This was an unexpectedly good horror movie. The trailer for the movie looked very generic, but I read some really good responses to the movie so I decided to give it a try and I was not disappointed. It only slightly falls into the lands of generic horror. It is mostly very good atmospheric horror.
The movie is written and directed by Jacob Chase who also wrote directed Larry (2017). Larry is a short movie and this movie is a full length adaptation of that movie.
Come Play follows Oliver (which is played brilliantly by Azhy Robertson), he is an autistic boy who cannot talk and only uses electronic devices to communicate with others. Oliver is a lonely boy who has no friends and he gets bullied at school. His mother Sarah (played by Gillian Jacobs) does everything in her power for him, but there is only so much she can do. Raising an autistic child is hard work, something that her husband, Marty (played by John Gallagher Jr.) doesn't understand. He is a typical douchebag. They are not a functioning family, but horror never focuses on happy families.
One day Marty finds an ipad at work and gives it to his son. The ipad has a story on it, the story of Larry. Just like The Babadook, Larry has a point and a message to pass. It is just not a really original message like that of the Babadook, so I was not really impressed by it as others were. The movie does stand out by how reposeful Larry truly is. You might think that he is stupid and slow, but he is not. He is unpredictable. Also, I haven't seen electronic devices used to creatively in horror since The Ring, it was pretty brilliant.
Also, this movie is really well made. By that I mean, not a lot of jump scares, so when they happen they are significant. This movie has atmosphere and requires you to look closely at things in the background. The horror is not very overt most of the time. Even when it is, it is very well made. I hope Jacob Chase will get more work off this movie, as it is crafted beautifully.
If you're looking for a good horror movie to watch, you should totally check it out. It is not a masterpiece in horror, but it is damn good.
Please follow me and upvote my posts to help yourself stay up to date with everything that is nerdy and awesome.
Sharing will also be most appreciated.
See you in my next post.