‘ANTLERS’ – Searchlight Pictures
Directed By: Scott Cooper
Starring: Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons, Jeremy T. Thomas, Graham Greene
Plot Summary: From the visionary world of acclaimed director Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Hostiles) and horror maestro Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water) comes Antlers. In an isolated Oregon town, a middle school teacher (Keri Russell) and her sheriff brother (Jesse Plemons) become embroiled with her enigmatic student (Jeremy T. Thomas) whose dark secrets lead to a terrifying encounter with a legendary ancestral creature who came before them. Based on the short story The Quiet Boy by Nick Antosca, screenplay by C. Henry Chaisson & Nick Antosca and Scott Cooper. Produced by Guillermo del Toro, David S. Goyer, and J. Miles Dale.
Everyone is talking about Halloween Kills (2021) being the most anticipated horror movie of 2021. And while that was of course the case, for my money, it was the Guillermo del Toro-produced Antlers that had me on pins and needles. Especially since the movie was infamously slated for 2020 but was delayed because, you know, a global pandemic. Did it live up to my personal hype? Yes and no. First, what I enjoyed. The wendigo (or windigo) is a creature that largely is ignored by mainstream horror. 2019’s Pet Sematary gave us a little taste of the creature, keeping it largely as background. And though that is a valid approach, it left me wanting more. Scott Cooper seems to have heard my cries and gave fans a truly chilling, balls-to-the-wall mythic beast. From the very opening few seconds to the end credits, Cooper crafts a movie that is scary yet has this thick layer of depression and desperation. It’s the kind of real-world sorrow that bleeds into the supernatural that makes for highly provocative genre fiction. For the most part, I think the message doesn’t overwhelm the piece, and I thankfully never felt Cooper and del Toro were preaching at me.
Award winning DP Florian Hoffmeister paints a starkly beautiful yet icy and melancholic world that should be nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography but frankly wont, because it’s a horror film. Hoffmeister and production designer Tim Grimes (You Were Never Really Here) give the movie the haunting and detached tone that meshes well with the film’s background themes of addiction, abuse and mental health. And, damned if this movie doesn’t have the most effective jump scare since 2007’s Inside. Indeed, the movie is good at weaving tension and giving its audience some solid frights. Keri Russell and James Plemons are of course great, but it’s newcomer Jeremy T. Thomas who manages to steal the show completely.
Having said that, the movie does struggle to truly live up to its own potential. The movie feels like two concepts struggling to really mix organically. On the one hand, you have the Weaver family which could have been the main focus all on its own. Then, you have the Julie (Kei Russell) and Paul Meadows (Jesse Plemons) subplot which feels like it only bloats the central storyline instead of complimenting it. The filmmakers try to make those two storylines intersect in a natural way but it feels like it only servers to complicate the narrative while also leading to some awkward pacing. Despite this though, I have to say that I was completely engaged and invested in the film. I also loved how del Toro’s creativity and use of fairytale-like nightmare logic runs strong throughout.
Antlers is a potent chilling and timely piece of folk horror that gets under the skin and rips its way out.
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Big film nerd and TCM Obsessed. Author of The Ultimate Guide to Strange Cinema from Schiffer Publishing. Resume includes: AMC’s The Bite, Scream Magazine etc. Love all kinds of movies and television and have interviewed a wide range of actors, writers, producers and directors. I currently am a regular co-host on the podcast The Humanoids from the Deep Dive and have a second book in the works from Bear Manor.
