I attempt to be as uninformed as possible when viewing a movie for the first time. This allows me to be pleasantly surprised in many cases. And I've learned to never trust a trailer. If you trust a trailer in the horror genre, you will think every horror movie is a high octane thrill ride. I never know when I'm stumbling into the next Witch or Midsommer (both of which I enjoyed), especially judging by the marketing.
Antlers delivers on a range of fronts that, I think, merit a high rating. While it isn't overly original, it's simply a good solid horror movie on all counts. The characters get some development, the acting is very good, the cinematography is lovely, the pacing is enjoyable and the scares are well done. All things considered, it's a strong representative of the genre, with moments of true dread, a few clever jumps and loads of underlying themes material to please those of us who appreciate something more refined than the average Saw movie.
Jeremy T. Thomas, while playing a very muted character, holds down the lead as a believable impoverished country boy who is tired, scared and mentally scarred. Russel and Plemons have decent chemistry as siblings working through unresolved trauma.
The monster aspect of the movie delivers as well, although in a low-budget kind of way, wisely saving it's FX dollars for high impact scenes. Much of the creepiness is cloaked in shadow and darkness, and the director uses this to his advantage, however I still felt like they showed enough as the movie progressed to keep me from feeling ripped off in this regard.
I enjoyed it. I have no problem calling it horror and, what's more, I'd be happy for it to represent the genre in a general way, presenting gore, jump scares, atmosphere, monsters, real world evil and disturbing content, all without sacrificing plot or without being gratuitous in any of those areas. Everything serves the film, and it comes together nicely.
Not original, not groundbreaking, not Life-changing, just good, well made horror.
Go see it.
Antlers delivers on a range of fronts that, I think, merit a high rating. While it isn't overly original, it's simply a good solid horror movie on all counts. The characters get some development, the acting is very good, the cinematography is lovely, the pacing is enjoyable and the scares are well done. All things considered, it's a strong representative of the genre, with moments of true dread, a few clever jumps and loads of underlying themes material to please those of us who appreciate something more refined than the average Saw movie.
Jeremy T. Thomas, while playing a very muted character, holds down the lead as a believable impoverished country boy who is tired, scared and mentally scarred. Russel and Plemons have decent chemistry as siblings working through unresolved trauma.
The monster aspect of the movie delivers as well, although in a low-budget kind of way, wisely saving it's FX dollars for high impact scenes. Much of the creepiness is cloaked in shadow and darkness, and the director uses this to his advantage, however I still felt like they showed enough as the movie progressed to keep me from feeling ripped off in this regard.
I enjoyed it. I have no problem calling it horror and, what's more, I'd be happy for it to represent the genre in a general way, presenting gore, jump scares, atmosphere, monsters, real world evil and disturbing content, all without sacrificing plot or without being gratuitous in any of those areas. Everything serves the film, and it comes together nicely.
Not original, not groundbreaking, not Life-changing, just good, well made horror.
Go see it.