some nice style with classy music and unique ways of disposing of folks. It just seems like they weren't sure what kind of film this was going to be as the killer was very charismatic with a good selection of laughs though I don't believe this is a comedy, it also has slasher elements though it's really that and it can't be horror as there was nothing too terrifying.

Aside from this core vigilante it follows there's also a detective group going around trying to solve the murders and they're horrible at their jobs it would seem. This group was a bit more awkward with their dialogue and these portions I had issues with.

The areas with detectives seemed as though there was less focus and the actors felt very awkward in their roles, almost rigid. The line deliverance wasn't quite there, but whenever the Laughing Mask showed up it felt like a different film. For the run time being as long as it was it might have benefitted focusing just on one idea while having the other with a smaller portion.

I understand the direction of where it went with the two areas and won't use spoilers though that wasn't even very cohesive. Aside from weak dialogue and acting I also felt that the camera work wasn't that great. It felt again, awkward as it never felt focused correctly making some scenes not look right. There were also too many cut aways or quick cuts which took away from some well setup scenes that could have had good delivery.

The Conclusion

I thought the film was honestly fine for a watch if you'd like it, but looking at it from a critical point there were some weak moments that hurt the appeal of the movie. It definitely needed some more focus to it as it was rather long and despite the killer moments being dragged out they were mostly well executed. I felt he was a funny individual with class and unique ways of doing his killings.

It just felt like it went almost too comedic with him and I'm not sure that's what the intention was with this killer. The film also branched out a bit too much with the separate story lines going on and some of that could have been cut back on. It was decent for what it was, but with faults and such it wasn't a solid film.

The Laughing Mask Review at Home with Streamed Viewing
Screening Provided by October Coast Publicity

Rating Overall: 4.5