‘Appendage’ Movie Review: Anxiety Metaphor Blends Well With Gross Body-Horror
Photo from Hulu
From Jeremy Kibler
If James Wan’s crazy-pants Malignant was your genre jam, then, girl, is there a new movie for you! Writer-director Anna Zlokovic makes her feature debut with Appendage, an expansion of her 2021 short of the same name, which starred Rachel Sennott and Eric Roberts. Rather than merely stretching a body-horror idea to its limits, the film grows and confidently shapes into something more than just a gnarly rampage. Appendage is weird and icky, but it also says something worthwhile about mental health inside a genre-flick body.
Hadley Robinson stars as Hannah, a New York fashion designer who has always struggled with crippling anxiety and self-doubt. It might stem from her smothering, condescending mother (Deborah Rennard), or it’s just always been a part of her. Either way, Hannah stays up late, working on new pieces in hopes of being selected by her cruel boss Cristean (a cartoonishly flamboyant Desmin Borges) to work on his spring collection. When Hannah feels like she just isn’t good enough and gets physically sick, something finally sprouts from the birthmark on her body. It’s like the physical manifestation of that little voice in one’s head but in the form of a grotesque, shit-talking creature feeding into Hannah’s self-loathing. Can self-love save Hannah?
What this 94-minute version does differently is expand upon Hannah’s life. One of her co-workers/competitors is her “number one bitch,” Esther (Kausar Mohammed, a spitfire). Hannah has just given a spare apartment to her boyfriend Kaelin (a charismatic Brandon Mychal Smith), whom Esther introduced to Hannah. She also finds a therapy group with people just like her, particularly Claudia, played by Emily Hampshire with just the right amount of side-eye and relatability as she brought to the snarky Stevie on Schitt’s Creek.
As demented as its short-film source but with something even more up with its sleeve, Appendage is for anyone who has ever felt a touch of imposter syndrome or always strives to be a better version of themselves. Hadley Robinson (Moxie) is very game in the lead as Hannah, and without spoiling the proceedings, she deftly plays dual sides of the character. The practical effects and puppetry for the nasty little asshole are also top-notch and just as gross as they should be.
Even as the film follows a mostly predictable path, as Hannah alienates herself from those closest to her, filmmaker Zlokovic really does get the balance right between the literal and the metaphorical without displacing the other. If you’re due for a bonkers cocktail of Basket Case, Bad Milo! and, of course, Malignant, don’t fret — Appendage is nuts.
Rating: 3.5/5
Appendage is currently streaming on Hulu.
