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The Spine of Night is a 2021 American adult animated dark fantasy horror film written and directed by Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King.[1] It stars Richard E. Grant, Lucy Lawless, Patton Oswalt, Betty Gabriel, and Joe Manganiello.

The Spine of Night
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Philip Gelatt Morgan Galen King
Written by	Philip Gelatt Morgan Galen King
Produced by	Will Battersby Phillip Gelatt Jean Rattle
Starring	Richard E. Grant Lucy Lawless Patton Oswalt Betty Gabriel Joe Manganiello
Music by	Peter Scartabello
Production companies	Gorgonaut Reno Productions
Distributed by	Shudder (United States) RLJE Films (International)
Release dates	March 18, 2021 (2021-03-18) (SXSW) October 29, 2021 (2021-10-29) (United States)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The film was completed using rotoscoped animation, and traces the centuries-long journey of a magical plant that bestows terrible power upon the user, as it inspires despots, empires, and black magic.[2]

Cast

• Richard E. Grant as The Guardian
• Lucy Lawless as Tzod
• Patton Oswalt as Lord Pyrantin
• Betty Gabriel as Phae-Agura
• Joe Manganiello as Mongrel
• Jordan Douglas Smith as Ghal-Sur
• Patrick Breen as Doa
• Larry Fessenden as Prophet of Doom
• Tom Lipinski as Falconhawk
• Nina Lisandrello as Sparrowcrow
• Abigail Savage as Kestelwren
• Rob McClure as Gull
• Maggie Lakis as Dae

Production

The Spine of Night was directed by Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King, who also wrote the script. While King previously worked as an animator, Gelatt is known for his previous work on live-action films. He made the cult horror film They Remain and wrote the script for the science fiction mystery drama Europa Report. He also wrote the script for 15 episodes of the series Love, Death & Robots.

They wanted to tell an adult story within the fantasy genre. The aesthetic they found appropriate for this was the hand-drawn rotoscope animation, which was preferred in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The drawings were created on the computer, but classically at 12 frames per second, as is usual in rotoscope animation. In this animation technique, artists hand-draw over live-action footage, frame by frame.

Gelatt and King drew inspiration for their work from fantasy and science fiction illustrations by Frank Frazetta and the work of Ralph Bakshi, who made animated films for adults. Especially the 1983 film Fire and Ice was a clear inspiration.[3]

Release

In 2021, RLJE Films and Shudder acquired the U.S. distribution and streaming rights. It premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) on March 18, 2021, Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 16, 2021,[4] Art Film Fest on June 26, 2021, Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival on July 4, 2021,[5] Melbourne International Film Festival on August 7, 2021,[6] FanTasia on August 14, 2021,[7]

The film also screened at the Beyond Fest on October 2, 2021,[8] Sitges Film Festival on October 8, 2021[9] and at the Fantasy Filmfest on October 17, 2021.[10] It was released on digital and theatrically on October 29, 2021.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 82% based on 65 reviews, with an average rating of 6.60/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "With a hard fantasy story that stands in service of its eye-catching animation, The Spine of Night is a distinctive treat for genre enthusiasts."[11] According to Metacritic, which sampled seven critics and calculated a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, the film received "mixed or average reviews."[12]

References

External links

• The Spine of Night at IMDb
• The Spine of Night at Rotten Tomatoes

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