ANTLERS
(October 2021)
“Yeah, he said
he was, uhh, hiking up near Greymouth, when a stench led him to a man half
buried in the woods. I guess the other half was found in the mine, near a meth
lab. Was probably a, a bear or a cougar, something.”
“Jesus.”
“From what he
just told me, I don’t think Jesus was anywhere to be found.”
Guilt-ridden Julia Meadows (Keri Russell) finds
herself back in her hometown of Cispus Falls, Oregon, still trying to “resolve”
her lifetime of “issues” (which reveal themselves gradually during the first
act, proving her own terms blatant understatements).
It’s a place she admits she barely recognizes
anymore, an economically depressed mining town, in the midst of a so-called
“war on American energy.”
But, given that this is a horror movie co-produced
by no less than Guillermo del Toro*, it should come as no surprise that there
are even darker (and bloodier) things afoot.
“Daddy said
God is dead.”
Director Scott Cooper (working from a screenplay
credited to C. Henry Chaisson, Nick Antosca, and Cooper, based on Antosca’s
short story, “The Quiet Boy”) gives us a horror film that isn’t just about
literal, supernatural monsters, but also the kinds of monsters that lurk behind
the unassuming masks of men.
While the “Creature”** is, naturally, the main
attraction, Antlers is also about
generational trauma, and the tragic and grotesque scars left behind by abuse.
It’s about “the lost, the frail, and the depraved”.
“I just have
to feed him, and he’ll love me.”
There’s also an interesting supporting cast here,
with the likes of Jesse Plemons (as Julia’s brother, Paul, who also happens to
be Cispus Falls’ Sheriff), Amy Madigan, Graham Greene, and Rory Cochrane.
Sadly, three of the above mentioned are relegated
to either Exposition Delivery, or those sad, thankless horror movie roles that
ultimately underutilize the actor.
You can’t win ‘em all, I guess.
Still, Antlers
is most definitely worth a look.
I came to it because of the lure of Antosca***, del
Toro, and Felicity herself, and was, in the end, happy I did.
Check it out, if you’re so inclined, and maybe
you’ll be glad you did, too…
Will you, I pray, demand that demidevil
Why he hath thus ensnared my soul and body?
--Othello
Act V - Scene II
* David S. Goyer is another co-producer.
** For my fellow comic book nerds out there, the
one and only Guy Davis is credited for Lead Creature Design, as well as a bunch
of drawings that appear onscreen.
Davis is also the main Creature Design dude for del
Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, and has worked with him on a whole bunch of past productions…
In del Toro's own words: “Guy Davis, to me, is one of the best monster designers alive right now.”
*** And, speaking of, those, ahem, antlers on the
one sheet should remind you of another
thing Antosca worked on, that should in turn, tip you off as to the nature of Antlers’ Creature…
(That other thing is also to be found in the Iguana
Archives.)
Parting Shot 1:
The short story “The Quiet Boy” can be read online
here.
My personal recommendation is, if you haven’t
already read the story but are curious to see the original source material,
then check it out after you’ve seen Antlers.
Parting Shot 2:
In Antlers’
end credits roll, Christian Bale is one of the names under “Special Thanks”.
Cooper has worked with Bale on three films to date,
the latest, the Netflix adaptation of Louis Bayard’s The Pale Blue Eye.
Looking forward to that one…
(Antlers
OS courtesy of impawards.com.)
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