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adamwatchesmovies · 3 years

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Come Play (2020)

Come Play taps into real fear and gets key elements of horror right. As a feature-length Debut, Jacob Chase - who expands on his short film Larry - fares pretty well but along the way, something was lost in the shuffle.

Young autistic Oliver (Azhy Robertson) is unable to speak and communicates using an app. With no friends, he spends most of his time watching his smartphone when a strange storybook appears on-screen. It tells the story of Larry, a lonely ghoul that will stop at nothing to see Oliver.

Imagine being the parent of a lonely child. Your spouse is often away at work, you feel like you’re at the end of your rope. Then, you learn your kid has finally made a friend. Except it isn’t a classmate, it’s a stranger who wants to take your son/daughter away. This real-life fear is amplified by the revelation that this potential kidnapper is some unnatural ghoul no police would believe in, much less arrest. Jacob Chase makes the wise choice to keep Larry obscured for most of the film. You see enough of the creeper to know you don’t want to see any more of it but you’re also curious. It hits the right balance all the way up until the end where the creature’s face is on full, underwhelming display. Still, there are creepy moments throughout. The “ping” as lightbulbs die when the creature enters a room, the way it can only be seen through cameras, the crunching/cracking noises it makes as it moves are all prime nightmare fuel.

Ultimately, the film is undone by its screenplay. This concept started off as a short and probably should’ve stayed that way. A 96-minute running time means a lot is explained and the more we know about Larry, the more you think “Really? that’s the best you could come up with?” While it’s suitably unearthly, it’s also unconvincing. Also problematic is the monster’s inconsistent behavior and abilities. It can move in our world and kinda-sorta travels through electricity/screens but can interact with people/objects no problem. Depending on the scene, it's quiet as a ninja can move through solid objects, is smart enough to hold a conversation, or too stupid to notice people right under its nose. Then, we get to the conclusion. The last scene makes you wonder what this movie is ultimately about and what it’s saying. Come Play is ultimately an inferior version of The Babadook and comparing the shows its biggest mistake: focussing on the kid rather than the mom. Oliver spends so much time just cowering in terror or struggling to communicate he hardly feels like a lead. The conclusion wants us to deeply care about the bond he has with his mother but we haven’t seen that relationship developed enough.

There are enough creepy moments to keep you interested in Come Play all the way up to its disappointing conclusion. The film never quite reaches its potential but it’s a narrow miss. (February 27, 2021)

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outhouseofhorror · 4 years

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