Antlers (2021) - SPOILER-FREE Review
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Directed by: Scott Cooper
Written by: C. Henry Chaisson, Nick Antosca, Scott Cooper
Starring: Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons, Jeremy T. Thomas, Graham Greene, Scott Haze, Rory Cochrane, Amy Madigan
Runtime: 99 min
Synopsis: 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 terrifying encounters with a legendary ancestral creature who came before them.
When a movie is produced by filmmakers like Guillermo del Toro (Shape of Water), David S. Goyer (The Tomorrow War), and J. Miles Dale (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark), the viewers know they're in for a technical treat, at least. With Scott Cooper (Hostiles) directing and co-writing together with C. Henry Chaisson (screenwriting debut) and Nick Antosca (The Forest), my expectations were moderately high. Even without seeing trailers, I knew the film would look great, but I anticipated a disappointment story-wise.
Well, Antlers has some narrative issues and logical inconsistencies often found in horror flicks, but considering its evidently low budget and screenplay based on Antosca's original short story, The Quiet Boy, I left the theater quite satisfied. It's far from delivering anything remotely imaginative or groundbreaking, but I must praise its remarkable focus on the characters and extraordinary management of their financial limitations. Picking up the latter topic, visual effects have improved drastically over the last decade or so.
Nowadays, one year of VFX study and evolution advances the related technologies much faster and more impactful than five/ten years ago. Therefore, it's uncommon for even an indie flick with a short amount of money to rely that much on practical effects since many people can produce convincing digital effects at home on their laptop. However, Antlers seamlessly blends minimal CGI, excellent cinematography (Florian Hoffmeister), and clever use of a practical monster to offer scary, bloody, jumpscare-effective horror sequences.
Unfortunately, I believe the general public will feel a tad frustrated with the lack of this type of scene. Cooper doesn't make the mistake of hundreds of other dull horror movies that solely focus on predictable, repetitive jumpscares. However, whether viewers like to admit it or not, these generic films feel more entertaining than an atmospheric, character-driven Antlers. On the other hand, I sincerely appreciate the latter subgenre of horror. Keri Russell (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) portrays Julia Meadows, who holds a traumatic past of abuse, leading her to connect with a young student of hers, Lucas Weaver (Jeremy T. Thomas).
Lucas shows clear signs of being emotionally, physically, and psychologically disturbed, but just like in real life, things aren't always what they look like at the surface. Jesse Plemons (Judas and the Black Messiah) interprets Julia's brother, Paul, and their common past is actually the most intriguing portion of the narrative. Sadly, Cooper and his team of writers aren't able to profoundly explore this storyline. Julia's flashbacks and memories simply feel out-of-place in retrospect. I'd have gladly watched fifteen more minutes of the brothers discussing their traumas instead of a quick hall chat.
All the actors deliver compelling performances, despite a couple of moments where the kids fail to emote the right feelings, but nothing that really impacted my viewing. The screenplay walks the thin line of logical consistency and almost falls severely a couple of times, but fortunately, outside of one blatant plot point that the viewers will have to accept and move on, Cooper and his team did a good job in tying all the knots. Shoutout to Javier Navarrete's (Greta) score, which elevates a few suspenseful sequences.
Finally, the ending is visually satisfying, and the final few minutes will make the viewers leave with a (good) bittersweet feeling. Nevertheless, the third act lacks overall creativity. From the almost identical monster sequences to the heavy plot armor handed to the protagonists, the climax is too generic and cliche for such a distinct horror movie. Still, I believe most audiences will enjoy this film, even though the potential for something truly great remains present.
Final Thoughts
Antlers is a cleverly shot, character-driven horror story with effective jumpscares and a captivating narrative that ultimately fails to reach its true potential. With the help of experienced producers, Scott Cooper is able to generate a rich atmosphere and offer an intriguing monster, blending practical effects with minimal CGI perfectly, despite the low budget. Accompanied by gorgeous cinematography, Keri Russell leads an interesting storyline focused on her traumatic past, but it ends up far too underdeveloped. The main plot features more generic plot points and a somewhat underwhelming yet visually satisfying ending. Overall, it's a nice watch, but one that I probably won't come back to.
