The shot of the monster wearing the dad's face is probably the creepiest thing I've seen all year.
This movie was...really a let down. There were just lots of atmospheric shots and not a whole lot else. I loved the practical effects though, they were definitely disturbing. The movie needed 1 million times more backstory and development and also some more exploration of myth.
Antlers is a horror movie set in a small town following a teacher who finds disturbing drawings in her student's desk and the student who is trying to survive and protect his family. It happens that there is a monster in the town and his dad, who is a drug addict and single parent, runs into the monster at the start of the movie and things start to change with him from there.
The movie tries to drop hints that the teacher has a tragic backstory as well and to use that to entice the student to trust her to support him. Unfortunately, we are given perhaps exactly 3 flashbacks for the teacher and one additional scene where she and her brother argue briefly about their childhood. There's no depth given to this at all. There's also very little depth given to the actual myth of the monster. Spoilers ahead - the first lines in the movie are a native american myth or something which gives away that the movie is about the Wendigo. The retired cop actually brings this up immediately and shows them a book about the Wendigo myth and they decide alright this is the monster...practically instantly because all signs point to yes. Except the brother has to doubt it...of course. There were too few exploratory scenes behind the monster myth as well - this was quite a low-hanging fruit when it comes to Native American mythology - it was like seeing a movie version of Until Dawn, which did explore the Wendigo myth well IMO.
The movie, despite being so atmosphering and spooky, doesnt seem to utilise its artistic shots very well, a few times the filming and effecst really bring the movie down, especially in tense combat scenes where you can't tell what's even going on. I found myself rolling my eyes at the typical stupid cop stereotype that pervades the horror genre. Plus some events in the movie don't seem to make sense to me at the end. Like, for example how did both the brother and son get infected with the wendigo spirit if the protective charms are there and have held it in the cave for decades? and where did the original wendigo go after they killed the drug addict and possessed the dad? there were definitely more than 1 wendigo, why would they need to leave their body and possess a new human?
It...could be worth just watching the film but it wasn't amazing.
Decent slow-building creature horror with lots of atmosphere. I honestly didn't expect it to be good and what I got was a bleak depressing ride. The technical aspect of the film is very impressive and the story, while flawed, is still engaging enough as it explores some interesting themes. It does fall into a couple of clichés, also doesn't dive into the lore very much, and some of the subjects could've been explored further and intertwined better but it's still entertaining nonetheless. The main kid does a fantastic job at being creepy and adorable at the same time. There is some excellent puppetry and practical effects combined with usual digital stuff. The creature is amazing once fully formed and the gore will certainly make your skin crawl.
Average creature feature with an above average creature. Where Antlers fails to deliver on character development and plot it begins to make up for with a well-paced and gradual monster reveal that burns out too quickly and anticlimactically. I can't help but feel that a Native American cast would easily make up for the lack of impactful characters and bring more weight into the myth sulking in the background of the plot.
I think there is a metaphor about trauma and how it's passed down the generations somewhere in there and it's ok, but the horror movie doesn't stand on itself, the monster is creepy but i didn't felt any connection with the characters.
Julia Meadows (Keri Russell), a teacher in small-town Oregon, becomes concerned that one of her students, Lucas (Jeremy T. Thomas), is being abused. As she and others look into the situation, it becomes apparent that Lucas is hiding a much darker secret that anyone could have expected.
What Works:
This is a dark movie. Unapologetically dark. From the trailer, I figured that would be the case, but Antlers doesn’t pull any punches. Abuse is a major theme of the movie and no one is safe from being killed or even eaten in some cases. I really respect movies that shy away from the darkness and Antlers is certainly one of those.
To continue with how horrific this movie is, there is some really awesome gore here. Like I mentioned above, people get eaten in this movie and there is enough left over to be found by our characters…and it’s always nasty. Anyone who is a big gore-hound, like myself, will definitely enjoy it.
The first 2/3rds of the movie act like a classic small-town murder mystery. I definitely got some Stephen King and Twin Peaks vibes. I love those kinds of stories. They always manage to get me engaged and although we know more about what’s going on than the characters, we don’t know everything, which makes it feel more of a mystery movie at times than a straightforward horror film.
The atmosphere is really fantastic. The film takes place in Oregon, but was shot in British Columbia. The mountainous setting really works fantastic for this sinister story and we get lots of fog and grim weather to match the mood,
What Sucks:
The 3rd act isn’t quite as good as the first two. We get two of our main characters fighting with the creature and neither fight looks very good. Luckily, the more emotional moments of the 3rd act work fine, but the climatic action is underwhelming.
Most of the characters are a little bit underdeveloped as well. We are given a really interesting potential setup with Julia’s brother, Paul (Jesse Plemons), being her investigative partner for the movie, instead of a random love interest. These two have some tough backstory, but we never really get enough of what it was and it’s never fully wrapped up.
Finally, Graham Greene is an actor I really like, but he is woefully underused in this film. He has about four scenes and is only used to deliver exposition. It’s a waste of a talented actor.
Verdict:
Antlers is a very dark film, with awesome gore, great atmosphere, and a really solid first two acts. The 3rd act loses some steam and some of the characters are underused and underdeveloped, but this movie has still got it going on.
i enjoyed this but I wish it was turned into a tv show instead. They could have dived more into the mythology.
A movie to have a good time. At the end I expected a little more, but they didn't reduce the quality of the movie that much.
Screenwriter Nick Antosca brings trauma and abused childhood, Chris Cooper the description of a United States in crisis, due to economy or addictions and Guillermo del Toro, well, the advice to shoot on digital a film that really needed a more cinematic texture. "Antlers" is a multi-layered story that is not yet fully developed, a lukewarm movie in all aspects that turns humans into monsters and monsters into humans.
I expected a lot more from Guillermo del Toro, nothing special, nothing interesting, nothing new.
I rate it "go back to the Labyrinth, Guillermo" out of 10.
Decent horror movie, but a bit too "slow"... interesting story, however.
Give it a try.
This is one of the better horror movies from last year. I really loved the dark ambiance hanging over this movie for the entire time.
Also there are some creepy moments in there, an interesting story that hasn't be done countless before, and also some good acting from the entire cast. Keri Russell as the school teacher surprised me, she is a good actress and nailed it here again. She is the main character besides a 12 year old kid. A decent actor but I found his character unrealistic. I need to like the main cast of a movie to remember it for a longer time. A 12 year old kid doing idiotic things surely isn't my cup of tea. Nonetheless a very solid movie.
Some good effects and ideas, but on a whole mostly boring.
The film could have been longer and with a few more scares. However, this is still an atmospheric, disturbing and original horror piece that is well worth a watch, especially if you're looking for something with a small town Stephen King vibe.
It was definitely not a bad movie, I just expected a little more. I don't like the character of the demon with the antlers, but it was still a pretty good average. where, but you like to be afraid, so don't expect much from this movie.
nice gore and a very neat beast, but the story around is really boring :(
nothing but average to the core
started OK, but got stupid. The warning sign was there when the drawings Lucas had made were discovered and they got predictably and progressively darker.
Lucas watches people die and he seems OK with it. He certainly doesn't report it. Even his dad just came up with the solution of locking himself in a room, after presumably coming in contact with a monster.
The antler creature went from powerful to complete weakling in the end. And after it was over nothing was said of it. But I suppose the cliche native guy who knows the mythology did mention it before - so that wraps that up.
And how dark is this movie? Even before the weird stuff happens. Put on some lights. The abuse subplot also seemed like pointless filler.
I was lookin forward to this for the longest, after finishing the movie, all i could think was, where were the Winchester brothers when you need them? XD The trailer definitely made it look SO SO interesting and thrilling but it was quite a letdown to me. The monster (not gonna spoil the show) does look creepy but it just lacks a really good storyline. Worth a one time watch and that's bout it.
Contrary to popular opinion, I found myself thoroughly enjoying this movie. The effects also sent above and beyond for me.
In the end there were a few things that were a let doz’, but it didn’t bring down the quality of the movie down that much.
I just finish watching this movie and I went into it with no knowledge about it at all. Didnt know anything about it i haven't even seen the trailer wich is super strange. But that was also something very good. I must say I really liked this movie. For me it was something different but what I liked at most it was how dark it was. Enjoyable movie!
Good movie not great. You want something to watch on a cold day this is it. Must watch!
Other than being short and leaving you on that ending, I really enjoyed the film, definitely a good horror, love the idea behind it and the mythical horror creature and worth your time and all cast did well together and I hope to see a follow up one day, definitely more to explore with it.
I'm a sucker for these mythical horror creatures and I thought they did a good job with it.
There's a lot to appreciate in Antlers with its moody and unforgiving atmosphere. The kill scenes are brutal and look painful.
Although, I thought the themes of abuse and character moments were underdeveloped.
Kerri Russel and Jesse Plemons were both decently cast.
Boring……, watched at 2021-12-13, imported from douban
i think i would've enjoyed this more as a miniseries that had more time to fully explore the characters' backstories. some movies can stand alone with little exposition and they're impressive for it, but sometimes you just need backstory to care about characters. loved the body horror though.
It was a decent creature feature.
Good story, good cast. It's enjoyable.
'Antlers' sets the right tone throughout and delivers in serving up a satisfactorily creepy flick. Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons and youngster Jeremy T. Thomas all give strong performances, they make for an interesting trifecta to watch - even if they aren't as fully fleshed out ss they could've been.
The horror aspects are done really well, as expected with Guillermo del Toro involved behind the scenes along with director Scott Cooper & Co. I also love films that make the locations come alive, where the place feels lived in and gritty, and this passes that particularly test with flying colours in my eyes.
As usual with the genre, a follow-up is seemingly set at the end - which I'd be up for, sure, though do feel like this being a one-and-done would fit better - but we'll see.
I watched the trailer for this film, and then I looked at the reviews before ultimately watching it. After finishing the film, I can understand why the reviews for the film weren't as high as I would have expected. The plot of this film is nothing inventive, but it runs smooth enough to where any audience member can comprehend the story's progression. The cinematography, acting, and visual aspects were all terrific, which is why I had such high expectations in the first place. What fell flat was not really the creature itself, but the myth and backstory surrounding the creature. As can be seen from other reviews on this website, it becomes clear when watching the film that not much weight is given in regard to the wendigo. I appreciated the rural setting depicted in this film, and the atmosphere was a perfect choice. However, the execution of this film was not in sync with the other amazing elements like the acting cast and visual appeal. Again, it's a fine movie, but it's better to turn one's brain off when watching it, which isn't an insult but just the nature of this film.
Slightly predictable in some ways, and utterly surprising in others. It was wonderful to see a wendigo done properly; I appreciate the metaphorical one from Hannibal, and some of the others I've seen, but this was a good wendigo. And a huge shoutout to Jeremy Thomas, what a performance! I haven't seen a boy capable of that degree of subtlety and gravitas in a very long time. I wanted to watch this mostly for the creature, because with Guillermo del Toro producing I figured it was bound to be good, but I got a surprisingly complex plot as well. The constant gloomy atmosphere, all the fog and clouds and forests, reminded me a bit of The Ring, in a good way. If you like creature features, emotional horror, and seriously mangled corpses, give this a go.
just a drama film with a bit of mythology and horror.
4/10
NOT BAD
NOT GOOD
DEFINITELY NOT FOR ME
4/10
Not the worst
Not the best
Definitely not for me
I thought this movie was a hell of alot better than I expected, probably the best horror movie I have seen in a while.
I think the trick was that they didn't try too hard to sell you a corny back story, all you needed was a monster & a NATIVE AMERICAN to tell the ancient legend passed down from his ancestors.
well directed
well acted
well done.
Nice visuals. The monster was better when it was just offscreen. Keri Russell is amazing in anything, but this really stretched her talents.
Some good jump scares, but that's about it.
Jesse Plemons, you're better than this man! You're better than this!
Shout by hhk9BlockedParent2021-12-26T01:22:01Z
Ok for killing boredom. Wasn't scary. Just meh...