Antlers — A Review

8th February, 2022.

Can I make a quick confession?

I’ve started writing this post on Tuesday, 8th February: hence the dateline at the top of the article.

And back when I only had an idea I wanted to sit in and watch a film: without necessarily having made up my mind about what I wanted to see.

Little Joe, Godzilla vs Kong, Last Night in Soho … ?

All look good.

However?

I’ve pretty much got my mind set on Antlers.

Purely because the trailer looks interesting.

By the time you read this, I will have written my review, recorded its video equivalent … 

And be able to tell you.

~≈Ÿ≈~

9th February, 2022.

Right … it’s now Wednesday: the day after I saw Antlers.

And?   I think I should tell you about it: whilst dinner’s doing.

~≈Ÿ≈~

Based on Nick Antosca’s “The Quiet Boy,” Antlers opens by showing us a little boy called Aidan: stuck in his father’s car.

Whilst his father — Frank (Scott Haze) — and a colleague are working in their home-made meth lab, buried in an abandoned mine on the edge of the small Oregonian town of Ciscus Falls.

It’s only after Frank warns Aidan not to enter the mine … that Aidan ignores him … 

Only for the something that attacked Frank to attack Aidan.

Three weeks later?

We met Julia (Keri Russell): a teacher who’s returned to Ciscus Falls and moved in with her brother, Paul (Jesse Plemons), the local sheriff.

After the death of their abusive father?   She feels her brother needs company: but finds dealing with memories of their childhood, troubling.

Just as trouble as the little she knows of Lucas Weaver (Jeremy T. Thomas): his drawings — and some of the things he says in class — tell Julia that Lucas has problems at home.

It’s only when she discretely heads for the Weaver family home, she find a house in need of serious repair: and no sign of the two other members of the family she knows are there.

What she doesn’t realise … ?

Is that, at the young age of twelve?   Lucas has his family locked away in the attic.

Frank and Aidan … ?

Are ill.

~≈Ÿ≈~

Now … 

What DID I make of this film?

And should I add a thing about stars?

Yes, I should: just as a thing for those who don’t know.

I try and rate movies: zero stars means I think you should avoid a movie.

Four means go and see it, now.

• GO GET NOW: If you’ve missed ’em, more fool you. ★★★★
• Keepers: highly watchable worth keeping a copy of and worth a second look. ★★★☆
• Watchers: worth watching, but not necessary worth keeping. ★★☆☆
• Nice to have seen: but forgettable. ★☆☆☆
• Avoid!: ☆☆☆☆

Hopefully, that’s clear.

It should explain things later.

At any rate, what did I think of Antlers … ?

I think we have pros and cons.

Let’s starts with the cons, shall we?

I’m not sure I like a fast paced movie: although there’s times I do.   I don’t know if I could think of one that gos along at a good pace: although the Keanu Reeves action piece, Speed, does go at a good pace.

The recent version of Dune is another: it’s paced well, I think.   Not fast: but not too slow, either.

The Babadook?   By contrast, The Babadook, and The Awakening, are comparatively slow: but pick up speed, as they go.

By contrast?   Antlers starts slowly … and — for my money — takes longer than it should to pick up speed.

In a way that had me frequently pausing, to see how much longer I had to watch.

Not necessarily good, I think.

Something else that caught me?

You’ve heard the phrase, “Show, don’t tell,” yes?

It’s an old saw that means, literally, what it says: that sometimes it’s easier to show us something, than give us a long convoluted explanation about it.

We get told, once or twice, that Julia and Paul had been abused as children: by their alcoholic father.

Indeed we get a flash-back that hints of that.   One I’m not sure was justified: or, at least, that came out of nowhere, as far as I’m concerned.

We knew it had happened, by this point.   We don’t necessarily need to see it happen.

A more useful flash back?   Was when we see Frank and Aidan arrive home: Frank sets up the attic room so he and Aidan can’t escape, and makes sure Lucas knows to keep them locked in.

That was far more relevant than the abuse scene, I felt: it could have come a little earlier in the film, but was helpful.

There’s other scenes: that for me, could have been better done.

We see Sheriff Meadows — Paul, Julia’s brother — investigation a dead body in the Mine: a scene that shows us Graham Greene as a local expert on tribal beliefs without being properly introduced.

And the ending … ?   Is possibly obvious.

On the upside … ?

Antlers is set in Oregon, but filmed in British Columbia: and the locations, even down to the rickety industrial parts of the mine, are gorgeous.

The slow pace?   Give a chance to see — and possibly envy — the westerns parts of North America.

The acting … ?   OK … I don’t think the cast will win any Oscars.   But Keri Russell and company — including the youngsters — do a capable job: a capable job with a reasonably good script.

The creature, a version of the old First Nation Wendigo myth?

Is actually nicely done.

Frank’s transformation into the Wendigo is both grotesque, and frightening.

And, at the last?

The Wendigo is shot in such a way that we only get to see the thing Frank’s become, silhouetted against the light: we get unnerving hints, and terrifying shadows, rather than a man in a rubber suit.

And we get the real horror: of realising the Aidan, the youngest member of the family, is going the same way.

Frankly?

I’ll be leaving Antlers with two stars.

It’s watchable, even enjoyable: but the slow burn pace, and the slightly disjointed scenes, means Antlers isn’t going to be for everyone.

Antlers.

★★☆☆