The Super Powered Fancast

Antlers

Searchlight Pictures

Written by Henry Chaisson, Nick Antosca and Scott Cooper

Directed by Scott Cooper

Starring Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons, Jeremy T Thomas, Graham Greene, Scott Haze, Rory Cochrane, Amy Madigan, Sawyer Jones and Cody Davis

Rated R

In an isolated Oregon town, a middle-school teacher and her sheriff brother become embroiled with her enigmatic student, whose dark secrets lead to terrifying encounters with an ancestral creature.

Antlers is a classic horror film set in an ideal setting for the story it’s trying to tell. The visual tone is as dark as the story and director Scott Cooper does a brilliant job of utilizing the atmosphere to amplify the fear and tension of the plot. From the opening moments of the story, Cooper uses shadow to ramp up the scary moments of the film.

What works really well in the film is that the story doesn’t spend an unnecessary amount of time trying to hide the monster. The viewer gets to witness the creation of the creature and there is an emotional element to that transformation because of how it is connected to one of the main characters. You feel for this character both for what he’s experiencing at home, the increasing danger he is in and how there is no one he can turn to because of the circumstances of his family.

Kerry Russell does a great job as the teacher who attempts to connect with a child in trouble. Her personal journey informs a lot of her decisions and it helps to ground the character as a flawed survivor who steps up to do what no one was able to do for her. Her heroism feels real and her actions make sense in the context of a horror film. Something that is rare in a protagonist of this type of movie.

Jeremy T Thomas does a brilliant job as Lucas. This film is essentially his story and the circumstances that he finds himself in engage the viewer. You both feel for him and fear for him throughout the film and Cooper does a wonderful job of isolating him in ways that keep the viewer focused on him.

The horror elements work really well visually. There are definite nods to David Cronenberg in the body horror elements and Cooper deftly shows the decay and transformation in disturbing ways. The creature effects work because the creature itself is never fully shown. The viewer fills in the blanks right up to the finale.

As far as things that don’t work in the film, there are some. Antlers is telling a difficult and interesting story. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the time to explore many of the themes it introduces effectively. The themes of parental abuse are hinted at along with Julia’s (Russell) addiction issues, but abandoned for the most part. Julia’s relationship with her brother felt half developed as well and needed more time on screen. Lucas’ connection to Aiden deserved more and I wanted to see more of Frank’s descent.

Antlers works really well as a horror film. It’s dark, intense and beautifully shot. The story has some interesting themes that worked while others deserved more development. It’s a good film that delivers both on story and scares.